(A) After obtaining approval or conditional approval of a preliminary plat and fulfilling all requirements of the preliminary plat approval, the applicant may, if wishing to proceed with the subdivision, submit an application for a final plat. The application for final plat approval shall be in accordance with all ordinance requirements.
(B) Applications for approval of final plats shall be made to the City Planner on forms prescribed by the city.
(C) At the time of final plat application, all required engineering plans must be approved by the City Engineer and shall be subject to compliance review and approval by the City Engineer.
(D) The City Engineer may require the following additional plans, studies and analyses in conjunction with a final plat application. The documents shall include all information deemed necessary by the City Engineer to adequately protect and preserve the public health, safety and welfare of the applicant and any property impacted by the proposal. Additional plans, studies and analyses:
(1) Drainage study;
(2) Water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer and drainage capacity calculations;
(3) Traffic impact analysis (TIA);
(4) Approved engineering construction drawings for water, sewer, storm sewer and drainage system improvements or changes including any offsite additions, changes or improvements necessary to provide service;
(5) Property survey including topographic and/or boundary satisfactory to the City Engineer;
(6) A milestone schedule showing the planning, design, construction and in service goals for each amenity or feature planned or to be constructed for the subdivision;
(7) Renderings of the typical building(s) proposed for construction in the subdivision;
(8) Renderings of amenities to be constructed in or for the subdivision;
(9) Any other renderings or examples of architectural standards and/or features planned or to be constructed as may be requested by the City Engineer or Planning Board;
(10) Final deed restrictions and articles of any proposed homeowners association, where applicable.
(E) The final plat instrument becomes the official, accurate, permanent record of the division of land. It shall substantially conform in all aspects to the preliminary plat, shall be clearly reproducible on a material acceptable to the County Clerk’s office and shall be certified as hereinafter provided. It may include all or only a portion of the area of the approved preliminary plat.
(F) The final plat shall be in accordance with the approved preliminary plat; provided, however, that, the Planning Board or City Commission may authorize minor adjustments to street and alley alignments, length and lot lines where the Board or Commission determines such adjustments are consistent with the intent and general layout of the approved preliminary plat. Where the final plat deviates from the approved preliminary plat to the extent that the Board or Commission finds such deviation to be significant and not consistent with the intent and general layout of the approved preliminary plat, such final plat shall not be approved until it reflects the originally approved preliminary plat, or a new preliminary plat has been approved in accordance with this chapter.
(G) (1) When a subdivision contains common areas, drainage ways, screening walls, landscaping, subdivision entryway features or other facilities not located within the public right-of-way nor subject to city maintenance, the common areas and improvements shall be shown on the final plat along with an adequate form for dedication thereof. This dedication form shall accomplish the following purposes:
(a) Save the title to common area properties for the responsibility and benefit of the homeowners association;
(b) Express a definite undertaking by the developer to convey the common properties and responsibilities to the homeowners association; and
(c) Tie the covenants and homeowners use provisions to the plat so that collection of fees and denying use is legally supportable.
(2) Prior to recording the plat, the developer shall:
(a) Create an incorporated non-profit homeowners association; and
(b) Record covenants which automatically make every lot owner a mandatory member of the association, give the property owner the right to use the common property and establish his or her voting rights and his or her obligations to pay assessments.
(3) The homeowners association’s restrictive covenants shall provide for continuous maintenance and control of the common areas by a responsible body, in perpetuity, for the benefit of the homeowners without using public funds. Membership in the homeowners association shall run with the title to each lot. Membership in the homeowners association is not voluntary and its primary source of operating funds is a periodic assessment levied against each parcel of land within the development under recorded covenants which shall be incorporated into each deed and which shall run with the land to bind each and every owner of it and which are enforceable as a lien against the land.
(4) A homeowners association (HOA) shall be responsible for maintenance of all landscaping, buffering, screening, irrigation and associated improvements adjacent to residential subdivisions along public thoroughfares and shall have an HOA fee to be levied against each property owner within the subdivision. The HOA covenants shall include a provision that if the HOA defaults, the city shall have the rights of the association to either file a lien on property within the subdivision or assess property owners within the subdivision. This shall include the open space common area designated for screening and buffering. The developer shall establish the HOA, which meets the approval of the City Attorney, prior to the acceptance of all public improvements.
(5) The articles of incorporation of the homeowners association, its bylaws and the restrictive covenants shall be submitted to the City Attorney for approval along with the final plat and shall be recorded as a part thereof.
(6) In the approval of the above documents, the city shall determine that the proper legal position is ensured and that the proposed homeowners association will function properly both during and after the time in which the developer is active in the subdivision. The city may require the association to provide ongoing reporting of budgetary actions, financial reports and collection activity on homeowners’ assessments. Should the funding of the common areas maintenance not support the level of maintenance required by applicable ordinance, the city may require additional security for the provision of such maintenance.
(7) In lieu of creating a homeowners association, the developer may retain responsibility for the common areas, provided the developer guarantees adequate security, to the satisfaction of the City Engineer, to provide for continuous maintenance and control of the common areas by a responsible body, in perpetuity, for the benefit of the homeowners without using public funds.
(H) A completed application for final plat approval shall be acted on by the Planning Board within 30 days following its submittal. The Planning Board shall approve, deny or approve with modifications or conditions. The final plat shall not be filed with the County Clerk until all the following steps are completed:
(1) Required improvements have been made by the subdivider;
(2) The improvements have been inspected and approved by the city;
(3) All utility impact fees have been paid; and
(4) The plat has been signed by the Mayor on behalf of the City Commission.
(I) (1) A surveyor’s certificate in the following form shall be placed on the subdivision plat:
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: I, the undersigned , a Registered Professional Land Surveyor in the State of Texas, hereby certify that this plat is true and correctly made under my supervision and in compliance with City and State survey regulations and laws and made on the ground and that the corner monuments were properly placed under my supervision.
(Seal)
Registered Professional Land Surveyor No.
(2) An engineer’s certificate in the following form shall be placed on the subdivision construction plans:
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: I, the undersigned, ________________, a Professional Engineer Registered in the State of Texas, hereby certify that proper engineering consideration has been given to these plans and all engineering aspects are in compliance with City and State engineering regulations and laws.
(Engineer Seal) Registered Professional Engineer
P.E. Registration No.
(3) An owner’s acknowledgment and certificate of dedication in the following form shall be placed on the subdivision plat:
That (OWNER’S NAME) action herein by and through its duly authorized officers, does hereby adopt this plat designating the herein above described property as (SUBDIVISION NAME), an addition to the City of Texas City, Texas and does hereby dedicate, in fee simple to the public use forever, the streets, alley, and public use areas, shown hereon, and does hereby dedicate the easements shown on the plat for the purposes indicated to the public use forever, said dedications being free and clear of all liens and encumbrances except as shown herein. No buildings, fences, trees, shrubs or other improvements shall be constructed or placed upon, over, or across the easements on said plat. Utility easements may also be used for the mutual use and accommodation of all public utilities desiring to use or using the same unless the easement limits the use to a particular utility or utilities, said use by public utilities being subordinate to the public’s and City of Texas City’s use thereof. The City of Texas City and any public utility shall have the right to remove and keep removed all or part of any buildings, fences, trees, shrubs, or other improvements or growths which in any way endanger or interfere with the construction, maintenance or efficiency of its respective system on any of these easements. The City of Texas City and any public utility shall at all times have the right of ingress and egress to and from and upon any said easement for the purpose of using, constructing, reconstructing, inspecting, patrolling, maintaining and adding to or removing all of part of its respective system without the necessity at any time of procuring the permission of anyone.
(OWNER’S NAME) does hereby bind itself, its successors and assigns to forever warrant and defend all and singular the above described streets, alleys, easements and rights unto the public against every person whomsoever lawfully claiming or to claim the same or any part thereof. This plat approved subject to all platting ordinances, rules, regulations, and resolutions of the City of Texas City.
WITNESS MY HAND THIS DAY OF , 20 .
Signature of Owner
Position in Corporation (if applicable)
Name of Corporation (if applicable)
Lien Holder (if applicable)
If there is no lien holder, add the following statement:
To the best of my knowledge, there are no liens against this property.
Signature of Owner
(4) Notary certificate:
STATE OF
COUNTY OF
Before me, the undersigned authority, a Notary Public in and for the said County and State on this day personally appeared , known to me to be the person whose name is subscribed to the foregoing instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she executed the same in the capacity therein stated.
Given under my hand and seal of office, this day of , 20 .
Notary Public in and for the State of
My commission expires:
(5) Homeowners association form, if applicable, shall be prescribed by the city.
(6) Planning Board signature block.
On the ______ day of ____________, 20___, this plat was duly approved by the Planning Board of the City of Texas City.
Signed:
Secretary of the City of Texas City Planning Board
Signed:
Chairperson of the City of Texas City Planning Board
(7) Construction compliance:
It is understood that if the final plans for (Subdivision Name) are approved by the City Engineer and Planning Board of the City of Texas City, the undersigned will in all things comply with all provisions of such plat and construction plans and will duly perform all construction called for therein, fully and completely. No changes shall be made in construction plans without the consent in writing of the City Engineer being first had and obtained.
Owner Developer
Witnesses:
On the _____ of _____________, 20___.
(8) Certification of approval of City Commission and authority for City Secretary to file plat.
This is to certify that all improvements to (name of subdivision) Subdivision have been completed and accepted by the City of Texas City, Texas, and this subdivision plat is ready for the City Secretary to file said plat in the County Clerk’s office.
Mayor, City of Texas City Texas
(J) Expiration and request for reapproval:
(1) Approval of the final plat shall expire unless the plat is recorded in the office of the County Clerk within a period of 30 months after the date of approval by the Planning Board. Any final plat not filed within such time shall be considered invalid. An extension may be requested upon evidence of substantial completion of public improvements.
(2) Reapproval of a final plat by the Planning Board may be applied for at any time after the approved plat becomes invalid. If the Planning Board, during consideration of the reapproval of any such plat, should deem changes necessary in the reapproval of a final plat in light of new or significant information or requirements, or changes in conditions, it shall so inform the subdivider. A final plat submitted for reapproval shall be prepared in accordance with, and comply with, the requirements of this chapter, the zoning ordinance and all other applicable requirements in effect at the time such application for reapproval is formally filed with the city.
(Ord. 08-29, passed 10-21-2009; Ord. 2023-13, passed 4-19-2023)