A. 
The city hereby defines its policy to be that the city will withhold all city services or improvements of whatsoever nature, including the maintenance of streets, the furnishing of sewage facilities, water service and electric service from all additions until the subdivision is accepted by the city.
(Ordinance 00-823, sec. 6, adopted 2/8/00)
Before approving the final plat of a subdivision located all or partially within the city and/or the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, the city council must be satisfied that all public improvements required will be constructed in accordance with the requirements of this ordinance. The subdivider shall, unless the city council has determined otherwise, guarantee these public improvements will be constructed in one of the following ways:
A. 
Deposit a certified check with, and payable to, the city in an amount equal to the cost to complete such public improvements, including the cost of remaining engineering and inspection services; or
B. 
Furnish the city with a performance bond executed by a surety company authorized to do business in the State of Texas in an amount equal to the cost to complete such public improvements. The performance bond shall be subject to the approval of the city attorney and must be executed by a corporate surety in conformance to V.T.C.A., Government Code ch. 2253; or
C. 
The subdivider shall furnish the city with a letter of credit payable by an acceptable financial institution to the city in a form approved by the city attorney, guaranteeing the payment of an amount equal to the cost to complete such public improvements. The letter of credit shall be irrevocable and shall be for a term sufficient to cover the 12-month period, plus an additional 30 calendar days, and require only that the city present the issuer a letter signed by an authorized representative of the city certifying to the city's right to draw or collect funds under the specific terms of the letter of credit.
D. 
Subdivision improvement agreement.
In the event that an adequate water system and sanitary sewer system are not installed prior to approval of the final plat, the city, in its discretion, may permit the subdivider to enter into a subdivision improvement agreement by which the subdivider covenants to complete all required improvements to the water system and the sanitary sewer system no later than two years following approval of the final plat. The agreement shall be in a form acceptable to the city attorney and shall be accompanied by construction plans approved by the city engineer. The agreement shall set forth the estimated costs of the improvement, the schedule for initiation and completion of the improvement, a requirement that the improvement be designed and completed to city standards, provision for city participation in the costs of the improvement, if any, and such other terms and conditions as are deemed necessary by the city. All subdivision improvement agreements shall be approved at the same time the final plat is approved.
E. 
Upon the requirements of this section being satisfied, the final plat shall be considered fully approved, except as otherwise provided for in these regulations, [and] the original copy of the final plat shall be signed by the appropriate city officials. The city secretary shall cause said final plat to be in the plat records of Denton County, Texas, or forwarded to Denton County for final approval and recordation.
F. 
In the event that a performance bond or a letter of credit is the method selected by the subdivider for guaranteeing such improvements, such document shall be subject to the condition that the public improvements will be completed within 18 months after approval of the final plat by the city council, unless a longer time (up to one year longer) is approved by the city manager or his designee, upon the determination that such longer time period would not be unreasonable. In the event that the required public improvements guaranteed by such performance bond and/or such letter of credit are not or will not be completed within the time specified by the city council, the city council shall have the authority to extend the time period within which the subdivider shall complete the public improvements, subject to the extension of the expiration date of the approval of the plat, performance bond or letter of credit. If a letter of credit or performance bond is selected as a method of ensuring the improvements are properly installed, the city may require at its discretion that five percent of the cost of the improvement(s) or $25,000.00, whichever is less, be deposited in an escrow account at the city. The escrow is in addition to the letter of credit or performance bond. The city will notify the developer/applicant prior to approval of the final plat that this requirement will apply. Should the city be required to finish the improvements, then the cash escrow will be used first. If the developer satisfactorily installs the improvements, the cash escrow shall be returned when the subdivision is accepted by the city.
(Ordinance 00-823, sec. 6, adopted 2/8/00)
A. 
Waiver of security.
The city council may waive all or a portion of the security requirements of this section if it finds that the public health, safety and general welfare will not be harmed by such waiver. The council shall take into consideration the extent of public improvements to be installed, and the likelihood that such improvements will be installed by the subdivider within the 12-month period, the impact, that may result, if such improvements are not timely installed, and the hardship to the subdivider if the security requirements are imposed.
B. 
Release of security.
As any portions of the public improvements are completed in accordance with the applicable construction standards, the subdivider may make application to the administrative officer to reduce the amount of the original letter of credit, performance bond or certified check. If the city council is satisfied that such portions of the public improvements have been completed in accordance with city standards, said city council may cause the amount of the letter of credit, performance bond or certified check to be reduced by such amount that the council deems appropriate, so that the remaining amount of the letter of credit, performance bond or certified check adequately ensures the completion of the remaining public improvements.
C. 
Determination of amount.
A professional engineer licensed to practice in the State of Texas shall furnish estimates of the costs of engineering and construction of all required improvements to the administrative officer or city engineer who shall review the estimates in order to determine the adequacy of the guarantee instrument for ensuring the construction of the required facilities.
(Ordinance 00-823, sec. 6, adopted 2/8/00)
Approval of the construction plans for final plats shall be deemed to have expired in subdivisions for which no assurances for completion have been posted or the improvements have been completed with the period of one year. In those cases where a surety instrument has been required and improvements have not been completed within the terms of said surety instrument, the city shall declare the surety to be in default and require that all the improvements be installed, unless extended under the provisions of this section.
(Ordinance 00-823, sec. 6, adopted 2/8/00)
A. 
No construction improvements shall be approved or accepted by the city until a maintenance bond in the sum of ten percent of the improvement costs is presented to the city. The maintenance bond shall be in effect for a period of two years from the date of acceptance of the construction improvements by the city. The maintenance bond shall cover all construction improvements and all required landscaping. The maintenance bond shall be written by a surety company, or companies, duly and legally authorized to act as sureties in the State of Texas.
B. 
All contractors on construction contracts with the city, in addition to payment and performance bonds, shall submit to the city a maintenance bond in an amount equal to 100 percent of the construction contract, to be in effect for a period of one year after completion and acceptance of the project by the city.
C. 
The city shall withhold the issuing of a building permit for any building in the city on a newly subdivided parcel of land until all the requirements of these subdivision regulations have been complied with, including installation and acceptance by the city of all waterworks, sewage and paving improvements for the area designated, except as herein provided. The building official and city engineer may release up to ten percent of the newly subdivided parcel or parcels of land for building permit certification, provided that all street paving and utilities relating to said land are complete. Final certificates of occupancy or inspections shall not be issued until final acceptance of the subdivision and its improvements by the city per section 6.6.
(Ordinance 00-823, sec. 6, adopted 2/8/00)
When all development regulations and ordinances are satisfied and the street, alley, drainage, water and sanitary sewer improvements and any other required public improvements provided by the developer have been completely performed on the part of the contractor, the contractor shall notify the city that the improvements are ready for final inspection. The city will then make such final inspections, and if the installation of public improvements is complete and satisfactory and in accordance with (i) the approved engineering plans, and (ii) the approved final tree mitigation plan (whether trees are preserved, replaced or removed), and the subdivision is in compliance with all development regulations and all other ordinances of the city, as determined by the city manager or director of public works, then the city will issue a letter of acceptance to the developer or owner with a copy to the contractor. The foregoing requirements shall be express conditions of subdivision acceptance by the city. The city manager or director of public works shall write the letter of acceptance.
The city shall inspect all required improvements to ensure compliance with city requirements and approved construction, engineering, and final tree mitigation plans. When all required improvements have been satisfactorily completed in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the city shall either accept, in writing, the improvements as having been satisfactorily completed or shall issue a punch list to the developer denoting items remaining to be completed. The city shall not accept the subdivision, dedications of required improvements, release or reduce a performance bond or other assurance, or issue any building permit until such time as it determined that:
A. 
All improvements, including compliance with any approved final tree mitigation plan, have been satisfactorily completed; and
B. 
The required number of as-built or record drawing plans have been submitted to and accepted by the city; and
C. 
The required maintenance guarantee has been provided; and
D. 
Any and all other requirements identified in this ordinance or other city codes and ordinances have been satisfied.
(Ordinance 00-823, sec. 6, adopted 2/8/00)