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SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS
All plats and subdivisions of land, including development plats, within the corporate limits of the city, and all plats and subdivisions of land, including development plats, outside the corporate limits of the city and within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the of the city, and all land outside the corporate limits of the city that the City Council may annex, by petition or otherwise, shall conform to the rules and regulations of this chapter.
(2005 Code, § 13-1-1) (Ord. 900706A, passed 6-7-1990; Ord. passed 4-21-2005; Ord. 070607A, passed 6-7-2007)
For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ALLEY. A minor public right-of-way, not intended to provide the primary means of access to abutting lots, which is used primarily for vehicular and utility service access to the back or sides of properties otherwise abutting on a street.
BUILDING SETBACK LINE. The line on a plat delineating the nearest point to which buildings may be located to a street line, alley line or building lot line.
CITY MANAGER. The City Secretary, Administrator or other administrative officer who may be designated by the City Council to perform such functions.
COMMISSION. The Planning and Zoning Commission of the city.
DEAD END STREET. A street, other than a cul-de-sac, with only one outlet.
DEVELOPMENT PLAT. The map, drawings or chart pursuant to Tex. Local Gov’t. Code, § 212.045, as may be amended, where a plat under Tex. Local Gov’t. Code, § 212.004 may not be required. A DEVELOPMENT PLAT is required of any person who proposes the development of a tract of land that does not otherwise require a plat and shall be submitted for approval in accordance with the procedures established for final plat approval.
ENGINEER. A person duly authorized under the provisions of the Texas Engineering Registration Act, as heretofore or hereafter amended, to practice the profession of engineering, and when reference is made to City Engineer, the designation means either an engineer directly employed by the city or the city’s engineering consultants, as the case may be.
INSPECTOR. A person duly authorized by the City Manager who may be employed by the city or by the city’s engineering consultants, as the case may be, and designated to inspect any portion or all of the construction performed in the subdivision either on a part-time or full-time basis. His or her duties shall consist of inspecting all work during construction and/or after completion to determine compliance with the plans, specifications and subdivision regulations, with authority to stop the work during construction for non-completion, if the work is defective.
LOCAL RESIDENTIAL or MINOR STREET. A public thoroughfare which is intended primarily to serve as access to residential property within a neighborhood interior or limited residential district and is not aligned or located to attract other than limited local traffic movements.
LOT. An undivided tract or parcel of land having frontage on a public street and which is, or in the future, may be offered for sale, conveyance, transfer or improvement as a building site; which is designated as a distinct and separate tract.
MAJOR STREET. A principal traffic artery, more or less continuous across a major portion of the city, which is intended to connect remote parts of the city, or areas adjacent thereto, and which is designated on the major thoroughfare plan of the city as a major thoroughfare.
PLAT. The map, drawings or chart on which a subdivider’s plan is presented and which he submits for approval and intends to record in final form.
PROTECTED FLOOD PLAIN. Also referenced as the 100-year floodplain with fully developed conditions for the entire watershed. The area that is certified by a professional engineer to be within the 100-year floodplain, assuming build-out or fully developed conditions for the entire area within the relevant watershed.
REPLATTING (RESUBDIVISION). Replatting is the rearranging of any part of a block, street or alley of a previously platted subdivision.
SECONDARY STREET. A secondary street is one which is continuous through several districts and is intended as a connecting street between residential districts and a collector street providing access to major streets, business districts or places of employment.
STREET WIDTH. Street width is the shortest distance between the lines which delineate the right-of-way of the street.
SUBDIVIDER. Any person or agent thereof, dividing or proposing to divide land so as to constitute a subdivision as that term is defined herein. In any event, the term SUBDIVIDER shall be restricted to include only the owner, equitable owner or authorized agent of the owner, of the land sought to be subdivided.
SUBDIVISION. A division of any tract of land situated within the corporate limits, or within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city, into two or more parts of the purpose of laying out any subdivision of any tracts of land or any addition of any town or city, or for laying out suburban lots or building lots, or any lots, and streets, alleys or parts or other portions intended for public use or the use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting thereon or adjacent thereto for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of creating building sites. SUBDIVISION includes resubdivision, but it does not include the division of land for agriculture purposes in parcels or tracts of five acres or more which do not involve the creation of any new street, alley or easement of access.
SURVEYOR. A licensed state land surveyor or a registered public surveyor as authorized by the state statutes to practice the profession of surveying.
(2005 Code, § 13-1-2) (Ord. 040701D, passed - -; Ord. passed 4-21-2005; Ord. 070607A, passed 6-7-2007)
(A) Approval required. It shall be unlawful for any owner of land to lay out, subdivide, plat, amend a plat or replat any land into lots, blocks and streets within the city, or within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city without approval as provided herein. It shall be unlawful for any such owner or agent to offer for sale or sell property therein or thereby, which has not been laid out, subdivided, platted or replatted with approval as provided herein.
(B) City improvements to be withheld until approval. The city hereby defines its policy to be that the city will withhold all city improvements of whatever nature, including the maintenance of streets and furnishing of sewerage facilities and water service from all additions and subdivisions, the platting of which has not been approved as provided herein.
(C) Street numbers and building permits to be withheld until approval. No street number and no building permit shall be issued for the erection of any building in the city on any piece of property other than the original or re-subdivided lot on a duly approved and recorded subdivision without the written approval as provided herein.
(D) Submitting plats and plans. All plats and plans shall be submitted to the Planning Director. The Planning Director shall prepare a calendar of submittal dates and a procedure for plat and plan submission. The developer or applicant shall only be permitted to submit plats or plans on the submittal dates established in the calendar and in the manner set forth by the Planning Director. Public improvement plans shall only be submitted in conjunction with a final plat submittal. Applications and other digital files submitted by the developer or applicant prior to a designated submittal date shall not be considered filed with the city until the next designated submittal date and shall not initiate the deadlines established in Tex. Local Gov’t. Code Ch. 212, as amended, until the next designated submittal date.
(2005 Code, § 13-1-3) (Ord. passed 4-21-2005; Ord. 070607A, passed 6-7-2007; Ord. 090901A, passed 9-1-2009; Ord. 230110C, passed 1-10-2023) Penalty, see § 10.99
(A) The applicant is encouraged to schedule an appointment and meet with the city staff to discuss the procedures for approval of a proposed plat and the requirements for a general layout of streets and/or reservations of land, street improvements, drainage, sewerage, fire protection and similar matters, as well as the general availability of existing services.
(B) A request for a pre-application conference shall be accompanied by a written statement that any proposed development concept discussed at the pre-application conference or submittal in accordance with § 158.05 below herein is not intended as a plan of development or application for plat approval.
(C) No other applications or plans for development will be presented, reviewed or accepted at the pre-application conference. A pre-application conference is optional and shall not be required as a standard of approval of the development application.
(2005 Code, § 13-1-4) (Ord. passed 4-21-2005; Ord. 050818, passed - -)
(A) It may be determined at the pre-application conference that an area development concept plan will be required prior to consideration of a preliminary plat. An area development concept plan may be required if the development of the subject area will affect the development pattern of adjacent land or if the subject area will be platted in stages. The approved area development concept plan shall be used as a guide in approving future subdivisions in the defined area.
(B) The area development concept plan, when required, shall be submitted along with a completed application/check list form. Eight copies of the plan drawn at scale of not less than 400 feet to the inch will be required. If more detailed contour information is not available, the USGS map contours may be used for concept planning purposes in most cases. The area development concept plan shall include all land determined to be affected by the development pattern of the subject area. The area development concept plan shall contain or have attached thereto:
(1) Names and addresses of the subdividers, record owner, land planer, engineer and/or surveyor;
(2) Proposed name of the subdivision;
(3) Location in relation to rest of the city and boundaries of proposed subdivision;
(4) A schematic layout of the entire tract and its relationship to adjacent property and existing adjoining development;
(5) Proposed major categories of land use showing existing and proposed zoning;
(6) Proposed number of dwelling units and population densities;
(7) Proposed and existing arterials and collector streets to serve general area;
(8) Location of sites for parks, schools and other public uses as shown in the comprehensive plan; and
(9) Significant natural drainage features including drainage courses and wooded areas, as delineated on USGS topographic maps or any other topographic maps showing equivalent information.
(2005 Code, § 13-1-5) (Ord. passed 4-21-2005)
(A) An application in writing for tentative approval of a preliminary plat shall be submitted to the Planning Director as set forth in § 158.03(D).
(B) The preliminary plat shall be submitted on standard 24-inch by 36-inch paper at a scale of one inch equals 100 feet by the subdivider or his or her agent prior to the sale, offering for sale of any lots, tract or building site and prior to completion of final surveys of streets or lots prior to the grading or construction work on any streets and before any map of the subdivision is prepared in form for recording.
(C) Every application for plat approval shall be subject to a determination of completeness by the city staff.
(D) No application shall be accepted for filing or processing unless the request is accompanied by the following in accordance with the manual of standard design, manual of water distribution, and manual of street and drainage.
(1) Location map.
(a) A vicinity sketch or key map at scale of not more than 400 feet to the inch for all subdivisions exceeding five acres in size or containing ten or more lots.
(b) The sketch or map shall show existing subdivision, streets, property lines and recorded names of the owners of the adjoining parcels.
(c) It shall also show how the streets and alleys of the proposed subdivisions or undeveloped property and the relationship of the development to existing or proposed major and secondary thoroughfares.
(2) Names of owner and the like. The preliminary plat shall show the name or names of the owner and/or subdivider and the name of the engineer, land planner or surveyor responsible for the preparation of the plat.
(3) Identification. The proposed name of the subdivision (which must not be so similar to that of an existing subdivision as to cause confusion) and names of adjacent subdivisions and landowners shall be shown on the plat.
(4) Boundary lines and the like.
(a) Location of boundary lines and width and location of platted streets and alleys within, or adjacent to, the property; physical features of the property, including location of any existing utilities with the size of sewer and water mains.
(b) The outlines of wooded areas or the location of important individual trees is required. For all plats, the boundaries and acreage of the protected floodplain must be shown.
(c) Additionally, contours must be shown at intervals of two feet. All elevations shown shall be referred to sea-level datum. The acreage of the property is to be indicated.
(5) Location and width of proposed streets and other features.
(a) The location and width of the proposed streets, roads, lots, alleys, easements, widening of existing thoroughfares, and other features, and their location in relation to platted streets, alleys and easements in adjacent subdivisions shall be shown.
(b) The street layout shall be in conformity with a plan for the most advantageous development of the entire neighborhood areas.
(c) Whenever the proposed subdivision contains or is adjacent, or parallel to a railroad right-of-way or a major thoroughfare or freeway or expressway standards, provision shall be made for a street approximately parallel to and on each side of the right-of-way to provide reasonable use of the intervening land.
(d) Proposed streets shall be adjusted to the contour of the land so as to produce useable lots and streets of reasonable gradient.
(6) Plat contents. The horizontal scale of the preliminary plat shall not be less than 100 feet to the inch and the plat shall also show:
(a) North point, scale and date;
(b) The boundary line, accurate in scale, of the tract to be submitted;
(c) The names of all proposed streets;
(d) The layout, number and approximate dimension of all proposed lots or building tracts and the square feet of each;
(e) All parcels of land intended to be dedicated to public use or reserved for the common use of owners of lots or sites in the subdivision, and the acreage; and
(f) Any and all arrangement of lots, building lines or streets proposed.
(7) Profiles and cross sections. Profiles and cross sections may be required sufficient to ascertain that the preliminary plat proposals will function in accordance with the standard of the city.
(8) Zoning information.
(a) A designation shall be shown of the proposed uses of land within the subdivision; that is, the classified type of residential use by zoning ordinance, location of retail classification of industrial sites by zoning ordinance classification, and sites for churches, schools, parks or other special uses, and their acreage.
(b) A master plan may be required to show the proposed development and densities.
(9) Certificates. The following certificates shall be placed on the preliminary plat.
(a) Reviewed for preliminary approval.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chairperson Date
(b) Approved for preparation of final plat.
Mayor, City of Heath Date
(10) Subdivider’s statement. A preliminary plat application shall be accompanied by a written statement, signed by the subdivider stating that the developer will comply with all the city requirements in the proposed subdivision and all the proposals shall conform to or exceed the standards for the improvements prescribed by the city. The statement shall also acknowledge that a final plat must be filed within one year of preliminary plat approval, unless extension is granted by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(11) Application processed. The processing of an application by any city official or employee prior to the time the application is determined to be complete shall not be binding on the city as the official acceptance of the application for filing, and the incompleteness of the application shall be grounds for denial or revocation of the application. A determination of completeness shall not constitute a determination of compliance with the substantive requirements of these subdivision regulations.
(12) Submission. Following submission of a plan of development or plat application, the director shall make a determination in writing whether the plan or application constitutes a complete application for a master plat, preliminary plat or final plat not later than the tenth business day after the date the application is submitted. The determination shall specify the documents or other information needed to complete the application and shall state the date the application will expire if the documents or other information is not provided.
(13) Filing. An application for approval of a master or a preliminary plat that is filed on or after April 27, 2005, or any subsequent preliminary or final plat application filed after approval of such master plat or preliminary plat, shall be deemed complete on the eleventh business day after the application has been received, if the applicant has not otherwise been notified that the application is incomplete.
(14) Completion. If an application for plat approval is not completed on or before the forty-fifth day after the application is submitted to the director for processing the application in accordance with his or her written notification, the application will be deemed to have expired, and it will be returned to the applicant together with any accompanying documents. Thereafter, a new application for approval of the master plat, preliminary plat or final plat must be submitted. The city may retain any fee paid for reviewing the application for completeness.
(15) Time period. The time period established by state law or subdivision regulations for processing or deciding an application shall commence on the date that a complete application has been accepted for filing, which date shall be deemed the official filing date.
(16) Decision.
(a) All plat applications shall be decided within 30 days from the official filing date.
(b) An applicant may request in writing a waiver of the decision time.
(c) The waiver request shall contain a statement of the reasons for the waiver and the time for which a waiver is sought.
(d) No waiver shall be granted for a period less than the Planning and Zoning Commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting.
(e) Waiver requests which have not been received by the director on or before the Friday prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at which action is to be taken on the plat application shall be deemed denied and action shall be taken on the plat application at the meeting as scheduled.
(17) Subject to interlocal agreement. Where the land to be platted lies within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city and is subject to an interlocal agreement under Tex. Local Gov’t. Code, Ch. 242, no plat application shall be accepted as complete for filing by the city staff unless the application is accompanied by verification that a copy has been delivered to the county, in which the land subject to the application is located. In the absence of a waiver request, if the city has not received a decision form the county on matters which are to be determined by the county under the interlocal agreement, the application for plat approval shall be denied.
(18) Land inside city limits.
(a) For land inside city limits, no plat application shall be determined to be complete where the intended use or intensity of use of the land is not authorized in the zoning district in which the property is located, unless the application is accompanied by a copy of the zoning ordinance or other certification verifying that the proposed use for which the application is submitted is authorized by the zoning district in which the property is located.
(b) If a request to change the zoning for the land to be platted to allow the development proposed in the plat is pending, the zoning application shall be decided before a determination is made whether the plat application is complete.
(c) If the zoning application is denied, the plat application shall be deemed incomplete. For newly annexed land, no plat application will be accepted for any use or intensity of use not authorized in the Agricultural Zoning District until the property has been permanently classified on the zoning district map.
(19) For purposes of determining a vested rights petition pursuant to § 158.23 below, no vested rights accrue solely from the filing of an application that has expired pursuant to this section, or from the filing of a complete application that is subsequently denied.
(2005 Code, § 13-1-6) (Ord. 040701D, passed - -; Ord. 041021E, passed 10-21-2004; Ord. passed 4-21-2005; Ord. 050818, passed - -2005; Ord. 230110C, passed 1-10-2023)
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