A person owning real property in the Town of Horizon City located inside its municipality and the extraterritorial jurisdiction of municipalities, which has been subdivided into lots or blocks or into small subdivisions, may apply to the City Council for permission to cancel all or part of the subdivision, including a dedicated easement or roadway, to re-establish the property as acreage tracts as it existed before the subdivision.
(Ordinance 0035 adopted 1/11/94)
A fee will be charged to process cancellation actions. This fee will be in an amount specified in the City Subdivision Regulations Fee Schedule and will be paid in full prior to submitting a request to place the cancellation item on the Agenda to be considered by the City Council.
10.2.1 
An application form will be required to initiate a request for any cancellation. This form must be filled out and signed by the person(s) requesting the cancellation, or their agent. Requirements must be met prior to consideration by the City Council.
10.2.2 
The application shall be presented to the City Engineer for review and recommendation to the City Council.
(Ordinance 0035 adopted 1/11/94)
The person making a request for cancellation shall submit a letter to the City Engineering Office. The letter shall state the reason for the request.
10.3.1 
The following documents must be included with the letter:
10.3.1.1 
Approval or concurrence with the request by all adjacent and abutting property owners.
10.3.1.2 
Proof that the cancellation of all or part of the subdivision does not interfere with the established rights of any purchaser who owns any part of the subdivision or proof that the purchasers agree to the cancellation.
10.3.1.3 
Letter (or standard form) from all utility companies (electric, telephone, cable, water and wastewater, gas, etc.) serving the area stating they have no need for any rights-of-way or easements requested for cancellation or a sketch and field notes on any easements to remain.
10.3.1.4 
If the right-of-way or easement to be cancelled was dedicated by a plat approved by an incorporated municipality under their extraterritorial jurisdiction authority, then a letter concurring with the cancellation request must be included.
10.3.2 
The request for cancellation will be placed on the agenda for consideration by the City Council after appropriate public notice has been given.
10.3.3 
On application for cancellation for a subdivision or any phase or identifiable part of a subdivision, including a dedicated easement or roadway, by the owners of seventy-five percent (75%) of the property included in the subdivision, phase, or identifiable part, the City Council 212 [sic], by order, shall authorize the cancellation in the manner and after notice a [of] hearing as provided by Chapter 2 [212] of the Local Government Code. However, if the owners of at least ten percent (10%) of the property affected by the proposed cancellation file written objections to the cancellation to the Council the grant of an order of cancellation is at the discretion of the court.
10.3.4 
Assessment of Taxes.
If delinquent taxes are owed on the subdivision tract for any preceding year, and if the application to cancel the subdivision is granted as provided by this section, the owner of the tract may pay the delinquent taxes on an acreage basis as if the tract had not been subdivided. For the purpose of assessing the tract for a preceding year, the county tax assessor-collector shall back assess the tract on an acreage basis.
(Ordinance 0035 adopted 1/11/94)
To maintain an action to enjoin in the cancellation or closing of a roadway or easement in a subdivision, a person must own a lot or part of the subdivision that:
10.4.1 
Abuts directly on the part of the roadway or easement to be cancelled or closed; or
10.4.2 
Is connected by the part of the roadway or easement to be cancelled or closed, by the most direct feasible route, to:
10.4.2.1 
The nearest remaining public highway, county road, or access road to the public highway or county road; or
10.4.2.2 
Any uncancelled common amenity of the subdivision.
(Ordinance 0035 adopted 1/11/94)
A person who appears before the City Council to protest the cancellation of all or part of a subdivision may maintain an action for damages against the person applying for the cancellation and may recover as damages an amount not to exceed the amount of the person’s original purchase price for property in the cancelled subdivision or part of the subdivision. The person must bring the action within one year after the date of the entry of the City Council order granting the cancellation.
(Ordinance 0035 adopted 1/11/94)
10.6.1 
The request for cancellation will be investigated and a recommendation made by the City Engineer’s Office prior to the public hearing.
10.6.2 
The request for cancellation will be placed on the agenda for consideration by the City Council after appropriate public notice has been given.
10.6.3 
Cancellation requests for private access easements must be negotiated between the grantee and grantor of such easements.
10.6.4 
Cancellation requests for private streets or for reserves must be made to the property owner.
(Ordinance 0035 adopted 1/11/94)
The fee for initiating a cancellation request is to cover the City cost to do the inspection, research and preparation of court documents and is not to be considered a fee for the approval of the cancellation. The fee shall be required whether or not the vacation is approved by the City Council. The fee amount is shown in the City Fee Schedule.
(Ordinance 0035 adopted 1/11/94)