Subdivision (land)

Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or
otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then
known in the United States as a subdivision. If it is used for housing it is typically
known as a housing subdivision or housing development, although some
developers tend to call these areas communities.

Subdivisions may also be for the purpose of commercial or industrial development,

and the results vary from retail shopping malls with independently owned out
parcels, to industrial parks.

A subdivision in Markham, Ontario,A subdivision in Picayune, Mississippi

United States

The entrance to a subdivision in Sugar Land, Texas, The Brookfield at Estancia subdivision in
northern Clearwater, Florida
History

In the United States, the creation of a subdivision was often the first step toward the creation of a
new incorporated township or city. Contemporary notions of subdivisions rely on the Lot and
Block survey system, which became widely used in the 19th century as a means of addressing
the expansion of cities into surrounding farmland. While this method of property identification
was useful for purposes of conveyancing, it did not address the overall impacts of expansion and
the need for a comprehensive approach to planning communities.

In the 1920s, the Coolidge administration formed the Advisory Committee on City Planning and
Zoning, which undertook as its first task the publication of The Standard State Zoning Enabling
Act in 1926, model enabling legislation for use by state legislatures.[1] This was followed by
publication of the Standard City Planning Enabling Act (SCPEA) in 1928.[2] The SCPEA
covered six subjects: (1) the organization and power of planning commissions, which was
directed to prepare and adopt a master plan; (2) the content of the master plan; (3) provisions for
a master street plan; (4) provisions for approval of all public improvements by the planning
commission; (5) control of private subdivision of land; and (6) provisions for the creation of
regional planning commissions.

Definition

The SCPEA included the following definition:

"Subdivision" means the division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two or more lots, plats,
sites, or other divisions of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale or of
building development. It includes resubdivision and, when appropriate to the context, relates to
the process of subdividing or to the land or territory subdivided.[2]:6

Attached to this definition was the following footnote:

for the purpose of sale or of building development: Every division of a piece of land into two or
more lots, parcels or parts is, of course, a subdivision. The intention is to cover all subdivision of
land where the immediate or ultimate purpose is that of selling the lots or building on them. The
object of inserting a definition in the text of the act is to avoid the inclusion, within the planning
commission's control, of such cases as a testator's dividing his property amongst his children,
partners' dividing firm property amongst themselves on dissolution, or cases of that nature.

This definition, and its clarifying footnote, serves to underscore some important points about the
legal nature of subdivisions. Importantly, a subdivision does not need to be sold, in whole or in
part, for its resulting pieces to be considered separate parcels of land. A subdivision plat
approved by a local planning commission, once recorded in a registry of deeds, is generally
deemed to have created the parcels of land identified on the plat itself.

The problem of testamentary division of property was identified by the SCPEA in the footnote to
the definition of subdivision, but not fully clarified by it. In some jurisdictions, a testamentary
division of property does not constitute a legal subdivision for purposes of separate
conveyancing of the "subdivided" parcels.[3]

Similarly difficult is the notion of "building development" in the definition, and whether the
identification of multiple construction sites on a single parcel of land constitutes a subdivision
subject to the review and approval authority of the planning commission. Interpretations of this
vary among American jurisdictions. Subdivision developers may use an architect's services only
once, with the rest of the tract houses using the same master template: the resulting houses all
look similar as in the above photograph of Markham, Ontario.

In the Philippines, subdivisions are areas of land that have been subdivided into individual
residential plots. Whereas some subdivisions comprise exclusive gated communities, others are
merely demarcations denoting a specific neighborhood. Some subdivisions may conduct
autonomous security, or provide basic services such as water and refuse management. Most
subdivisions are governed by associations made up of members who are residents of the
subdivision. In the Philippines, subdivisions are also known as villages.

In Alberta, subdivision is the dividing of a single parcel of land into two or more parcels, each to
be given a separate title. Subdivision is also used for existing lot line adjustments.
Notwithstanding a few exceptional circumstances, subdivision approval and endorsement by the
local municipality must always be received before the subdivision can be registered at the Land
Titles Office and titles issued (including bare land condominiums). Exceptions may occur with
parcels of land that contain more than one quarter section, a river lot, a lake lot, or some
settlement lots created prior to July 1, 1950.