A. 
The requirements of these subdivision regulations as set forth below are designed and intended to ensure that for all subdivisions of land within the scope of these subdivision regulations all improvements as required herein are installed properly and:
1. 
The city can provide for the orderly and economical extension of public facilities and services; and
2. 
All purchasers of property within the subdivision shall have a usable, buildable parcel of land; and
3. 
All required improvements are constructed in accordance with city standards.
B. 
Adequate public facilities policy.
The land to be divided or developed must be served adequately by essential public facilities and services. No subdivision shall be approved unless and until adequate public facilities exist or provision has been made for water facilities, wastewater facilities, drainage facilities, electricity and street facilities which are necessary to serve the development proposed, whether or not such facilities are to be located within the property being platted or off-site. This policy may be defined further and supplemented by other ordinances adopted by the city. Utilities shall be extended to all adjacent property lines to allow connection of these utilities by adjacent property owners when such property is platted.
C. 
The public improvements required by the City of Highland Village for the acceptance of the subdivision by the city shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. 
Water and wastewater facilities;
2. 
Drainage facilities;
3. 
Streets;
4. 
Streetlights;
5. 
Street signs;
6. 
Sidewalks;
7. 
Traffic-control devices required as part of the project;
8. 
Trees, under an approved final tree mitigation plan, whether preserved, replaced, or removed; and
9. 
Appurtenances to the above, and any other public facilities required as part of the proposed subdivision.
D. 
All aspects of the design and implementation of public improvements shall comply with the current design standards and any other applicable city codes and ordinances, including preparation and submittal of construction plans and construction inspection. The construction of all of the improvements required in this ordinance shall conform to the latest edition of the TCSS manuals.
E. 
Changes or amendments to the TCSS manuals and other construction/design documents.
The Technical Construction Standards and Specifications (TCSS) manuals will, from time to time require revisions and updates to allow for changing construction technology. When changes are required, the TCSS manuals may be amended separately from this document. The TCSS manuals referenced by the subdivision ordinance shall be amended as a separate resolution.
(Ordinance 00-823, sec. 5, adopted 2/8/00)
In all subdivisions and additions, corners shall be established at the corner of each block in the subdivision consisting of an iron rod or pipe not less than one-half inch in diameter and 18 inches deep flush with the top of the ground. Lot corner monuments shall be placed at all lot corners except corners which are also block corners, consisting of iron rods or pipes of a diameter of not less than one-half inch and 18 inches deep, set flush with the top of the ground. In addition, curve point markers shall be established of the same specifications as lot corners. Each block corner monument shall include a cap with the surveyor's name and registration number attached to it. All block corners shall be installed prior to the final inspection of the subdivision by the city. Lot corners shall be installed prior to issuance of a building permit.
(Ordinance 99-815, sec. 1, adopted 10/26/99)
A. 
Before final acceptance of streets, alleys, sewers and other utilities, streetlight locations and installations shall be coordinated by the developer with the power company and the City of Highland Village. It shall be the subdivider's responsibility to install streetlights with metal poles (or approved similar material) at street intersections and at a maximum distance of 600 feet apart except where curb grades or terrain requires additional lighting, and at the terminus of cul-de-sacs. The developer shall pay for the electricity until building permits are issued for two years from the date of installation, after which the city shall pay for the electricity.
B. 
Street lighting shall be installed to provide an average of 0.4 footcandle per square foot on the roadway between curbs. The lowest intensity at any point should not be less than 0.1 footcandle per square foot. Street lighting materials shall be approved by the city engineer.
(Ordinance 99-815, sec. 1, adopted 10/26/99)
A. 
Street names.
Names of new streets shall not duplicate or cause confusion with the names of existing streets, unless the new streets are a continuation of or in alignment with existing streets, in which case names of existing streets shall be used.
B. 
Street signs.
Street name signs shall be installed by the subdivider for all intersections (or corners) within or abutting the subdivision. Such signs shall be of a type approved by the city, and shall be installed by the developer as per City of Highland Village standards as noted in the TCSS manuals.
(Ordinance 99-815, sec. 1, adopted 10/26/99)
A. 
All on-site streets and alleys shall be constructed by the developer at the developer's expense unless otherwise allowed by this ordinance.
B. 
The minimum street and alley curb and gutter standards for which the construction shall be made by the developer are shown in the TCSS manuals.
C. 
In addition to the above-mentioned minimum standards, curb ramps for the handicapped shall be constructed to comply with section 228 of the Highway Safety Act, as currently amended, and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1991.
D. 
All signs and barricades shall be in conformity with the manual or ADA specifications for uniform traffic-control devices as adopted by the state transportation commission.
E. 
Approval is required prior to the installation of any driveway connecting to a public street. The director of public works shall approve all driveway cuts.
(Ordinance 99-815, sec. 1, adopted 10/26/99)
A. 
Retaining wall requirements.
When property within or directly adjacent to a subdivision contains changes in elevation exceeding 2.5 feet and the slope exceeds one unit vertical in two units horizontal, a retaining wall shall be required at the locations specified herein prior to the acceptance of the subdivision.
Location A. The grade change roughly follows a side or rear lot line.
Location B. The grade change is adjacent to a proposed building site boundary.
Location C. The grade change is adjacent to a watercourse or drainage easement.
B. 
Retaining wall design and construction.
All retaining wall design and construction shall be in compliance with the provisions of the building code of the City of Highland Village.
C. 
Retaining wall maintenance.
Retaining walls shall be maintained by the owner of the property where such retaining wall is located.
(Ordinance 99-815, sec. 1, adopted 10/26/99)
A. 
Screening.
1. 
Where subdivisions are platted so that the rear or side yards of single-family or two-family residential lots are adjacent to an arterial thoroughfare (greater than 60 feet in right-of-way width on the thoroughfare plan including FM 407 and FM 2499 or the roadway commonly known as the North-South Arterial), a four-lane collector street, or are separated from a thoroughfare by an alley, or back up to a collector or residential street, the developer shall provide, at his sole expense, screening according to the following alternatives and standards. All screening shall be adjacent to the right-of-way on the residential lot in a landscape easement, or homeowners' association common area (if desired by the subdivider), or in the right-of-way under an approved landscape plan submitted in conjunction with the preliminary plat. All forms of screening shall conform to the requirements of other ordinances in the city governing sight distance for traffic safety.
2. 
Screening alternatives:
Screening shall be provided in accordance with one of the alternatives set forth in Appendix A. Screening walls are required to be constructed to standards and criteria as set forth in Figure 2 of Appendix A. In all screening alternatives, the subdivider shall be required to preserve, transplant, or plant trees a minimum of four inches in caliper chosen from the recommended tree list in appendix A and spaced at 30 feet. Trees of six-inch to eight-inch caliper that are transplanted from the right-of-way to other locations within the same right-of-way shall receive double the credit in the tree credit schedule below. Trees shall be installed no closer than five feet from the back of curb. Any trees preserved in the right-of-way listed on the recommended tree list may be credited toward meeting the tree planting requirement of this section according to the following table:
TREE CREDIT SCHEDULE
Caliper (Diameter)
Tree Credits
Less than 4 inches
0
4-6 inches
1
7-10 inches
2
11-14 inches
3
15-20 inches
4
21-26 inches
5
27-32 inches
6
Greater than 32 inches
7
Editor's note–Figure 2, referred to in subsection 2. above, is not printed herein.
3. 
A maintenance easement five feet in width shall be dedicated to the city adjacent to the screening wall.
4. 
The screening wall shall be installed prior to the final acceptance of the subdivision. If construction occurs during a time of year where it would needlessly damage transplanted plants, then landscape materials may be installed after the subdivision is accepted, upon approval of the city manager, but in no case later than six months.
5. 
All plants (trees, shrubs, ground cover) shall be living and in sound, healthy, vigorous growing condition.
6. 
All masonry, steel and/or aluminum screening wall plans and details shall be approved and sealed by a registered professional engineer. All masonry screening walls shall be level step down type walls and shall be designed and constructed per the standard construction details. See exhibit "A" [attached to the ordinance from which this subsection derives]. Galvanized ladder wire shall be hot-dipped galvanized. Top of walls shall remain level between columns. The bottom of the wall shall step with grade. The use of prefabricated, patterned panels is prohibited. The contractor shall coordinate work with the owner's representative and other contractors in order to expedite the work and prevent damage to work by others. The contractor shall verify site conditions and utility locations. They shall notify the owner's representative of discrepancies prior to commencing the work. The contractor shall be responsible for compliance with applicable codes and obtaining required permits.
7. 
Required wall heights, including spans between columns, shall be from six feet to eight feet.
B. 
Entryway features (neighborhood identification).
1. 
Subdivisions in excess of ten platted lots may provide a low maintenance landscaped entryway feature at access points from streets and thoroughfares into the subdivision. The entryway feature shall be placed in an easement identified for such use adjacent to or in the right-of-way and observe sight-visibility requirements.
2. 
Design requirements. The entryway feature shall include living landscaped materials as specified in Appendix A. Wall materials shall be the same as specified in Appendix A. The design of the entryway feature shall also include an irrigation system, subdivision identification (signage located on the wall). All plants shall be living and in a sound, healthy, vigorous growing condition.
3. 
The design of the entryway shall be in accordance with design policies as provided by city staff. The design of the entry shall be reflected on the engineering plans submitted with the final plat.
4. 
The maintenance of the entryway shall be the responsibility of the developer for a period of two years or when building permits are issued for 80 percent of the lots in the subdivision, whichever is sooner.
C. 
[Tree protection measures.]
Tree protection measures shall include all of the following:
(1) 
Prior to construction, all protected trees as shown on the approved tree mitigation plan shall be clearly marked with a barrier consisting of a four-foot barricade fence or approved equivalent to protect the area under the canopy or drip line of any protected tree of group of protected trees.
(2) 
During construction, the subdivider shall prohibit the cleaning of equipment or storage of materials and the disposal of any waste material including, but not limited to, paint, oil, solvents, asphalt, concrete, mortar, etc., under the canopy or drip line of any protected tree of group of protected trees.
(3) 
No attachments or wires of any kind, other than those of a protective nature, shall be attached to any protected tree.
(4) 
On any building lot containing grade changes of six inches or greater, a retaining wall or tree well of rock, brick, landscape timbers or other approved materials shall be constructed around the tree. Such tree well shall protect not less than 75 percent of the area within the drip line of the tree.
(5) 
Prior to land development of a subdivision, the developer shall establish designated parking areas for the parking and maintenance of all vehicles, trailers, construction equipment and related items and designated stockpile areas for the storage of construction supplies and materials during construction of the subdivision. The location and dimensions of said designated areas and proposed batch plants shall be clearly identified on the subdivision construction plans, site plans and tree mitigation plans and shall be approved by the director of public works or his authorized designee prior to construction or land development of the subdivision. Said designated areas shall be completely fenced with chain-link fencing and have gates for safety purposes and to separate protected trees from the construction area and related construction activity. With the approval of the director of public works or his authorized designee, the designated parking and stockpile areas may be combined into one fenced area, provided the preservation of protected trees is not adversely affected or jeopardized. Supplies and materials such as backfill, bedding material, drainage pipe and other items which are customarily unloaded where installed shall not be required to be stored within the designated stockpile areas.
(Ordinance 99-815, sec. 1, adopted 10/26/99)
A. 
The installation of all water and wastewater lines shall be in conformance with the TCSS manuals.
B. 
No final plat shall be approved for any subdivision within the city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction until the subdivider has made adequate provision for a water system and a sanitary sewer system of sufficient capacity to adequately provide service to all tracts and lots within the plat to be subdivided. The design and construction of the water system and of the sanitary sewer system to serve the subdivision shall be in substantial conformance with the city's master plan for water and wastewater facilities.
C. 
Water system with mains of sufficient size and having a sufficient number of outlets to furnish adequate domestic water supply, [and] furnish fire protection to all lots shall be provided. Water lines shall extend to the property line and a box for the water meter shall be installed.
D. 
Services for utilities shall be made available to the property line of each lot in such a manner as will obviate the necessity for disturbing the street pavement and drainage structure when connections are made.
E. 
Fire hydrants shall be installed in residential areas every 500 feet of laying distance and in nonresidential area every 300 feet of laying distance.
(Ordinance 96-742, sec. 1, adopted 12/10/96)
A. 
When a proposed subdivision of land, whether residential or nonresidential, abuts on both sides of an existing substandard street, or on one side of said road, being substandard according to the then-existing current thoroughfare plan, the developer may be required to improve the existing on-site facility as that term is defined herein, including on-site sidewalks, landscaping, and storm sewers and other utilities as defined in section 1.16, to bring the same to city standards, or to replace it with a standard city street as determined by the traffic impact analysis (see section 3) at no cost to the city.
B. 
The subdivider shall be responsible for construction of a minimum of one-half (or all as the case may be according to A through C) of the width of a residential street adjacent to the site. For the purposes of this ordinance, residential properties shall be responsible for 26 feet (or 15-1/2 feet if adjacent to only one side) of paving. All other uses shall be responsible for 37 feet of paving (or 18-1/2 feet if adjacent to only one side). In lieu of construction, a proportionate fee for curbs, gutters, sidewalks, storm drainage, streetlights, and street signs may be assessed against any perimeter road which shall be determined in the subdivision improvement agreement. The perimeter and off-site streets required for improvement shall be determined by the traffic impact analysis outlined in section 3.
C. 
Streets which dead-end at power lines or similar rights-of-way, and which are intended for future extension across these rights-of-way, shall be constructed in the right-of-way for half the distance across the rights-of-way. Streets which dead-end at railroad rights-of-way shall not be required to be constructed over the railroad right-of-way by the subdivider, but an agreement must be reached regarding the timing and construction of the crossing by the railroad owner.
(Ordinance 96-742, sec. 1, adopted 12/10/96)
A. 
An adequate storm sewer system consisting of inlets, pipes, and other underground structures with approved outlets shall be constructed where runoff of stormwater and the prevention of erosion cannot be accomplished satisfactorily by surface drainage facilities. Areas subject to flood conditions as established by the city will not be considered for development until adequate drainage has been provided.
B. 
The criteria for use in designing storm sewers, culverts, bridges, drainage channels, and drainage facilities shall conform to the City of Highland Village's drainage criteria in the TCSS manuals. In no case shall drainage areas be diverted artificially to adjacent properties.
C. 
The developer shall ensure all drainage improvements in public easements or rights-of-way are functioning properly prior to the expiration of the maintenance bond. The developer shall be responsible for removing any significant buildup of sediment and/or trash from all drainage improvements, with the exception of backlot and sidelot drainage swales, at the 11th month of the second year for the required two-year maintenance bond for the applicable facilities. The city shall inspect the improvements to determine any maintenance or correction of deficiencies at the conclusion of this period.
(Ordinance 96-742, sec. 1, adopted 12/10/96)
In the case where a non-municipally owned water utility is required, by law, to serve properties within the corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city (the properties), the non-municipal water utility shall meet the following requirements:
A. 
Provide sufficient, dependable water storage facilities for the property that is to be served. Water storage capacity shall be based on criteria included in the most recent report on the city's water CIP. Any plans and specifications prepared for the purpose of construction of water storage facilities designed to serve properties shall bear the seal of a registered professional engineer licensed in Texas and approved by the city.
B. 
Provide sufficient, dependable water transmission facilities for the properties that are to be served. Water transmission facilities shall be constructed to transport water sufficient to meet design flows, i.e., peak hour demand plus fire flow requirements (one case). Capacities for water transmission facilities shall be based on criteria included in the most recent report on the city's CIP. Any plans and specifications prepared for the purpose of construction of water transmission facilities shall bear the seal of a registered professional engineer and shall certify the sufficiency of transmission facilities as meeting design flow requirements. Any plans and specifications prepared for the purpose of construction of water distribution facilities to properties shall bear the seal of a registered professional engineer designing the facilities and shall bear the seal of the engineer representing the non-municipal water utility certifying the sufficiency of distribution facilities as meeting design flow requirements.
C. 
Provide sewage metering devices, if required by the public works director or his designee, prior to acceptance of sewage flows from the properties which are provided water by the non-municipal water utility. Sewage metering devices may be required at each individual resident at the discretion of the city if the non-municipal water utility does not have an agreement with the city for collection of sewage charges, utilizing alternative metering methods.
D. 
Provide for bacteriological tests to be performed on water supplied by the non-municipal water utility to the properties served. The non-municipal water utility shall be responsible, at its expense, for sampling and testing in accordance with TNRCC standard procedures and shall be responsible for submitting results of the bacteriological tests to the city.
E. 
Determine chlorine residual by following the city's standard testing procedures. Chlorine residual testing shall be performed on a daily basis at points in the non-municipal water utility's water transmission facilities and the properties distribution system as designated by the city.
(Ordinance 96-742, sec. 1, adopted 12/10/96)