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White Goss Land Use Team Wins Preliminary Plat Battle Against Platte County

On August 28, 2011, the Missouri Court of Appeals decided against Platte County reversing its Planning and Zoning Commission, County Commission, and Circuit Court for their refusal to approve a preliminary plat which subdivided the landowners property into five lots for commercial development. The plat met all of the requirements of the subdivision regulations. Yet when the matter was before the Planning and Zoning Commission, the members wanted to know the specific uses that would be on the property (not an item required to plat property) and they denied the plat on the basis of 4 reasons that had no foundation in the Subdivision Regulations. The Court of Appeals issued the attached decision finding that the County Commission's action in denying the preliminary plat was arbitrary. The Court stated that purpose clauses cannot be used as a basis to deny a plat.  To obtain the opinion in State ex rel. Alexander and Lindsey v. The Planning and Zoning Commission of Platte County, go to  http://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=48550.