Plat Board

Mason County Register of Deeds

County Plat Board

The subdivision control act of 1967, Act 288, PA 1967, MCL 560.102, or plat act, establishes a county plat board in each county.  The plat board consists of the county clerk, treasurer and register of deeds.  Ordinarily, the register of deeds chairs the meetings, the clerk is the board secretary and the treasurer is a member.  The principal duty of the plat board is to oversee the procedure at the county level.  The plat board makes certain that when proper county agencies have reviewed and approved the plat.  In addition, the board reviews the documents before sending them to the state making sure that they are in proper form and that there are enough copies.

A county plat board is not responsible for making judgments about the qualitative aspects of the proposed subdivision of the land.  Those are the responsibilities of the individual agencies through which the documents are required to pass.  At the county level, regardless of which unit exercises the zoning power, the documents must receive the approval of the county road commission, the drain commissioner and the county health department (if the proposed subdivision will not have public water and sewer facilities).  The sub-divider must also inform the public utilities serving the area of the proposed development.

A proposed plat must also travel around various state agencies.  Approval of the stat transportation department is necessary if the subdivision is adjacent to state highways or if it will have streets that intersect a state highway;  the department of environmental quality if the subdivision abuts a lake, stream or an existing channel or lagoon providing access to a lake or stream;  or if the subdivision is affected by a flood plain.  The department of consumer and industry services is also in the loop because it administers such matter as certificates of approval, captioning of plate, and numbering of lots.  The process, thus gives the agencies that may have a governmental interest in a large parcel an opportunity to review the plat map before it receives final approval and recordation.

Updated February 1, 2007