For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ABUT. To be separated by common property lines, lot lines, or an alley; adjacent, adjoining, contiguous, or touching.
ACCESS WAY. An area on private property used by vehicular traffic for access to and from streets.
ADDITION. One lot, tract, or parcel of land lying within the corporate boundaries of the city which is intended for the purpose of development.
ALL-WEATHER ACCESS (CONSTRUCTION). An access way paved with a paving material which is cohesive and holds its form when subjected to vehicular traffic and the normal variation of weather conditions experienced in the city.
AMENDED PLAT. A revised plat correcting errors or making minor changes to the original recorded final plat.
AMENITY. An improvement to be dedicated to the public or the common ownership of the lot owners of the subdivision and providing an aesthetic, recreational, or other benefit, other than those prescribed by this chapter.
BASE FLOOD. The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The BASE FLOOD shall be determined by using a fully developed watershed and the city’s criteria for a 100-year storm.
BLOCK. A tract of land bounded by streets, or by a combination of streets and public parks, cemeteries, railroad rights-of-way, shorelines of waterways, or boundary lines of municipalities.
BOND. Any form of a surety bond in an amount and form satisfactory to the city.
BUFFERYARD. A unit of land and any structures such as walls or berms that may be required between different land uses to eliminate or minimize conflicts between them. (Example: an area of trees or landscaping between larger residential lots in 1 city, and smaller residential lots or commercial development in another city.) Specific BUFFERYARD requirements are defined in Chapter 156, the comprehensive zoning ordinance.
BUILDER. The person or party responsible for the construction of buildings and other structures or permanent improvements on a platted lot or building site, as defined by the Building Official. The BUILDER shall also be defined as the DEVELOPER, if responsible for platting or replatting of property or development of property, as herein defined.
BUILDING SETBACK LINE. A line designated on an approved subdivision plat which is parallel or approximately parallel to a property line to define a zone between the building line and the property line in which buildings and structures may not be erected.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM. The official proposed schedule of all future public projects listed together with cost estimates and the anticipated means of financing each project, as adopted by City Council.
CITY. The City of Parker, Texas.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR. The City Administrator or his or her designee.
CITY ENGINEER. The official appointed professional engineer with responsibility to review and release plans for construction projects, or his or her designee.
COMMISSION. The Planning and Zoning Commission for the city.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. A plan for development of the city prepared and adopted by the Council, and including any part of that plan separately adopted, and any amendment to that plan, or parts thereof.
CONSTRUCTION PLAN. The maps or drawings accompanying a plat and showing the specific location and design of public improvements to be installed in the subdivision or addition in accordance with the requirements of the Commission, requirements of the Texas Engineering Act, and construction plans shall be designed by a professional engineer licensed in the State of Texas as a condition of the approval of the plat.
CONTIGUOUS. Lots are contiguous when at least 1 boundary line of 1 lot touches a boundary line or lines of another lot.
COUNCIL. The City Council of this city.
COUNTY. Collin County, Texas.
CURVILINEAR STREET. A street comprising curved and straight portions in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
DEDICATION PLAT. A plat prepared for the purpose of dedicating land or easements for rights-of-way to the city.
DEVELOPER. The owner of the property being platted or replatted or the person designated by the owner as being responsible for the development of the property. The terms SUBDIVIDER and DEVELOPER are synonymous and used interchangeably, and shall include any person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, or any officer, agent, employee, servant, and trustee thereof who does or participates in the doing of any act toward the subdivision of land within the intent, scope, and purview of this chapter. The DEVELOPER shall also be defined as the BUILDER if he or she is responsible for the construction of buildings or other structures or permanent improvements.
DEVELOPMENT. Any human-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, paving, drainage, or utilities, but not agricultural activities.
DEVELOPMENT EXACTION. Any dedication of land or easements for, construction of, or contribution toward construction of a public improvement required as a condition of plat approval by the city under this chapter.
DEVELOPMENT PLAT. Special requirements for development of 1 lot pursuant to state law, and as described in §§ 155.080 et seq. of this municipal code.
DRAINAGE WAY. All areas with an elevation lower than a ground elevation, defined as being the highest elevation of the following:
(1) Two feet above the base flood for fully developed upstream conditions, calculated in accordance with criteria set forth by the city;
(2) Two feet above the elevation required for peak discharge for the 100-year design flood, Alternate C, of the Flood Insurance Study, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Insurance Agency; or
(3) The top of the high bank.
DRIVEWAY. A private, all-weather surfaced drive connecting the residence, or building, with a public or private street.
DWELLING UNIT. A single unit providing complete, independent living facilities for a family, and including a residential kitchen, bathroom, and provisions for living, sleeping, and sanitation.
EASEMENT. An interest in the real property of another which is the dominant estate and is a right to use that real property for the purposes specified therein.
EQUAL CONVEYANCE REDUCTION. Proposed floodplain alterations reducing stream conveyance should allow a corresponding conveyance reduction on the opposite stream bank. The right of equal conveyance reduction applies to all owners and uses and may be relinquished by written agreement.
ESCROW. A deposit of cash with the city in accordance with city policies.
FINAL PLAT. The map of a subdivision or addition to be recorded after approval by the City Council and any accompanying material and additional requirements as described in this chapter.
FLOODPLAIN. Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from the base flood.
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS. Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as floodplain ordinance, grading ordinance, and erosion control ordinances), storm water design criteria and other applications of police powers. The term describes such state and local regulations, in any combination thereof, which provides standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.
FLOODWAY. A drainage area designated on a plat to accommodate the design flood for existing creeks and the channel of a watercourse and the adjacent land area that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designed height.
LAND STUDY. A drawing preparatory to the plat, to enable the property owner to save time and expense by communicating the general plans for development of a subdivision with the Commission and the City Council.
LEASEHOLD. Property held by lease.
LOT. A tract, plot, or portion of a subdivision, addition, or other parcel of land intended as a unit for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, or possession, or for building development.
LOT OF RECORD. A lot created prior to September 25, 1990.
MAJOR PLAT. All plats not classified as minor plats, including but not limited to subdivisions of more than 4 lots, or any plat requiring creation of any new street or extension of the city’s facilities.
MAYOR. The Mayor of this city, or his or her designee.
MINOR PLAT. A subdivision resulting in 4 or fewer lots and not requiring the creation of any new street or the extension of municipal facilities.
MUNICIPAL FACILITY. An improvement owned and maintained by the city.
OFF-SITE IMPROVEMENT. Any public improvement located outside the physical boundaries of the subdivision or addition to be platted.
PERIMETER STREET. Any existing or planned street which abuts the subdivision or addition to be platted.
PLAT. The plan or map for a subdivision or addition. The plat and accompanying construction drawings for a subdivision or addition as described in this chapter. The PLAT is approved by the City Council prior to construction of public improvements, but not filed with the county.
PLATTING. The act of preparing for approval and processing, pursuant to this chapter, the plan or map for a subdivision or addition.
PRIVATE STREET. A private vehicular access way shared by and serving 2 or more lots, which is not dedicated to the public and is not publicly maintained. PRIVATE STREETS may be established only under the terms of this chapter; see § 155.052.
PROPERTY OWNER. Any person, group of persons, firm or firms, corporation or corporations, or any other legal entity having legal title to or sufficient proprietary interest in the land comprising the subdivision or addition, or any representative or agent thereto, who has express written authority to act on behalf of that owner.
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT. Any drainage way, roadway, parkway, sidewalk, utility, pedestrian way, off-street parking area, lot improvement, open space, or other facility for which the city or other governmental entity will ultimately assume the responsibility for maintenance and operation, or which may affect an improvement for which local government responsibility is established.
PUBLIC WAY. An officially approved, privately maintained drive, constructed to city street standards, open to unrestricted and irrevocable public access, serving 2 or more lots with a minimum of 50 feet of frontage as their primary means of access.
REMAINDER. The residual land left after platting of a portion of a tract. Platting of a residual may in some instances be required under the provisions of this chapter.
REPLATTING. Any change in a map of an approved or recorded plat, except as permitted as an amended plat, that affects any street layout on the map or area reserved or dedicated thereon for public use or any lot line, or that affects any map or plan legally recorded prior to the adoption of any regulations controlling subdivisions or additions. REPLATTING includes the combination of lots into a single lot for purposes of development.
RESERVE STRIP. Land that has been withheld or kept back from sale or disposition.
RE-SUBDIVISION. The replatting of a subdivision plat.
RIGHT-OF-WAY. A parcel of land dedicated to the city, occupied or intended to be occupied by a street. Where appropriate, RIGHT-OF-WAY may include other facilities and utilities, such as sidewalks, railroad crossings, electrical, communication, oil, gas, water, or sanitary or storm sewer facilities, or for any other special use. RIGHT-OF-WAY shall also include parkways and medians outside of pavement. The usage of the term RIGHT-OF-WAY for land platting purposes shall mean that every right-of-way hereafter established and shown on a final plat is to be separate and distinct from the lots or parcels adjoining the right-of-way and not included within the dimensions or areas of those lots or parcels.
SECURITY. The letter of credit or cash escrow provided by the applicant to secure its promises in an agreement.
STORM SEWER. A conduit to convey storm water runoff.
STREET, ARTERIAL. A street meeting the requirements for an arterial thoroughfare, and intended as the primary urban traffic-carrying system between major traffic centers.
STREET, COLLECTOR. A street meeting the minimum requirements for a collector thoroughfare, and intended to move traffic from local access streets to arterial streets.
STREET, EASEMENT. An authorization by the property owner in perpetuity for the public use of a portion of his or her property for the placement thereon of a street, trail, or the like, whereby the property owner retains title to the property upon which the easement is established. Public use of this easement shall also be extended to the construction and placement of trails; street signs, signals, and markings; utilities, both above- and below-ground; and other facilities as are customarily located within typical street rights-of-way.
STREET, SUBSTANDARD. An existing street or highway that does not meet the minimum specifications in the thoroughfare standards ordinance and city construction standards and specifications, or if a state highway or FM highway does not meet the minimum standard specifications of the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation and is not constructed to the ultimate extent for the type of roadway it is designated for in the major thoroughfare plan. A STANDARD STREET is a street or highway that meets or exceeds those standard specifications and the major thoroughfare plan.
SUBDIVIDER. See DEVELOPER.
SUBDIVISION. The division of any tract or parcel of land into 2 or more lots for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of offer for sale or lease or for the purpose of development. SUBDIVISION includes the division or development of residentially and nonresidentially zoned land, whether by deed, metes and bounds description, devise, intestacy, lease, map, plat, or other recorded instrument. SUBDIVISION also includes re-subdivision. SUBDIVISION also refers to the land to be so divided, as the context may indicate. Certain types of subdivisions do not require approval by the city under the terms of § 155.005(B) of this code.
TEMPORARY IMPROVEMENT. Improvements built and maintained by an owner during construction of the development of the subdivision or addition and prior to release of the performance bond, or improvements required for the short-term use of the property.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION. The height, in relation to the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 (or other accepted datum where specified), of flood various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplain of coastal or riverine areas.
(Ord. 487, passed 7-18-2000; Am. Ord. 737, passed 7-20-2016)