LAND SUBDIVISION PROCESS When a parcel of land is being subdivided it can be anticipated that change of ownership and construction or other intensified land use will eventually occur on the subdivided portion as this is often the case. It is therefore necessary to determine whether the eventual construction would cause or increase flooding and landslides on the parcel prior to approving the request for permission to subdivide.

1. LAND SUBDIVISION PROCESS

2. Summary
When a parcel of land is being subdivided it can be anticipated that
change of ownership and construction or other intensified land use will
eventually occur on the subdivided portion as this is often the case. It is
therefore necessary to determine whether the eventual construction
would cause or increase flooding and landslides on the parcel prior to
approving the request for permission to subdivide. This use case provides
a summary of the process of assessing an application for subdivision to
determine whether the subdivision will create or increase the threat of
flooding and landslides. The process allows the planner to determine
whether the application should be approved or denied. To illustrate the
optimal theoretical approach to application assessment, the ideal
application for subdivision permission is described including the points at
which flooding and landslide information can be incorporated. The actual
procedures for dealing with applications for subdivision, as occurs in the
countries of Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and
the Grenadines are given as examples.

3. Before you start: Use case Location: Uses GIS data: Authors:
Read Methodology Book
Chapter 7
Procedures summarized for
Belize, Dominica, St. Lucia, St.
Vincent and the Grenadines and
Grenada
No
Charisse Griffith-Charles and
Jeanna Hyde-Hecker

4. • Introduction:
• The physical planning process involves deciding on what types of development and at which locations will
be in the best interest of the country and its inhabitants. Within this framework, the actual development
that is implemented should maintain a delicate balance to ensure environmental sustainability while not
unduly restricting physical development. Individuals may seek permission to carry out development and
these requests should be assessed to ensure that they not only fit within the overall plan for physical
development but also fit within the ongoing changes, and impacts taking place in the community as
development occurs. Subdivision of parcels is a form of development as construction usually follows
subdivision of land. Subdivision of land and subsequent construction can create or increase the risk of
landslide and flood as built development can weaken soil by allowing liquid infiltration, and increase
runoff volumes by adding to the area of impervious surfaces. The current land use planning process for
subdivision approval that occurs in Grenada, Saint Lucia, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines
does or does not sufficiently incorporate hazard and risk information. Belize does incorporate some
investigation of hazard and risk as it relates to floods.

5. • Objectives:
• The objectives of this use case are to:
• Provide a clear structure of the land subdivision
approval process,
• Recommend and indicate where in the process
of application for permission to subdivide,
landslide and flood hazard information should be
included.
• Recommend how to include current hazard and
risk before establishing the subdivision
• Recommend how to estimate new or increased

6. Dispersant (Dispersing Agent): Material
added to a solid in liquid suspension to prevent the
individually suspended particles from flocculating.
Flocculated State Dispersed State
Flowchart:
The following animation gives the flowchart that is used in this use-case for land subdivision process. Click on parts of the
flowchart to see more details and explanations

7. • Problems definition and specifications:
• An applicant would like to subdivide a parcel into smaller parcels in order
to transfer the subdivided parcels to other potential landowners. The
applicant requests permission of the planning authority to subdivide the
parcel. The physical planner wishes to allow subdivision when it is safe to
do so for the community and wishes to refuse or guide the specifications
of the subdivision where it will lead to risk for the landowner and/or
increase the incidence of landslide and flood and therefore affect the
safety of the community. Regarding the inclusion of hazard and risk into
the subdivision approval process, Physical Planning needs to be able to
show whether an area is prone to flooding and/or landslide or not and the
degree to which the area would be affected. As a subdivision would create
changes to the site, it is also necessary for the planner to be able to
estimate if the changes would create or increase hazard, exposure and
vulnerability in the future.

8. The list of data required includes:
• National Land Use Plan
• Local Area Land Use Plan
• Flood Hazard
• Flood Risk Map
• Landslide Hazard
• Landslide Risk
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Report
• Topographic Map
• Proposed Subdivision plan

10. Local area plan
• Local area plans should be available at larger scales than the national plan.
These can be at 1:10,000 and contain information on a settlement or
community and how all the necessary amenities are distributed within
that area.
• Local Area Plans are lowest in the hierarchy of development plans, coming
after National Land Use Plans and Regional Land Use Plans. They are,
however, prepared at the largest scales of all plans and contain more
precise and more copious detail. Local area plans require, for preparation
and revision, policy data, built infrastructure data, natural topographic and
land cover data, and social demographic data. Hazard information should
be incorporated into the creation of these plans and various levels of risk
should be indicated. Local area plans should be available to guide the
approval of application for subdivision process. Figure 2 shows a local area
plan with planning zones. See Use Case 2.2 Local Land Use Planning for
more detail on the preparation of local land use plans that take hazards
and risk into consideration.