This ordinance is adopted under the authority of the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, including particularly Subchapter A and B of Chapter 212 of the Local Government Code.
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)
This Ordinance shall be known as the SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE of the Town of Shady Shores, Texas. It may be renumbered as necessary to be codified within the Municipal Code (the “Code”) of the Town of Shady Shores, (the “Town”).
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)
A. 
It is the intent of the Town of Shady Shores to encourage and promote quality development within the Town consistent with the rural atmosphere and quality of life, as legally permitted for subdivision ordinances. The Town’s approval of construction plans for public improvements and all other construction plans are required separately from the consideration of a preliminary or final plat. Approval of the construction plans is required prior to any permits being issued for the construction of the improvements. The improvements must be constructed with all required inspections, and must pass all inspections, prior to any permits being issued for any private improvements. The construction of private improvements, such as homes to be constructed on an approved platted lot, are regulated by the Zoning Ordinance, and the building codes of the Town.
B. 
Drainage plans required by this ordinance and approved by the Town are to be complied with by the Developer, the Builder, and the Owner of the property. Failure to do so is a violation of this ordinance by the person or entity not complying with the drainage requirements.
C. 
Development proposals may be reviewed for conformance with the Town comprehensive plan, zoning, and development policy. Such proposals are not part of the platting process, and should normally be submitted independently of the platting process. Proposals regarding a change in use should be presented under the Zoning Ordinance. Proposals that request variances to the Town Zoning or Subdivision Ordinances should be submitted as requests for variances, and not as Concept Plans or Development Proposals.
D. 
Private restrictions on land use (Deed restrictions, Restrictive Covenants, etc.) imposed not by the Town by ordinance, but contractually by current or prior owners, or Property Owners Associations, are not enforced by the Town, and are to be enforced by those creating and imposing them on the property, or their successors. Any exceptions to this policy requires specific written authority from the Town Council.
E. 
It is the policy of the Town of Shady Shores to consider the subdivision of land and the subsequent development of the subdivided lots as subject to the control of the municipality pursuant to the ordinances of the municipality to promote the health, safety, morals, or general welfare of the municipality and the safe, orderly, and healthful development of the municipality.
F. 
Land to be subdivided shall be of such character that it can be used safely for building purposes without danger to health or peril from fire, flood, or other menace. Land shall not be developed until available public facilities and improvements exist and proper provision has been made for drainage, water, sewage, roadways and related capital improvements.
G. 
The existing and proposed public improvements shall conform to and be properly related to the proposals shown in the comprehensive plan or adopted development policies, and the capital budget and program of the municipality. It is intended that these regulations shall supplement and facilitate the enforcement of the provisions and standards contained in building and housing codes, the comprehensive plan, adopted development plans, the zoning ordinance, and the capital improvements program of the Town of Shady Shores.
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)
These regulations are adopted for the following purposes:
A. 
To protect and provide for the public health, safety, and general welfare of the municipality in accordance with state law.
B. 
To guide the future growth and development of the municipality, in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance, the Comprehensive Plan and adopted Development Policies.
C. 
To provide for adequate light, air, and privacy, to secure safety from fire, flood, and other danger, and to prevent overcrowding of the land and undue congestion of population.
D. 
To protect the character and the social and economic stability of all parts of the municipality and to encourage the orderly and beneficial development of all parts of the Town of Shady Shores.
E. 
To protect and conserve the value of land throughout the Town of Shady Shores and the value of buildings and improvements upon the land.
F. 
To guide public and private policy and action in order to provide adequate and efficient transportation, water, sewage, drainage, schools, parks, playgrounds, recreation, and other public requirements and facilities.
G. 
To provide the most beneficial relationship between the uses of land and buildings and the circulation of traffic throughout the City, having particular regard to the avoidance of congestion in the streets, and the pedestrian traffic movements appropriate to the various uses of land and buildings, and to provide for the proper location and width of streets and building lines.
H. 
To establish reasonable standards of design and procedures for subdivisions and replats, in order to further the orderly layout and to insure proper legal descriptions and monumenting of subdivided land.
I. 
To insure that public improvements are available and shall have a sufficient capacity to serve the proposed subdivision or development.
J. 
To prevent the pollution of air, streams, and ponds, to assure the adequacy of drainage facilities; and to encourage the wise use and management of natural resources throughout the Town in order to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the community and the value of the land.
K. 
To preserve the natural beauty and topography of the municipality and to insure appropriate development with regard to trees and other natural features.
L. 
To provide for open spaces through the most efficient design and layout of the land.
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)
This ordinance is to be interpreted in compliance with state and federal law. Any conflict between the terms of this ordinance and the state and/or federal law is to be resolved and enforced in accord with those laws.
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)
A. 
Every owner of every tract of land located within the corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of the Town of Shady Shores who divides the tract into two or more parts as provided in Chapter 212 Subchapter A and B, of the Local Government Code shall cause a plat to be made by a registered public surveyor which shall accurately describe all the said tracts by previously platted lot or block number or by metes and bounds if necessary and locate same as required by this Ordinance. All platted lots shall meet the minimum frontage required by the Zoning Ordinance onto a paved street meeting the right-of-way and pavement requirements of the Thoroughfare Plan to have adequate access to conform to Section 212.004(a) of the Texas Local Government Code.
B. 
No land shall be subdivided within the corporate limits of the Town of Shady Shores or its extraterritorial jurisdiction until:
1. 
The subdivider/owner of property, with any proposed public infrastructure construction, has submitted and obtained a review of the proposal required in this ordinance by the Staff or Planning and Zoning Commission; and
2. 
The subdivider/owner has obtained approval of the Preliminary Plat (when required) and/or Final Plat by the Planning and Zoning Commission and/or Town Council; or, as authorized elsewhere in this ordinance, by staff review as evidenced by the approval of any two of the Mayor, City Secretary/City Administrator; City Engineer and/or City Attorney; and
3. 
An approved final plat is filed with the Denton County Clerk. To be recorded, the plat at a minimum must provide the following, and such other provisions as this ordinance requires:
(a) 
describe the subdivision by metes and bounds;
(b) 
locate the subdivision with respect to a corner of the survey or tract or an original corner of the original survey of which it is a part; and
(c) 
state the dimensions of the subdivision and of each street, alley, square, park, or other part of the tract intended to be dedicated to public use or for the use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting on or adjacent to the street, alley, square, park, or other part.
(d) 
The owner or proprietor of the tract or the owner’s or proprietor’s agent must acknowledge the plat in the manner required for the acknowledgment of deeds.
(e) 
The plat must be filed and recorded with the county clerk of the county in which the tract is located.
(f) 
The plat is subject to the filing and recording provisions of Section 12.002, Texas Property Code.
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)
A. 
No plat shall be filed of record, no lot may be sold and no transfer of title to any part of such tract shall be made, and no tract of land within the corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of the Town of Shady Shores shall be improved until a plat shall have been approved by the Staff, Planning and Zoning Commission, and/or Town Council, dependent on the type of plat and the action requested.
B. 
No plat shall be approved by the Staff, Planning and Zoning or Town Council unless the plat contains a dedication of land for public improvements and public purposes in accordance with the minimum requirements and standards set forth in this ordinance. Every owner of property which shall hereafter be subdivided into two or more parts or platted into a single lot, shall be required to dedicate to the City that portion of such property as is necessary for the orderly development of streets, roadways, thoroughfares, utilities, emergency access, or other public purposes, and such dedication requirements, as imposed, shall be a prerequisite to plat approval.
C. 
No plat shall be recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission or approved by the Town Council unless each lot, block or tract therein fronts upon a dedicated street. The Town Council or Planning and Zoning Commission may grant an exception in the case of approved private streets.
D. 
No changes, erasures, modifications or revisions shall be made in any plat of a subdivision after approval has been given by the Town Council and endorsed on the plat in writing, unless said change, revision or modification is first submitted to and approved by the Town Council.
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)
A. 
The subdivider shall furnish, install and/or construct the water and sewerage systems and the street and drainage facilities necessary for the proper development of the subdivision. All such facilities shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the Design Provisions provided by LCMUA, and other standards, specifications, and drawings as may be hereafter adopted, approved by the Town Council and LCMUA. No new subdivision with lots less than one acre shall be approved unless each lot is connected to the Town’s public sanitary sewer system, provided by LCMUA.
B. 
When considered necessary by the Town Engineer, and/or as recommended by the Commission or shown on the master plan, the facilities shall be sized in excess of that dictated by the design criteria to provide for future growth and expansion.
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)
A. 
No construction of any public improvements shall be initiated by the developer/owner until:
(1) 
a final plat has been approved by Staff Review, the Planning and Zoning Commission and/or the Town Council, as required in this ordinance;
(2) 
a Subdivider’s Agreement, if required, has been approved by the Town Council and signed by the Mayor;
(3) 
all performance and maintenance bonds, or their equivalent, have been provided to the Town;
(4) 
all inspection and permit fees in accordance with the Fee Schedule have been paid; and
(5) 
a Notice to proceed is issued by the Town Engineer.
B. 
No building permit (including plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits), on-site sewage facility permit, final inspection, certificate of occupancy or other such permit or certificate shall be issued on any tract of land within the corporate limits of the Town unless a plat meeting the requirements of Subchapter A or B of Chapter 212 of the Local Government Code, and in accordance with the provisions of the Subdivision Ordinance, is approved and filed in plat records of Denton County, Texas and all public improvements have been accepted by the Town.
C. 
PERMIT ISSUANCE:
No Building permit, or any sewer, plumbing or electrical permit shall be issued by the Town to the owner or any other person with respect to any property in the subdivision until:
1. 
Such time as the subdivider/owner has fully completed the improvements required to be made by the terms of this ordinance, including the installation of streets with proper paving, drainage structures or improvements, alleys and the installation of water and sanitary sewer mains, all according to the specifications of the Town and any other required public improvements; and/or
2. 
The construction of public improvements suspended due to a stop-work order issued by the Town has been allowed to proceed; and/or
3. 
A Subdivider Agreement, if required, has been executed in accordance with Article VI, Section 6.1 of this ordinance and the required performance bond, meeting the requirements set forth in Article VI, Section 6.2 sufficient to pay for the cost of such improvements, as approved by the Town, has been furnished to the Mayor or designee.
D. 
The Town shall not repair, install, maintain, or provide any streets or other public services in a subdivision unless a final plat has been approved in accordance with this ordinance and filed of record, and unless the standards and requirements of this ordinance have been complied with in full, and the city has specifically agreed to undertake the work.
E. 
The Town shall require that franchised utilities not sell or supply any water, telephone, electrical, or natural gas service within a subdivision until a preliminary plat has been approved in accordance with this ordinance and filed of record, and until all requirements of this ordinance have been complied with in full except in the event of an emergency upon the approval of the Town Council.
F. 
The provisions of this Section shall not be construed to prohibit the issuance of any permits or certificates for any lot upon which a residence building was in existence prior to passage of this Ordinance, nor to prohibit the repair, maintenance or installation of any street or public utility services for, to, or abutting any lot and/or any subdivision, recorded or unrecorded, which was in existence prior to the passage of this Ordinance.
G. 
No building permit shall be issued by the Town for any structure on any lot in a subdivision which is not serviceable by the community sanitary sewerage collection and treatment system, unless a valid septic tank permit or on-site sewage (aerobic) system permit for the specific lot has been obtained from the Town.
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)
Any dedication of streets, utilities, easements, public areas or other land shown on a plat shall be deemed to be an offer of dedication which may be withdrawn by the subdivider/owner at any time prior to the filing of the plat in the deed records. Withdrawal of any such dedication shall void any previous approval of the plat. Approval of a plat by the Town Council shall not be deemed an acceptance of any proposed dedication and shall not impose any duty on the Town concerning the improvements or maintenance of such dedication until the Town has actually improved the same or has made entry thereon or use thereof.
A. 
For any subdivision for which a plat has been filed for record, or where land has been divided by metes and bounds and no plat filed for record, and which has not been approved according to these regulations, or which fails to meet the standards contained or referred to herein, the Staff or the Planning and Zoning Commission shall recommend to the Town Council the adoption of a Resolution concerning such failures or lack of approval and indicating that same is in violation of the provisions of this Ordinance. The Town shall cause a copy of such Resolution, signed by the Mayor and attested to and notarized by the Town Secretary or designee, to be filed in the Deed Records of Denton County.
B. 
If compliance and approval are secured following the filing of said Resolution, the Town shall file in the Deed Records of Denton County an instrument which, in effect, rescinds such earlier filed resolution.
C. 
Disapproval of a plat by the Council shall be deemed a refusal by the Town to accept the offered dedications shown thereon. Approval of a plat shall not impose any duty upon the Town concerning the maintenance or improvement of any such dedicated parts until the proper authorities of the Town have actually appropriated the same by entry, use, or improvement. Any such dedication, before or after actual appropriation may be vacated by the Council in any manner provided by law.
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)
The Town Council may from time to time amend this Ordinance, in accordance with appropriate procedures provided by law.
(Ordinance 130 adopted 6/5/00; Ordinance 300-03-17 adopted 3/13/17; Ordinance 329-12-2019 adopted 12/9/19)