Michigan landowner Sander Scott explains how many times you can split your property. The Michigan Land Division Act, local zoning rules, and deed restrictions like conservation easements all limit divisions. A 40-acre parcel might allow six splits into seven lots, but a conservation easement can cut buildable lots from six down to three.
Can I split this parcel of land into smaller lots? Can I divide a particular piece of property? It's important to understand that there are several factors that influence your ability to divide or split land. Number 1, the Michigan Land Division Act. Number 2, local zoning ordinances. Number 3, deed restrictions. And in our area, those deed restrictions come most often in the form of conservation easements. So why is it important for you to know how many splits you have available? It has a huge impact on the perception of value. So how do you figure that out? The first thing you're going to have to do is talk to your local governmental officials, tax assessor or zoning administrator. Sometimes one of them can answer all the questions, but most often you have to talk to both of them. I do this all the time for my clients. So they have to look at two different things. The Michigan Land Division Act determines how many splits you can do on any particular piece of property within a 10-year timeframe. So under the umbrella of the Michigan Land Division Act, you look at the size of the parent parcel, the original parcel, how big was that, and actually what shape it was in. And then you can determine how many splits there are available. So typically on a parcel of, let's say, 40 to 49.9 acres, you can split that 6 times for a total of 7 lots. If it were between 30 and 39.9, you can divide it 5 more times into a total of 6 lots. But you can't just stop there. You also have to take the next step in looking at what the local zoning ordinance has to say about that. While you can make, let's say, 7 splits on a 49.9-acre lot, that might be allowable under the Michigan Land Division Act,, it may or may not be allowed under the local zoning ordinance. For example, in Leonon Township where I live, there is a minimum of a 10-acre lot necessary to build a home. So while the Michigan Land Division Act might say you have 49.9 acres, you can split that into 7 different lots. According to the local zoning ordinance, you'll only be able to do that into 4 pieces. So you have Michigan Land Division Act, local zoning ordinances, and then you also need to pay attention to are there any deed restrictions or restrictive covenants. Remember, deed restrictions run with the land. They bind the current landowner and all future landowners according to the rules that are written within that deed restriction or restrictive covenant. So oftentimes in our area, those come in the form of a conservation easement that is memorialized within that deed restriction. So let's take my folks for example. They own 60 acres and a farm out near Keel Lake and Woolsey Airport north of Northport. They have 60 acres according to the Michigan Land Division Act. The land hasn't been divided in the last 10 years. They could divide it according to local zoning ordinances. It's a 10-acre minimum. You could split it then into 6 parcels according to both the Michigan Land Division Act and local zoning ordinances. However, they've entered into a conservation easement. They have deed restriction on that property that limits building for every 20 acres. So now they've gone from a total possible buildable lots of 6 according to the Michigan Land Division Act and local zoning to a maximum of 3 buildable lots. So All of those factors go into determining how many times you can divide a piece of property. Michigan Land Division Act, local zoning ordinances, and are there any restrictive covenants, deed restrictions? Most often in our area, uh, those are coming in the form of a conservation easement.
