Code of Alabama - Title 11: Counties and Municipal Corporations - Section 11-52-30 - Territorial jurisdiction; approval of maps or plats; regulations; limits on exercise of powers

Section 11-52-30 - Territorial jurisdiction; approval of maps or plats; regulations; limits on exercise of powers.

(a) Except as otherwise provided herein, the territorial jurisdiction of any municipal planning commission shall include all land located in the municipality and all land lying within five miles of the corporate limits of the municipality and not located in any other municipality; except that, in the case of any nonmunicipal land lying within five miles of more than one municipality having a municipal planning commission, the jurisdiction of each municipal planning commission shall terminate at a boundary line equidistant from the respective corporate limits of such municipalities. Any alterations of a municipal planning commission based upon annexation or deannexation of property within the corporate limits of a municipality shall occur once a year on the first day of January and shall take effect for any annexations which were finalized on or before the preceding first day of October. In all counties having a population of 600,000 or more according to the 1950 federal census or any succeeding decennial federal census, the county planning and zoning commission shall be invested with the authority, except and unless the municipality or municipalities in question are actively exercising zoning jurisdiction and control within the police or five mile jurisdiction or, in the case of a municipality subsequently incorporated, within 180 days from the date of its incorporation; provided, further, that in all counties having a population of 600,000 or more inhabitants according to the 1950 federal census or any succeeding decennial federal census, the county commission of the county may establish minimum specifications and regulations governing the lay-out, grading, and paving of all streets, avenues, and alleys and the construction or installation of all water, sewer, or drainage pipes or lines in any subdivision lying wholly or partly in areas outside the corporate limits of any municipality in the counties and relating to subdivisions lying within the corporate limits of any municipality in the counties which has declined or failed to exercise zoning jurisdiction and control as provided in this section.

(b) A municipal planning commission, by resolution properly adopted no later than the first day of October of any year, may provide that, effective on the first day of January, the territorial jurisdiction of the municipal planning commission shall include all land lying within a radius less than the five miles permitted by this section. The resolution shall establish the territory within which the municipal planning commission will exercise jurisdiction to a boundary line equidistant from the corporate limits of the municipality, except, that in the case of any nonmunicipal land lying within the territorial jurisdiction of more than one municipality with a municipal planning commission exercising jurisdiction outside the municipal corporate limits, the jurisdiction of each municipal planning commission shall terminate at a boundary line equidistant from the respective corporate limits of each municipality. A copy of the resolution altering the territorial jurisdiction shall be forwarded to the county commission within five days of adoption. Additionally, nothing in this subsection shall be construed to alter the provisions of Article 5 of Chapter 49, which require a municipality to assume responsibility for roads annexed into the municipality under certain circumstances.

(c)(1) If a county commission has adopted subdivision regulations pursuant to Chapter 24, those subdivision regulations shall apply to the development of subdivisions within the territorial jurisdiction of a municipal planning commission outside the corporate limits of a municipality and shall be regulated and enforced by the county commission in the same manner and to the same extent as other subdivision development governed by the county's subdivision regulations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a county commission and the municipal planning commission may enter into a written agreement providing that the municipal planning commission shall be responsible for the regulation and enforcement of the development of subdivisions within the territorial jurisdiction of the municipal planning commission under the terms and conditions of the agreement. In order to be effective, the agreement shall be approved by a resolution adopted by the county commission, the municipal governing body, and the municipal planning commission of the municipality, respectively.

(2) In those counties in which the county commission has adopted subdivision regulations pursuant to Chapter 24 and the municipal planning commission has been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement to exercise its jurisdiction as provided in subdivision (1), the governing body of the municipality and the municipal planning commission may override the county's enforcement of the regulation of subdivisions within the planning jurisdiction by fully complying with all of the following requirements:

a. The municipal governing body and the municipal planning commission shall each adopt separate resolutions expressing intent to exercise jurisdiction over the construction of subdivisions initiated after the effective date of the resolutions, despite the county commission's objections to the exercise of that authority.

b. The municipal planning commission shall at all times thereafter employ or contract with a licensed professional engineer who shall notify the county commission of the initiation of subdivisions; conduct inspections of the construction of the subdivision; and shall certify, in writing, the compliance with the subdivision regulations governing the development of the subdivision.

c. The county commission shall retain the authority to require a performance and maintenance bond from the developer, consistent with the requirements for the bonds in the county subdivision regulations, which shall be payable to the county.

d. The county commission shall retain the authority to execute on the bond to make necessary improvements to the public roads and drainage structures of the subdivision while it remains in the unincorporated area of the county.

e. The municipal governing body and the municipal planning commission exercising the authority granted in this subsection may thereafter withdraw their exercise of jurisdiction over future subdivisions located outside the corporate limits of the municipality after not less than six months' notice to the county commission. After withdrawal, the municipal planning commission of the municipality may not reinstate the authority granted in this subsection for 24 months after the effective date of its withdrawal.

(d) If a county commission has not adopted subdivision regulations pursuant to Chapter 24, the municipal planning commission shall have sole jurisdiction for the regulation and enforcement of the development of subdivisions within the territorial jurisdiction of the municipal planning commission.

(e) If the municipal planning commission accepts responsibility for the development of a subdivision within its territorial jurisdiction as provided in subsection (c), the county commission shall not accept any roads or bridges within the subdivision for county maintenance unless the county engineer certifies to the county commission that the road or bridge meets the minimum road and bridge standards of the county. This section shall not apply to any roads or bridges which the county has accepted for maintenance prior to October 1, 2012.

(f) If the county commission is responsible for the regulation and enforcement of a subdivision development within the territorial jurisdiction of a municipal planning commission outside the corporate limits of a municipality, the recording of any map or plat related to the subdivision shall be governed by Chapter 24.

(g) If the municipal planning commission is responsible for the regulation and enforcement of a subdivision development within the territorial jurisdiction of the municipal planning commission outside the corporate limits of the municipality, no map or plat of any subdivision shall be recorded, and no property shall be sold referenced to the map or plat, until and unless it has been first submitted to and approved by the municipal planning commission, pursuant to Section 11-52-32 and its adopted procedures, and then certified by the county engineer or his or her designee as follows within 30 days of being submitted to the county engineer: "The undersigned, as County Engineer of the County of _________ of Alabama, hereby certifies on this ______ day of _____, 20___, that the _____________ Planning Commission approved the within plat for the recording of same in the Probate Office of _________ County, Alabama."

(h) Approval by the county engineer pursuant to this subsection shall not constitute approval in lieu of or on behalf of any municipality with respect to subdivision development regulated and enforced by the municipal planning commission, wherein all maps or plats must be first submitted to and approved by the municipal planning commission or other appropriate municipal agency exercising jurisdiction over the subdivision.

(i) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as allowing a municipal planning commission or a municipality to exercise the power of eminent domain outside of its corporate limits.

(j) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as allowing a municipal planning commission or a municipality to levy taxes or fees outside of its corporate limits.

(k) Nothing in this section shall limit or impair the authority of a municipality to regulate the construction of buildings within the police jurisdiction of the municipality, including, but not limited to, the issuing of building permits, the inspection of building construction, and the enforcement of building codes.

(l) Nothing in this section shall be construed to grant the county commission or county engineer the authority to regulate subdivision development or approve maps or plats for any developments within the corporate limits of a municipality.

(Acts 1935, No. 534, p. 1126; Code 1940, T. 37, §797; Acts 1949, No. 421, p. 597; Acts 1959, No. 296, p. 868, §1; Act 2009-498, p. 921, §1; Act 2012-297, p. 637, §1; Act 2015-361, §1.)

Last modified: May 3, 2021