A.
Generally. This Section establishes general application procedures and internal review procedures that shall apply to all applications for a permit or approval that are set out in this Development Code.
B.
Pre-application meeting.
1.
Generally. Prior to the submission of an application for permit or approval, a pre-application meeting may be required or recommended between a potential applicant and the Director, or a designated representative of either party, and any other pertinent representatives or staff. The pre-application meeting is intended for the City and potential applicant to exchange non-binding information to promote an efficient development review process. The Director shall determine and publish which application types require a pre-application meeting.
2.
Pre-application forms and materials. The Director may determine and publish forms or documents that include information requirements, materials checklist, contact information, and any other information necessary to sufficiently describe the potential application.
3.
Vesting rights. Neither a pre-application meeting, nor any forms, materials, and information submitted for a pre-application meeting, shall be considered a vesting instrument, nor shall it vest a permit, application, or any type of approval.
C.
Application forms.
1.
Generally. Every application for approval or permit required by these regulations shall be submitted on forms prepared by the Planning Director, along with supporting materials and application fee.
2.
Forms. In addition to the requirements outlined herein for each type of development application, the City is hereby authorized to prepare application forms to collect information and materials necessary to process each type of application.
a.
Application forms shall include specific information including, but not limited to, information requirements, checklists, architectural or engineering drawing sizes, language blocks for plats, applicant contact information, materials and any other information necessary to facilitate the review of the application for compliance with and administration of these regulations, as prepared by the Director.
b.
The forms and paperwork are available in paper or digital format at the City office where applications are submitted and/or reviewed.
c.
The Planning Director shall periodically review and may revise forms for each type of application from time to time.
d.
It is the applicant's responsibility to be familiar with, and to comply with, these policies and procedures.
D.
Fees.
1.
Generally. Every application shall be accompanied by the prescribed fees set forth in Appendix A, Master Fee Schedule, of the Code of Ordinances. The City shall not accept an application for review without the required application fee. The adopted fees may be revised from time to time by the City Council and shall not require amendment of these regulations.
2.
Payable. All required fees shall be made payable to "The City of Jonestown."
3.
Required for administrative completeness. All applications shall be accompanied by the prescribed fees to be considered administratively complete.
4.
Fee refunds.
a.
Withdrawn applications. Withdrawn applications that have not been determined to be administratively complete may be refunded 50 percent of the application fee.
b.
Administratively complete applications. Once an application has been determined to be administratively complete, the prescribed fees shall not be refundable, except when submitted in error.
E.
Determination of administrative completeness.
1.
Generally. An application shall not be considered as officially submitted, accepted for review, or filed until it has been determined by the Director to be administratively complete.
2.
Considerations for determination of administrative completeness. The Planning Director, or designee, shall review each submitted application to determine if the minimum items needed for proper review of such application are present. An application must be determined to be administratively complete in order to begin the review process.
a.
A submitted application shall not be determined to be administratively complete until, at a minimum, the following has been received by the City:
b.
A submitted application shall not be determined to be administratively complete until, at a minimum, the following has been completed by the applicant:
3.
Timeframe for administrative completeness review. No more than five (5) business days after the receipt of an application by the City, the Director shall review the application for administrative completeness. Failure by the Planning Director to make a determination of administrative completeness or to provide notice of administrative incompleteness, as set out in Subsection E.4, Administratively Incomplete Applications, below, within this time frame shall result in the application being deemed administratively complete on the sixth (6) business day following receipt.
4.
Administratively incomplete applications. Applications that do not include all required information and materials shall be considered administratively incomplete.
a.
The Planning Director shall notify the applicant in writing of the determination and shall provide a written explanation of missing or incomplete items that are necessary to complete the application.
b.
The Planning Director may elect to extend the time period of determination of administrative completeness for the applicant to submit the missing or incomplete items. The Planning Director shall provide, in writing, a specified timeframe to the applicant for the incomplete item(s) to be resubmitted. If the item(s) is not resubmitted within this time period, the application shall be deemed rejected and shall not be reviewed for technical completeness, shall not be considered filed, and shall be returned to the applicant.
c.
The applicant may request an additional meeting for explanation of the missing or incomplete items.
d.
After an application has been determined to be administratively incomplete and rejected, a new application and fee shall be required for any future submittals.
5.
Administratively complete applications. Administratively complete applications shall be processed according to the applicable development approval procedures of this Ordinance. The determination of an administratively complete application does not constitute a determination of technical completeness or compliance with applicable regulations nor imply that the application successfully meets any review criteria.
F.
Determination of technical completeness.
1.
Generally. Upon receipt of an administratively complete application, the City shall commence technical compliance review of the submitted application. This may include review by a development review committee, which may be designated by the City Administrator.
2.
Determination of technical completeness. An application shall not be deemed to be technically complete until staff has determined the application and any supporting documents meet all applicable requirements of these regulations and are in compliance with any other applicable City or State requirements.
3.
Technically incomplete applications. Applications that do not include all required information and materials shall be considered technically incomplete.
a.
The Director shall notify the applicant in writing of any revisions deemed necessary for the application to be determined to be technically complete. The applicant may request a meeting for explanation of the missing or incomplete items.
b.
The applicant shall submit any necessary corrections to the City no later than fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the public meeting at which it is scheduled to be considered, if applicable.
c.
An application presented to the Commission and/or City Council prior to determination of technical completeness may be subject to denial.
4.
Technically complete applications. Technically complete applications shall be processed according to the applicable development approval procedures of these regulations. The determination of a technically complete application by City staff does not constitute or imply an approval by the decision-making authority.
G.
Proof of land ownership.
1.
Generally. Except as provided by these regulations, any application for permit or approval shall be initiated only by the property owner or owner of an interest in the land. A property owner may authorize a representative to submit an application for permit or approval provided that the application includes a signed statement from the property owner authorizing the representative to file the application on the owner's behalf.
2.
Written verification required. Along with the application, the applicant shall provide written verification of land ownership of the subject land parcel or parcels, provided to the City at the time of submittal. The Director shall have the authority to determine what document(s) the City will require to prove ownership, such as one of the following:
H.
Payment of all indebtedness attributable to a specific property.
1.
Generally. No person who owes delinquent taxes, delinquent fees, delinquent paving assessments, or any other delinquent debts or obligations to the City of Jonestown, and which are directly attributable to a piece of property, shall be allowed to proceed forward to final permit or approval for said property until the taxes, assessments, debts or obligations directly attributable to said property have been first fully discharged by payment, or until an arrangement satisfactory to the City Administrator (or designee) has been made for the payment of such debts or obligations.
2.
Applicant's responsibility. It shall be the applicant's responsibility to provide evidence or proof that all taxes, assessments, debts or obligations have been paid at the time of submission for any application for approval under these regulations.
I.
Concurrent applications.
1.
Generally. An applicant may concurrently submit different applications related to the same development within each of the following application groups. Approval of all relevant applications within each group must be obtained prior to submission of an application in the subsequent group.
a.
Policy Applications;
b.
Annexation (Voluntary);
c.
Zoning Map Amendment (Rezoning);
d.
Conditional Use Permit;
e.
Variance;
f.
Special Exception;
g.
Preliminary Plat;
h.
Construction Plan;
i.
Development Plat Applications;
j.
Final Plat;
k.
Site Development Plan (including landscape, tree mitigation, fencing, walls, lighting plans and nonpoint-source, LCRA permits);
l.
Building Permit.
2.
Fees. The applicant is subject to the fees for each application.
3.
Consideration for concurrent applications. Consideration for each application shall remain in the appropriate sequence of development. Any application submitted concurrently is subject to the approval of all related applications. Denial or disapproval of any individual application from a group of concurrently submitted applications shall stop consideration of all subsequent applications, if such approval is necessary for the subsequent applications to proceed.
4.
Withdrawal of individual applications. An applicant may withdraw an individual application from a group of concurrently submitted applications. A withdrawal may stop consideration of subsequent applications if such application requires the approval of the withdrawn application.
J.
Application continuances.
1.
Generally. An applicant may request a continuance of the application in writing prior to a public meeting, or on the record during the meeting prior to when a recommendation or decision is made. The Planning Director may approve a continuance request if the request is made prior to the public posting of the public meeting or may choose to defer the decision of the continuance request to the administering body. A request for a continuance by an applicant after the public meeting has been posted or at the public meeting itself may be granted by the administering body upon a motion and decision of the body to table the agenda item and only so long as the continuance does not cause the application to be approved as a matter of law because such continuance would cause the application to exceed a deadline required by law or these regulations.
2.
Costs associated with continuance. If the continuance was requested by the applicant, the applicant shall pay all additional costs associated with rescheduling and/or for re-notice of the proceeding.
K.
Expired and stale applications.
1.
Generally. Applications that become stale as set out in this Article shall be deemed expired and become immediately null and void and the City will subsequently close the application file. An expired application will end all claims to vesting pertaining to the expired application.
2.
Stale applications. Applications for development approval must be diligently pursued by the applicant to remain active or otherwise face expiration for inactivity. An accepted application for which there has been no action taken by an applicant for a period of six months or more from the date of the last action shall be determined to be stale and processed as withdrawn by the applicant, causing the file to be closed. The Director shall notify the applicant in writing 30 days in advance of the pending closure and may allow the applicant additional time to act to continue pursuit of approval.
L.
Limit on reapplications.
1.
Generally. If any application for permit or approval is denied by the final deciding authority, a substantially identical application shall not be filed within six months from the date of the denial, except as provided herein.
2.
Allowed successive reapplications. The decision-making body that rendered the final decision to deny may allow a successive reapplication within the six-month timeframe if the applicant can demonstrate:
a.
There are substantial changes to the circumstances relevant to the issues or facts considered during review of the prior application, or new or additional information is available that was not available at the time of the review of the prior application, that might reasonably affect the decision-making body's review of the application;
b.
The new application is substantially different than the prior application and has corrected any defects or substantive issues or addresses concerns or issues that were significant to the decision to deny the prior application; or
c.
The final decision on the application was based on a material mistake of fact.
3.
Successive reapplication procedures. An allowed successive reapplication shall be considered a new application and is subject to the application procedures and fees for a new application. Successive reapplications shall establish grounds warranting reconsideration of the application, including demonstrating how the new, additional, or changed information affects review of the application.
(Ordinance 2025-O-650 adopted 1/9/2025)