The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the orderly, safe
and healthful development of the area within the city or within one-half
mile of the city, or a greater area when such greater contiguous area
shall come within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city as
provided for under the Texas Municipal Annexation Act, V.T.C.A., Local
Government Code § 43.001 et seq.
(Ordinance 83-150-3, intro., adopted 7/26/1983)
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Building
means any structure which is built for the support, shelter,
or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, machinery, equipment,
or movable property of any kind.
Building line or building setback line
means a line parallel to the street right-of-way line and
defines an area on the building lot between the street right-of-way
line and the building line within which no building shall be constructed.
City
means the municipal corporation, City of Brookshire, Texas.
City attorney
means the person employed as city attorney or attorney for
the city and duly appointed by the city council.
City council
means the duly and constitutionally elected governing body
of the city.
City engineer
means the person or firm employed as city engineer of the
city, duly appointed by the city's the city council with the approval
of the city council.
County
means Waller County in which respective county any subdivision
of land takes place within the jurisdiction of the city.
Crosswalk
means a public right-of-way not more than six feet in width
between property lines which provides pedestrian circulation.
Cul-de-sac
means a street having but one outlet to another street and
terminated on the opposite end by a vehicular turnaround.
Dead-end street
means a street, other than a cul-de-sac, with only one outlet.
Developer
means any person, firm or corporation subdividing a tract
or parcel of land to be sold or otherwise handled for their own personal
gain or use.
Double front lot
means a building lot, not a corner lot, which has frontage
on two streets that are parallel or within 45 degrees of being parallel
to each other.
Easement
means a strip of land reserved for the use of the public
by the grantor, usually at the rear or side of lots or parcels of
land, in which to install and maintain utility lines, drainage ditches
or channels, or for other city or public services; the ownership or
title to the land encompassed by the easement being retained by the
owner. In granting the easement, the grantor is in effect vesting
the public with authority to control the use of land within the easement
and, in exercising such control, the city may specify that no buildings
or part of a building or other permanent structure or fence, in case
of a drainage easement, may be located within the limits of the easement.
Engineer
means a person duly authorized and licensed under the provisions
of the Texas Engineering Registration Act, as heretofore and hereinafter
amended, to practice the profession of engineering.
Extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ)
means, within the terms of the Texas Municipal Annexation
Act, the unincorporated area, not a part of any other city, which
is contiguous to the corporate limits of the city, the outer boundaries
of which are measured from the extremities of the corporate limits
of the city outward for such distances as may be stipulated in the
Texas Municipal Annexation Act in accordance with the total population
of the incorporated City of Brookshire, in which area, within the
terms of the act, the city may enjoin the violation of its subdivision
control regulations.
Filing date
means the day on which the project manager files a formal application as provided in section
48-155.
Filing fee
means the prescribed plat and lot fee rates, as hereinafter
stipulated, to accompany the filing with the city planning commission
of preliminary and final subdivision plats.
Final plat
means the map or plat of a proposed subdivision submitted
to the city planning commission on or before the filing date as the
term is herein defined, for approval by the city planning commission,
and said plat shall be prepared in accordance with this chapter.
Front or frontage
means that portion of a tract of land which abuts on a public
street to which it has direct access.
Lot
means a physically undivided tract or parcel of land having
frontage on a public street and which is, or in the future may be,
offered for sale, conveyance, transfer, lease, or improvement, which
is designated as a distinct and separate tract and which is identified
by a lot number or tract symbol on a duly approved subdivision plat
which has been properly recorded.
Lot depth
means the length of a straight line connecting the mid-point
of the front and rear lot lines.
Lot width
means the average length of the front and rear property lines.
Major street or thoroughfare plan
means the master plan of major and secondary streets and
highways as a part of the city's master plan and adaptations, amendments,
or supplements thereto as adopted by the planning commission and the
city council.
Major thoroughfare
means a public street which is designed for and used for
fast or heavy traffic, or is intended to serve as a major traffic
way of considerable continuity, and is designated as such upon the
most recent plan for major thoroughfares of the city, as adopted by
the planning commission and the city council.
Master plan
means the comprehensive city plan and adaptations, amendments,
or supplements thereto, which has or have or will have been adopted
in principal by the city planning commission as a guide to future
development of the city and its surrounding area.
Minor street
means any public street which is not classified as a major
thoroughfare, collector, or secondary street.
Patio homes or garden homes
means a detached, single-family dwelling of masonry or stone
construction, having paved parking; the placement of said dwelling
and lot size not meeting the requirements of a single-family subdivision
as set forth in article II, division 2.
Pavement width
means the portion of the surface of a street available for
vehicular traffic and, where curbs are laid, it is the portion between
the face of curbs.
Person
means any individual, association, firm, corporation, governmental
agency, or political subdivision.
Plat
means a map, drawing, chart, or plan showing the layout of
a proposed subdivision into lots, blocks, streets, parks, school sites,
commercial or industrial sites, drainage ways, building lots, easements,
alleys, or any similar type of plat, which a developer submits for
approval and a copy of which he intends to record in final form.
Preliminary plat
means the first or introductory plat of a proposed subdivision.
Preliminary plat master
means the first or introductory plat of a proposed subdivision
where a developer intends to submit, from time to time, fractional
final plats.
Project manager
means developer, subdivider or agent of developer or subdivider,
who is directly responsible for or in charge of development of a proposed
subdivision, apartment project, townhouse project, or commercial or
industrial subdivision.
Public easement
means a right granted or dedicated to the public or governmental
agency in, on, across, over or under property for specified use by
an instrument or map duly recorded in the records of the county clerk
wherein the city has jurisdiction.
Public street
means a right-of-way dedicated to public use for pedestrian
and vehicular traffic and public utility purposes.
Reserve
means a tract, parcel, or unit of land not physically divided,
having frontage on a public street, which is proposed and intended
for other than single-family residential use and which is, or in the
future may be, offered for sale, conveyance, transfer, lease, or improvement,
and which is designated as a distinct separate tract and which is
identified by reserve symbol on a duly approved subdivision plat which
has been properly recorded with the county clerk.
Shall
is always mandatory.
Sidewalk
means a minimum 48-inch width Portland cement paved pedestrian
walkway extending for the entire length of a block or blocks parallel
to a street right-of-way line or street pavement edge, which walkway
shall be constructed within the right-of-way of any public street.
Street
means a public right-of-way, however designated, which provides
vehicular circulation and access to adjacent property.
(1)
A major street, major thoroughfare, or arterial street means
a principal traffic artery or traffic way, usually of more or less
continuous routing over long distances, whose function is to serve
as a principal connecting street with state and federal highways,
and shall include each street designated as a major thoroughfare or
street on the major street or thoroughfare plan of the city or so
designated by the planning commission and the city council. Minimum
width of right-of-way shall be 80 feet, preferably 100 feet.
(2)
A secondary street or collector street means a street whose
function is to collect and distribute traffic between major thoroughfares
and minor streets, is not necessarily of continuous routing for long
distances, has intersections at grades and provides direct access
to abutting property, and shall include each street designated as
a secondary street on the major street or thoroughfare plan or so
designated by the planning commission and the city council. Minimum
width of right-of-way shall be 60 feet, preferably 70 feet.
(3)
A minor street means a street whose function is to provide access
to abutting residential property within neighborhoods, with all intersections
at grade, and not continuous routing for any great distance so as
to discourage heavy through traffic. Minimum width of right-of-way
shall be 60 feet.
Subdivision
means any division of any tract of land situated within the
corporate limits of the city, or within the extraterritorial jurisdiction
(ETJ) of such limits, into two or more parts for the purpose of laying
out any subdivision of any tract of land or in any addition of the
city, or for laying out suburban lots or building lots, or any lots,
streets, alleys, or parts or other portions intended for public use
or the use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting thereon or adjacent
thereto. The term "subdivision" shall also include resubdivision,
but it does not include the division of land for agricultural purposes
in parcels or tracts of five acres or more and not involving any new
street, alley, or easement of access. Further, the term "subdivision"
shall not include a division of a tract into four or fewer lots, where
each lot is to be sold, given, or otherwise transferred to an individual
who is related to the owner within the third degree of consanguinity
or affinity, as determined under V.T.C.A., Transportation Code ch.
573, so long as such division does not involve or require street,
alley, or easement of access.
Surveyor
means a licensed state land surveyor or a registered public
surveyor, as authorized by the Texas Land Surveyors Registration Act.
Unrestricted
means a label or designate land proposed to be used for a
purpose not consistent with the proposed use of the major portion
of the subdivision.
(Ordinance 83-150-3, § 2(A),
adopted 7/26/1983; Ordinance
01-359-8, § 1, adopted 3/15/2001; Ordinance 09-545-10, § 1,
adopted 7/21/2009)
(a) Parks
and playgrounds.
A subdivider shall be required to dedicate
a suitable site for park purposes, or to make a deposit to the city
in lieu thereof for park facilities for each subdivision or multifamily
development in accordance with the following regulations:
(1) The
subdivider shall be required to dedicate either five percent of the
total area of the subdivision, or its equivalent in money based on
the raw land value, for park purposes.
(2) In
the case of apartments or multifamily developments, a ratio of one
acre for every 350 potential persons in the development. This number
shall be calculated at the rate of 2 4/10 persons per living unit
to arrive at the park fund deposit.
(b) Schools.
The location, size and shape of any proposed school site shall
be in accordance with the master plan of the city and/or the county
as amended or supplemented, as approved by the planning commission
and finally accepted by the city council and the Royal Independent
School District.
(c) Public
facilities and other special land uses.
The location,
size, and shape of any proposed public facility or other special land
site shall be in accordance with the comprehensive plan for the city
and/or county, as amended and supplemented, as approved by the planning
commission and finally accepted by the city council.
(d) Disapprovals.
The disapproval of any proposed park, playground, school, public
facility or other special land use site, as above described, by the
planning commission and/or the city council shall be deemed a refusal
by the proper authority to accept the offered dedication.
(Ordinance 83-150-3, § 8,
adopted 7/26/1983)
The city engineer is hereby authorized and directed to promulgate
rules, regulations, standards and specifications for construction,
installation, design, location and arrangement of streets, gates for
utility easements, sidewalks, water supply and water distribution
systems, fire hydrants, sewage disposal systems, septic tanks, water
wells, monuments, criteria for drainage easement requirements, drainage
facilities, and crosswalk ways. He shall file same with the planning
commission for approval, and thereafter, file with the city council,
and they shall become effective upon their adoption by the city council.
He may amend the same from time to time, upon the approval of the
planning commission, and such amendment shall be filed with the city
council, and the amendments shall become effective upon their adoption
by the city council. No such rules, regulations, standards and specifications
shall conflict with this or any other ordinance of the city. All such
improvements shall be constructed, installed, designed, located and
arranged by the subdivider in accordance with such rules, regulations,
standards and specifications.
(Ordinance 83-150-3, § 9,
adopted 7/26/1983)
Where townhouses, etc., are backing upon a public street or
adjoining an existing residential subdivision, a two-foot-wide private
easement shall be provided abutting the street or subdivision and
a permanent type wall not less than six feet high shall be constructed
upon the easement, in conformity with city standards, to provide a
visual screen.
(Ordinance 83-150-3, § 10,
adopted 7/26/1983)
(a) Forms.
Dedications of streets, alleys, easements, and public use sites
shall be according to the most recent forms in use by the city and
as directed by the city engineer.
(b) Who
must join in dedication.
All owners and/or lienholders
must join in the dedication.
(c) Disapprovals.
If any plat or replat is disapproved by the city planning commission
for any reason, then such disapproval shall be deemed a refusal by
the city to accept the offered dedication shown on the plat thereof
or to accept any planned or completed improvements within the area
covered by any plat or replat.
(Ordinance 83-150-3, § 11,
adopted 7/26/1983)
(a) At such
time as a comprehensive plan of the city, and all supplements thereto,
including the storm drainage plan, are hereby adopted, all future
extensions and dedications of streets, water and sewer lines, public
easements, residential and business subdivisions, townhouse developments
and apartment projects, shall be designed, dedicated and constructed
in accordance with the goals and guidelines set down in such comprehensive
plan. An official copy of the comprehensive plan, signed by the city
council and attested by the city secretary, shall be placed on file
and maintained in the office of the city secretary.
(b) Any city
ordinance requiring compliance with a master plan which is hereinafter
adopted shall henceforth be amended to require compliance with the
comprehensive plan.
(Ordinance 83-150-3, § 12,
adopted 7/26/1983)