(a)
These
subdivision regulations of the city are designed and intended to achieve
the following purposes and shall be administered so as to:
(1)
Promote the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the community
and the safe, orderly and healthful development of the city;
(2)
Establish adequate policies and procedures to guide development of
the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction;
(3)
Provide for the establishment of minimum specifications for construction
and engineering design criteria for public infrastructure improvements
to maintain land values, reduce inconveniences to residents of the
area, and to reduce related unnecessary costs to the city for correction
of inadequate facilities that are designed to serve the public;
(4)
Ensure that development of land and subdivisions shall be of such
nature, shape, and location that utilization will not impair the general
welfare;
(5)
Ensure against the dangers of fires, floods, erosion, landslides,
or other such menaces;
(6)
Preserve the natural beauty and topography of the city and to ensure
appropriate development with regard to these natural features;
(7)
Realistically and harmoniously relate new development of adjacent
properties;
(8)
Provide the most beneficial circulation of traffic throughout the
city, having particular regard to the avoidance of congestion in the
streets and highways, and pedestrian traffic movements; and to provide
for the proper location and width of streets;
(9)
Ensure that public facilities for water supply, drainage, disposal
of sanitary and industrial waste, and parks are available for every
building site and with adequate capacity to serve the proposed subdivision
before issuance of a certificate of occupancy or release of utility
connections or final inspection within the boundaries of the plat;
(10)
Ensure that new development adequately and fairly participates in
the dedication and construction of public infrastructure improvements
that are necessitated by or attributable to the development or that
provide value or benefit that makes the development feasible;
(11)
Help prevent pollution, assure the adequacy of drainage facilities,
control stormwater runoff, safeguard the water table, and encourage
the wise use and management of natural resources throughout the city
and its extraterritorial jurisdiction in order to preserve the integrity,
stability, and beauty of the community and the value of the land;
and
(b)
To
carry out the purposes hereinabove stated, it is declared to be the
policy of the city to guide and regulate the subdivision and development
of land in such a manner as to promote orderly growth both within
the city and where applicable, within its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
(c)
Land
must not be platted until proper provision has been made for adequate
public facilities for roadways, drainage, water, wastewater, public
utilities, capital improvements, parks, recreation facilities, and
rights-of-way for streets.
(d)
Proposed
plats or subdivisions which do not conform to the policies and regulations
shall be denied, or, in lieu of denial, disapproved conditioned on
conformance with conditions.
(e)
There
shall be an essential nexus between the requirement to dedicate rights-of-way
and easements and/or to construct public works improvements in connection
with a new subdivision and the need to offset the impacts on the city's
public facilities systems created by such new development.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.1, adopted 4/26/1999)
(a)
Land
proposed to be subdivided must be served adequately by essential public
facilities and services, including water and wastewater facilities,
roadway and pedestrian facilities, drainage facilities and park facilities.
An application for a plat or development may be denied unless adequate
public facilities necessary to support and serve the development exist
or provision has been made for the facilities, whether the facilities
are to be located within the property being platted or off site.
(b)
It
is necessary and desirable to provide for dedication of rights-of-way
and easements for public works improvements to support new development
at the earliest stage of the development process.
(c)
The
city desires to assure both that impacts of new development are mitigated
through contributions of rights-of-way, easements and construction
of capital improvements, and that a new development be required to
contribute not more than its proportionate share of such costs.
(d)
Proposed
public works improvements serving new development shall conform to
and be properly related to the public facilities elements of the city's
adopted master plan, other adopted master plans for public facilities
and services, and applicable capital improvements plans, and shall
meet the service levels specified in such plans.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.2, adopted 4/26/1999)
(a)
The
standards established in this article for dedication and construction
of public works improvements and infrastructure are based upon engineering
studies and historical usages and demands by different categories
of development. These regulations identify certain minimum requirements
and sizes for utilities, roadways, parks and other facilities that
the city council has determined to be necessary in order to provide
the minimum level of service necessary to protect or promote the public
health, safety, and welfare and to ensure the quality of life currently
enjoyed by the citizens of the city. It is the intent of these regulations
that no development occur until and unless these minimum levels of
service are met. Therefore, each subdivision in the city shall be
required to dedicate, construct and/or upgrade required facilities
and infrastructure to a capacity that meets these minimum levels.
(b)
For
each category of public infrastructure, a minimum standard of infrastructure,
and in some cases, service level, has been developed based upon historic
studies and construction projects of the city and other cities. These
minimum standards take into consideration the soil conditions and
topographic configuration of the city, the use and impact analyses
of the North Central Texas Council of Governments in developing standard
specifications for public works installation, and other historical
use and performance experiences of the city that reflect the minimum
level of facilities and services that must be built to meet the health,
safety and welfare of the citizens of the city.
(c)
In
order to maintain prescribed levels of public facilities and services
for the health, safety and general welfare of its citizens, the city
may require the dedication of easements and rights-of-way for or construction
of on-site or off-site public works improvements for water, wastewater,
road, drainage or park facilities to serve a proposed subdivision,
or require the payment of fees in lieu thereof. If adequate levels
of public facilities and services cannot be provided concurrent with
the schedule of development proposed, the city may deny the subdivision
until the public facilities and services can be provided, or require
that the development be phased so that the availability and delivery
of facilities and services coincides with the demands for the facilities
created by the development.
(d)
Whenever
the city council determines that levels of service in excess of these
minimum standards are necessary in order to promote the orderly development
of the city, the owner shall qualify for reimbursement for any costs
in excess of the minimum levels of service through city participation,
to the extent funds are available by a pro rata reimbursement policy
or other means adopted by the city.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.3, adopted 4/26/1999)
(a)
All
lots to be platted shall be connected to a public water system which
has capacity to provide water for domestic use and emergency purposes,
including adequate fire protection.
(b)
All
lots to be platted shall be served by an approved means of wastewater
collection and treatment. The city engineer shall be responsible for
determining the approved means of wastewater collection and treatment.
The city may require the phasing of development and/or improvements
in order to maintain adequate wastewater capacity.
(c)
Proposed
roads shall provide a safe, convenient and functional system for vehicular,
bicycle and pedestrian circulation and shall be properly related to
the applicable thoroughfare plan and any amendments thereto, and shall
be appropriate for the particular traffic characteristics of each
proposed subdivision or development. New subdivisions shall be supported
by a thoroughfare network having adequate capacity, and safe and efficient
traffic circulation. Each development shall have adequate access to
the thoroughfare network.
(d)
Drainage
improvements serving new development shall be designed to prevent
overloading the capacity of the downstream drainage system. The city
may require the phasing of development, the use of control methods
such as retention or detention, the construction of off-site drainage
improvements, or drainage impact fees in order to mitigate the impacts
of the proposed subdivision.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.4, adopted 4/26/1999)
In the case of existing adjacent or abutting roads, the city
may require that the entire right-of-way be dedicated and/or improved
to the city's design standards, based upon factors including the impact
of the proposed subdivision on the road, safety to the traveling public,
conditions and life expectancy of the road, the impact of the proposed
subdivision on other roads, the timing of this development in relation
to need for improving the road, the impact of the traffic on the road
and city's roadway system as a whole.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.5, adopted 4/26/1999)
(a)
The
city shall require an initial demonstration that a proposed subdivision
shall be adequately served by public facilities and services at the
time for approval of the first development application that portrays
a specific plan of development, including but not limited to a petition
for establishing a planned development zoning district, or other overlay
zoning district; or a developer's agreement; or an application for
a preliminary or final plat.
(b)
The
obligation to dedicate rights-of-way for or to construct one or more
public works improvements to serve a new subdivision may be deferred
until approval of a subsequent phase of the subdivision, at the sole
discretion of the city engineer, upon written request of the property
owner, or at the city's own initiative. As a condition of deferring
the obligation, the city may require that the subdivider include provisions
in the developer's agreement, specifying the time for dedication of
rights-of-way for or construction of public works improvements serving
the subdivision.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.6, adopted 4/26/1999)
(a)
Prior
to a decision by the planning and zoning commission on a preliminary
plat application, or if no preliminary plat application is required,
on a final plat application, or any other application for which an
exaction requirement is approved as a condition of approval, the city
engineer shall prepare a written statement affirming that each exaction
requirement to be imposed as a condition of plat approval or permit
approval is roughly proportionate to the demand created by the subdivision
or development on the applicable public facilities system of the city,
taking into consideration the nature and extent of the development
proposed. In making this determination, the city engineer may consider:
(1)
Categorical findings of the North Central Texas Council of Governments
in developing standard specifications for public infrastructure improvements;
(2)
The proposed and potential use of the land;
(3)
The timing and sequence of development in relation to availability
of adequate levels of public facilities systems;
(4)
Impact fee studies, traffic impact studies, drainage studies or other
studies that measure the demand for services created by developments
and the impact on the city's public facilities system;
(5)
The function of the public infrastructure improvements in serving
the proposed subdivision or development;
(6)
The degree to which public infrastructure improvements necessary
to serve the proposed subdivision are supplied by other developments;
(7)
The anticipated participation by the city in the costs of necessary
public infrastructure improvements;
(8)
The degree to which acceptable private infrastructure improvements
to be constructed and maintained by the applicant will offset the
need for public infrastructure improvements;
(9)
Any reimbursements for the costs of public infrastructure improvements
for which the proposed subdivision is eligible; and/or
(10)
Any other information relating to the impacts created by the proposed
subdivision or development on the city's public facilities systems.
(b)
Based
upon the proportionality determination, the city engineer shall affirm
that the exaction requirements of this chapter, or other ordinance
requiring the permit, as applied to the proposed subdivision or development,
do not impose costs on the applicant for public infrastructure improvements
that exceed those roughly proportionate to the impact of the proposed
subdivision or development.
(c)
The
city engineer may require that the applicant, at its expense, submit
any information or studies that may assist in making the proportionality
determination.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.7, adopted 4/26/1999)
(a)
The
planning and zoning commission and city council shall consider the
city engineer's report concerning the proportionality of the exaction
requirements in making a decision on a plat application. The commission
and the city council may consider the city engineer's report in granting
a variance to the requirements of this chapter.
(b)
The
city official responsible for issuing a permit for which an exaction
requirement is imposed as a condition of approval shall consider the
city engineer's report concerning the proportionality of the exaction
requirements in making its decision as to whether to grant the permit.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.8, adopted 4/26/1999)
(a)
An
applicant for a preliminary or final plat or for a permit which imposes
an exaction requirement as a condition of approval may file an appeal
to contest any exaction requirement, other than impact fees, imposed
as a condition of approval or in which the failure to comply is grounds
for denying the plat application pursuant to this chapter. The provisions
of this article apply to any city permit.
(b)
The
purpose of a proportionality appeal is to assure that an exaction
requirement imposed on a proposed plat or development as a condition
of approval does not result in a disproportionate cost burden on the
applicant, taking into consideration the nature and extent of the
demands created by the proposed subdivision or development on the
city's public facilities systems.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.9, adopted 4/26/1999)
(a)
An
applicant for a preliminary or final plat or an applicant seeking
approval for any other permit or zoning for which an exaction requirement
is imposed shall file a written appeal with the city secretary within
ten days of the date the planning and zoning commission or the city
official responsible for issuing the permit takes action applying
the exaction requirement. This may include denial of the permit or
plat. The applicant shall submit 15 copies of the appeal.
(b)
A separate
appeal form shall be submitted for each exaction requirement for which
relief is sought. The city secretary shall forward the appeal to the
city council for consideration.
(c)
The applicant may request postponement of consideration of the applicant's plat application by the city council pending preparation of the study required by subsection (f) of this section, in which case the applicant shall also waive the statutory period for acting upon a plat for the time necessary for the city council to decide the appeal.
(d)
No
developer's agreement may be executed by the city until the time for
appeal has expired or, if an appeal is filed, until the city council
has made a determination with respect to the appeal.
(e)
The
appeal shall state the reasons that application of the exaction requirement
is not roughly proportional to the nature and extent of the impact
created by the proposed subdivision or development on the city's public
facilities systems and does not reasonably benefit the proposed subdivision
or development.
(f)
The
appellant shall submit to the city engineer 15 copies of a study in
support of the appeal that includes, with respect to each specific
exaction requirement appealed, the following information within 30
days of the date of appeal, unless a longer time is requested:
(1)
Total capacity of the city's water, wastewater, roadway, drainage,
or park system, as applicable, to be utilized by the proposed subdivision
or development, employing standard measures of capacity and equivalency
tables relating the type of development proposed to the quantity of
system capacity to be consumed by the subdivision. If the proposed
subdivision is to be developed in phases, such information also shall
be provided for the entire development, including any phases already
developed;
(2)
Total capacity to be supplied to the city's public facilities systems
for water, wastewater, roadway, drainage or parks, as applicable,
by the exaction requirement. This information shall include any capacity
supplied by prior exaction requirements imposed on the development;
(3)
Comparison of the capacity of the applicable city public facilities
systems to be consumed by the proposed subdivision or development
with the capacity to be supplied to such systems by the proposed exaction
requirement. In making this comparison, the impacts on the city's
public facilities systems from the entire subdivision or development
shall be considered;
(4)
The amount of any city participation in the costs of oversizing the
public infrastructure improvements to be constructed by the applicant
in accordance with the city's requirements;
(5)
Comparison of the minimum size and capacity required by city standards
for the applicable public facilities systems to be utilized by the
proposed subdivision or development with the size and capacity to
be supplied by the proposed exaction requirement; and
(6)
Any other information that shows the alleged disproportionality between
the impacts created by the proposed development and the exaction requirement
imposed by the city.
(g)
The
city engineer shall evaluate the appeal and supporting study and shall
make a recommendation to the city council based upon the city engineer's
analysis of the information contained in the study and utilizing the
same factors considered by the engineer in making the original proportionality
determination.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.10, adopted 4/26/1999)
(a)
The
city council shall decide the appeal within 30 days of the date of
final submission of any evidence by the applicant. Upon receipt of
the final submission of evidence from the applicant, the city shall
schedule a time and date for the city council to consider the appeal
and shall cause the applicant to be notified at the address specified
in the appeal form of the time, date and location at which the city
council shall consider the appeal.
(b)
The applicant shall be allotted time, not to exceed 30 minutes, to present testimony at the city council meeting. The council shall base its decision on the criteria listed in sections 34-212(a) and 34-215(f) and may:
(1)
Deny the appeal and impose the exaction requirement in accordance
with the city engineer's recommendation or the planning and zoning
commission's decision on the plat or other development application;
(2)
Grant the appeal, and waive in whole or in part an exaction requirement
to the extent necessary to achieve proportionality; or
(3)
Grant the appeal, and direct that the city participate in the costs
of acquiring land for or constructing the public infrastructure improvement.
(c)
In
deciding an appeal, the city council shall determine whether application
of the exaction requirement is roughly proportional to the nature
and extent of the impact created by the proposed subdivision on the
city's public facilities systems for water, wastewater, roadway, drainage,
or park facilities, as applicable, and reasonably benefits the subdivision.
In making such determination, the council shall consider:
(d)
The
city council may require the applicant or the city engineer to submit
additional information that it deems relevant in making its decision.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.11, adopted 4/26/1999)
(a)
If
the city council finds in favor of the applicant and waives the exaction
requirement as a condition of plat approval, or modifies the exaction
requirement to the extent necessary to achieve rough proportionality,
the applicant shall resubmit the plat application to the planning
and zoning commission or city official responsible for issuing the
permit within 30 days of the date the city council takes action, with
any modifications necessary to conform the plat with the city council's
decision. The applicant shall not be deemed to have prevailed in the
event that the city council modifies the exaction requirement.
(b)
If
the city council finds in favor of an applicant for any other permit
and waives the exaction requirement as a condition of permit approval,
or modifies the exaction requirement to the extent necessary to achieve
rough proportionality, the applicant shall resubmit the permit application
to the responsible official within 30 days of the date the city council
takes action, with any modifications necessary to conform the application
with the city council's decision. Failure to day so will result in
the expiration of any relief granted by the city council.
(c)
If
the city council denies the appeal and the applicant has executed
a waiver of the statutory period for acting upon a plat, the city
shall place the plat application on the agenda of the planning and
zoning commission within 30 days of the city council's decision.
(d)
If
the rough proportionality appeal was submitted appealing the imposition
of an exaction requirement for a plat application, and city council
grants relief to an applicant but the applicant fails to conform the
plat to the city council's decision within the 30-day period provided,
the relief granted by the city council on the appeal shall expire.
(e)
If
the plat application is modified to increase the number of residential
dwelling units or the intensity of nonresidential uses, the city manager
or city engineer may require a new study to validate the relief granted
by the city council.
(f)
If
the plat application for which relief was granted is denied on other
grounds, a new appeal shall be required on any subsequent application.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.12, adopted 4/26/1999)
An applicant may appeal the decision of the city council to
the county or district court of the county in which the development
is located within 30 days of the date that the council issues its
final decision. In the event that the applicant prevails in such action,
the applicant will be entitled to attorneys' fees and costs, including
expert witness fees.
(Ordinance 99-029, sec. 8A.13, adopted 4/26/1999; Ordinance 2006-034 adopted 7/17/2006)
