87R21684 SCL-F
By: Oliverson H.B. No. 4447
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4447:
By: Biedermann C.S.H.B. No. 4447
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the procedure for approval of certain land development
applications by a municipality or county.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 212.001, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subdivisions (1-a), (1-b), (1-c), (4), and (5) to
read as follows:
(1-a) "Land development" means an activity relating to
the development or redevelopment of land, including subdivision
development, construction of subdivision improvements, site
development, and development of on-site and off-site improvements.
(1-b) "Land development application" means an
application or other document relating to land development under
this chapter that is required to be approved by a municipal body
before the land development may commence. The term includes a title
or description used by municipalities to refer to those
applications or other documents, including "preliminary plat,"
"plat," "final plat," "replat," "preliminary plan," "master
planning document," "master development plan," "plan," "general
plan," "subdivision development plan," "subdivision plan," "site
plan," or "site development plan." The term does not include:
(A) an application or other document for which
approval by a municipal body does not authorize the land
development to commence; or
(B) a subdivision construction plan, subdivision
engineering plan, or similar or related plan.
(1-c) "Municipal body" means the applicable municipal
authority for approving a land development application. The term
includes a municipal planning commission or its designee, a
municipality authority for approving land development applications
or its designee, and the governing body of the municipality or its
designee.
(4) "Required document" means a document required by
the municipality or state or federal law for the approval of a land
development application. The term includes, as applicable:
(A) associated drainage studies;
(B) traffic impact analyses;
(C) utility evaluations;
(D) geotechnical reports;
(E) groundwater availability certifications
required under Section 212.0101;
(F) tree surveys or mitigation studies;
(G) studies of wetlands or waters of the United
States; and
(H) endangered species studies.
(5) "Submit" means the act by a person of providing,
delivering, or relaying by any means a copy of a land development
application to a municipal body. The term includes all variations
of the term, including "apply to and submit," "submitted," and
"submitting." The term does not include the acceptance,
acknowledgment, receipt, processing, or performance of a
completeness check of the land development application or required
document or any other action by a municipal body in response to the
submission of a copy of the land development application.
SECTION 2. Section 212.008, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 212.008. APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL. (a) A person
desiring approval of a land development application [plat] must
apply to and submit [file] a copy of the application [plat] with the
municipal planning commission or its designee or, if the
municipality has no planning commission, the governing body of the
municipality or its designee.
(b) Except as provided by Section 212.0101, a municipal body
may not require a person to submit a required document or fulfill
any other prerequisites or conditions before the person submits a
copy of a land development application with the body.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 212, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Sections 212.0082, 212.0083, and
212.0087 to read as follows:
Sec. 212.0082. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: REQUIRED DOCUMENTS. (a)
A municipal body may require a person desiring approval of a land
development application to submit a required document for the
application only if:
(1) the governing body of the municipality has adopted
the requirement by ordinance; and
(2) the municipality made available to the person
before the submission of the application:
(A) a list of all required documents for the
application; or
(B) publications of all required documents for
the application.
(b) A municipal body may not require a person to submit new
or additional required documents for which the requirements of
Subsection (a) have not been met.
(c) A municipal body may not, on the grounds that a person
has failed to submit for a land development application a required
document for which the requirements of Subsection (a) have not been
met:
(1) refuse to accept, acknowledge, receive, or process
the application or other required documents;
(2) disapprove the application or other required
documents;
(3) consider the application or other required
documents incomplete; or
(4) refuse to comply with the procedures and timelines
prescribed for land development applications and required
documents under this subchapter with respect to the application and
documents.
Sec. 212.0083. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: APPROVAL AND
CONDITIONAL APPROVAL OF REQUIRED DOCUMENTS. (a) A person desiring
approval of a land development application may submit required
documents with the application or after submitting the application.
If the person elects to submit the documents afterwards, a
municipal body may conditionally approve the application on the
condition that the applicant submit the documents in accordance
with Subsection (c).
(b) An election by a person to submit the required documents
after submitting a land development application is not grounds for
a municipal body to:
(1) refuse to accept, acknowledge, receive, or process
the application or documents;
(2) disapprove the application or documents;
(3) consider the application or documents incomplete;
or
(4) refuse to comply with the procedures and timelines
prescribed for land development applications and required
documents under this subchapter with respect to the person's
application and documents.
(c) A municipal body that conditionally approves a land
development application under Subsection (a) must:
(1) make an approval determination on each individual
required document under the same approval procedures and timelines
as those prescribed for a land development application under this
subchapter;
(2) approve or disapprove, but not conditionally
approve, each individual required document;
(3) provide to the applicant comments on a required
document not later than the 30th day after the date the applicant
submits the document; and
(4) make an approval determination on a required
document not later than the 60th day after the date the applicant
submits the document.
(d) On disapproval of a required document, an applicant may
submit to the municipal body a written response that remedies each
reason for disapproval. The municipal body may not establish a
deadline for the applicant to submit the response.
(e) On receipt of a response under Subsection (d), a
municipal body shall determine whether to approve or disapprove the
applicant's previously disapproved required document not later
than the 15th day after the date the applicant submits the response.
Sec. 212.0087. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: BIFURCATED APPROVAL.
(a) After receiving a request from at least five applicants and
conducting a public hearing on the matter at which interested
parties must be heard, a municipality shall establish a bifurcated
approval procedure under this subchapter, including a phased
approach to the approval of a land development application.
(b) Each phase of a bifurcated approval procedure adopted
under Subsection (a) must be subject to the approval procedures
prescribed by this subchapter.
(c) An applicant may, but is not required to, opt in to the
bifurcated approval procedure established by a municipality under
Subsection (a).
SECTION 4. Section 212.009, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 212.009. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: INITIAL APPROVAL. (a) The
municipal body [authority responsible for approving plats] shall
approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove a land development
application [plan or plat] within 30 days after the date the
application [plan or plat] is submitted [filed]. An application [A
plan or plat] is approved by the municipal authority unless it is
disapproved within that period and in accordance with Section
212.0091.
(b) If an ordinance requires that a land development
application [plan or plat] be approved by the governing body of the
municipality in addition to the planning commission, the governing
body shall approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove the
application [plan or plat] within 30 days after the date the
application [plan or plat] is approved by the planning commission
or is approved by the inaction of the commission. An application [A
plan or plat] is approved by the governing body unless it is
disapproved within that period and in accordance with Section
212.0091.
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) or (b), if a
groundwater availability certification is required under Section
212.0101, the 30-day period described by those subsections begins
on the date the applicant submits the groundwater availability
certification to the municipal [authority responsible for
approving plats or the governing] body [of the municipality, as
applicable].
(b-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) or (b), the parties
may extend the 30-day period described by those subsections for a
period not to exceed 30 days if:
(1) the applicant requests the extension in writing to
the municipal [authority responsible for approving plats or the
governing] body [of the municipality, as applicable]; and
(2) the municipal [authority or governing] body[, as
applicable,] approves the extension request.
(c) If a land development application [plan or plat] is
approved, the municipal body [authority giving the approval] shall
endorse the application [plan or plat] with a certificate
indicating the approval. The certificate must be signed by:
(1) the body's [authority's] presiding officer and
attested by the body's [authority's] secretary; or
(2) a majority of the members of the body [authority].
(d) If the municipal body [authority responsible for
approving plats] fails to approve, approve with conditions, or
disapprove a land development application [plan or plat] within the
prescribed period, the body [authority] on the applicant's request
shall issue a certificate stating the date the application [plan or
plat] was submitted [filed] and that the body [authority] failed to
act on the application [plan or plat] within the period. The
certificate is effective in place of the endorsement required by
Subsection (c).
(e) The municipal body [authority responsible for approving
plats] shall maintain a record of each land development application
submitted [made] to the body [authority] and the body's
[authority's] action taken on it. On request of an owner of an
affected tract, the body [authority] shall certify the reasons for
the action taken on an application.
SECTION 5. Section 212.0091(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A municipal [authority or governing] body that
conditionally approves or disapproves a land development
application [plan or plat] under this subchapter shall provide the
applicant a written statement of the conditions for the conditional
approval or reasons for disapproval that clearly articulates each
specific condition for the conditional approval or reason for
disapproval.
SECTION 6. Sections 212.0093, 212.0095, 212.0096,
212.0097, and 212.0099, Local Government Code, are amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 212.0093. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: APPLICANT RESPONSE TO
CONDITIONAL APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL. After the conditional
approval or disapproval of a land development application [plan or
plat] under Section 212.0091, the applicant may submit to the
municipal [authority or governing] body that conditionally
approved or disapproved the application [plan or plat] a written
response that satisfies each condition for the conditional approval
or remedies each reason for disapproval provided. The municipal
[authority or governing] body may not establish a deadline for an
applicant to submit the response.
Sec. 212.0095. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL
OF RESPONSE. (a) A municipal [authority or governing] body that
receives a response under Section 212.0093 shall determine whether
to approve or disapprove the applicant's previously conditionally
approved or disapproved land development application [plan or plat]
not later than the 15th day after the date the response was
submitted.
(b) A municipal [authority or governing] body that
conditionally approves or disapproves a land development
application [plan or plat] following the submission of a response
under Section 212.0093:
(1) must comply with Section 212.0091; and
(2) may disapprove the application [plan or plat] only
for a specific condition or reason provided to the applicant under
Section 212.0091.
(c) A municipal [authority or governing] body that receives
a response under Section 212.0093 shall approve a previously
conditionally approved or disapproved land development application
[plan or plat] if the response adequately addresses each condition
of the conditional approval or each reason for the disapproval.
(d) A previously conditionally approved or disapproved land
development application [plan or plat] is approved if:
(1) the applicant submitted [filed] a response that
meets the requirements of Subsection (c); and
(2) the municipal [authority or governing] body that
received the response does not disapprove the application [plan or
plat] on or before the date required by Subsection (a) and in
accordance with Section 212.0091.
Sec. 212.0096. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: ALTERNATIVE APPROVAL
PROCESS. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 212.0083, 212.009, 212.0091,
212.0093, and 212.0095, an applicant may elect at any time to seek
approval for a land development application [plan or plat] under an
alternative approval process adopted by a municipality if the
process allows for a shorter approval period than the approval
process described by Sections 212.0083, 212.009, 212.0091,
212.0093, and 212.0095.
(b) An applicant that elects to seek approval under the
alternative approval process described by Subsection (a) is not:
(1) required to satisfy the requirements of Sections
212.0083, 212.009, 212.0091, 212.0093, and 212.0095 before
bringing an action challenging a disapproval of a land development
application [plan or plat] under this subchapter; and
(2) prejudiced in any manner in bringing the action
described by Subdivision (1), including satisfying a requirement to
exhaust any and all remedies.
Sec. 212.0097. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: WAIVER PROHIBITED. (a) A
municipal [authority responsible for approving plats or the
governing] body [of a municipality] may not request or require an
applicant to waive a deadline or other approval procedure under
this subchapter.
(b) An applicant may not waive a deadline or other approval
procedure or any other provision or requirement under this
subchapter.
Sec. 212.0099. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF DISAPPROVAL. In a legal
action challenging a disapproval of a land development application
[plan or plat] under this subchapter, the municipality has the
burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the
disapproval meets the requirements of this subchapter or any
applicable case law. The court may not use a deferential standard.
SECTION 7. Subchapter A, Chapter 232, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 232.0001 to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Land development" means an activity relating to
the development or redevelopment of land, including subdivision
development, construction of subdivision improvements, site
development, and development of on-site and off-site improvements.
(2) "Land development application" means an
application or other document relating to land development under
this chapter that is required to be approved by the commissioners
court or the court's designee before the land development may
commence. The term includes a title or description used by counties
to refer to those applications or other documents, including
"preliminary plat," "plat," "final plat," and "replat." The term
does not include:
(A) an application or other document for which
approval by the commissioners court or the court's designee does
not authorize the land development to commence; and
(B) a subdivision construction plan, subdivision
engineering plan, or similar or related plan.
(3) "Required document" means a document required by
law for the approval of a land development application. The term
includes groundwater availability certifications required under
Section 232.0032, if applicable.
(4) "Submit" means the act by a person of providing,
delivering, or relaying by any means a copy of a land development
application to the commissioners court or the court's designee.
The term includes all variations of the term, including "submitted"
and "submitting." The term does not include the acceptance,
acknowledgment, receipt, processing, or performance of a
completeness check of the land development application or required
document or any other action by the commissioners court or the
court's designee in response to the submission of a copy of the land
development application.
SECTION 8. Section 232.0023, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0023. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: APPLICABILITY. The land
development [plat] application approval procedures under this
subchapter apply to a county regardless of whether the county has
entered into an interlocal agreement, including an interlocal
agreement between a municipality and county under Section
242.001(d).
SECTION 9. Subchapter A, Chapter 232, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Sections 232.00235 and 232.0024 to read
as follows:
Sec. 232.00235. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: REQUIRED DOCUMENTS AND
CONDITIONAL APPROVAL. (a) A person desiring approval of a land
development application may submit required documents with the
application or after submitting the application. If the person
elects to submit the documents afterwards, the commissioners court
or the court's designee may conditionally approve the application
on the condition that the applicant submit the documents in
accordance with Subsection (c).
(b) An election by a person to submit the required documents
after submitting a land development application is not grounds for
the commissioners court or the court's designee to:
(1) refuse to accept, acknowledge, receive, or process
the application or documents;
(2) disapprove the application or documents;
(3) consider the application or documents incomplete;
or
(4) refuse to comply with the procedures and timelines
prescribed for land development applications and required
documents under this subchapter with respect to the person's
application and documents.
(c) The commissioners court or court's designee that
conditionally approves a land development application under
Subsection (a) must:
(1) make an approval determination on each individual
required document under the same approval procedures and timelines
as those prescribed for a land development application under this
subchapter;
(2) approve or disapprove, but not conditionally
approve, each individual required document;
(3) provide to the applicant comments on a required
document not later than the 30th day after the date the applicant
submits the document; and
(4) make an approval determination on a required
document not later than the 60th day after the date the applicant
submits the document.
(d) On disapproval of a required document, an applicant may
submit to the commissioners court or the court's designee a written
response that remedies each reason for disapproval. The
commissioners court or the court's designee may not establish a
deadline for the applicant to submit the response.
(e) On receipt of a response under Subsection (d), a
commissioners court or the court's designee shall determine whether
to approve or disapprove the applicant's previously disapproved
required document not later than the 15th day after the date the
applicant submits the response.
Sec. 232.0024. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: BIFURCATED APPROVAL.
(a) After receiving a request from at least five applicants and
conducting a public hearing on the matter at which interested
parties must be heard, a county shall establish a bifurcated
approval procedure under this subchapter, including a phased
approach to the approval of a land development application.
(b) Each phase of a bifurcated approval procedure adopted
under Subsection (a) must be subject to the approval procedures
prescribed by this subchapter.
(c) An applicant may, but is not required to, opt in to the
bifurcated approval procedure established by a county under
Subsection (a).
SECTION 10. The heading to Section 232.0025, Local
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0025. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: TIMELY APPROVAL OF
APPLICATIONS AND REQUIRED DOCUMENTS [PLATS AND PLANS].
SECTION 11. Section 232.0025, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), (g), (h),
and (i) and adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (b-3) to read as
follows:
(a) The commissioners court of a county or a person
designated by the commissioners court shall issue a written list or
publication of the required documents [documentation] and other
information that must be submitted with a land development [plat]
application. The documentation or other information must relate to
a requirement authorized under this section or other applicable law
and have been adopted as a requirement by the county by order. An
application submitted to the commissioners court or the person
designated by the commissioners court that contains the documents
and other information on the list is considered complete.
(b) If a person submits a land development [plat]
application to the commissioners court that does not include all of
the required documents [documentation] or other information
required by Subsection (a), the commissioners court or the court's
designee shall, not later than the 10th business day after the date
the commissioners court receives the application, notify the
applicant of the missing documents or other information. The
commissioners court shall allow an applicant to timely submit the
missing documents or other information.
(b-1) Except as provided by Section 232.0032, a
commissioners court or the court's designee may not require a
person to submit a required document or fulfill any other
prerequisites or conditions before the person submits a copy of a
land development application.
(b-2) A commissioners court or the court's designee may not
require a person to submit new or additional required documents for
which the requirements of Subsection (a) have not been met.
(b-3) A commissioners court or the court's designee may not,
on the grounds that a person has failed to submit for a land
development application a required document for which the
requirements of Subsection (a) have not been met:
(1) refuse to accept, acknowledge, receive, or process
the application or other required documents;
(2) disapprove the application or other required
documents;
(3) consider the application or other required
documents incomplete; or
(4) refuse to comply with the procedures and timelines
prescribed for land development applications and required
documents under this subchapter with respect to the application and
documents.
(c) An application is considered complete when all required
documents [documentation] or other information required by
Subsection (a) is received. Acceptance by the commissioners court
or the court's designee of a completed land development [plat]
application with the required documents [documentation] or other
information required by Subsection (a) shall not be construed as
approval of the documentation or other information.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (f), the commissioners
court or the court's designee shall approve, approve with
conditions, or disapprove a land development [plat] application not
later than the 30th day after the date the completed application is
received by the commissioners court or the court's designee. An
application is approved by the commissioners court or the court's
designee unless the application is disapproved within that period
and in accordance with Section 232.0026.
(f) The 30-day period under Subsection (d):
(1) may be extended for a period not to exceed 30 days,
if:
(A) requested and agreed to in writing by the
applicant and approved by the commissioners court or the court's
designee; or
(B) Chapter 2007, Government Code, requires the
county to perform a takings impact assessment in connection with
the land development [plat] application; and
(2) applies only to a decision wholly within the
control of the commissioners court or the court's designee.
(g) The commissioners court or the court's designee shall
make the determination under Subsection (f)(1) of whether the
30-day period will be extended not later than the 20th day after the
date a completed land development [plat] application is received by
the commissioners court or the court's designee.
(h) The commissioners court or the court's designee may not
require an applicant to waive the time limits or approval procedure
contained in this subchapter. An applicant may not waive the time
limits or approval procedures contained in this subchapter.
(i) If the commissioners court or the court's designee fails
to approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove a land
development [plat] application as required by this subchapter:
(1) the commissioners court shall refund the greater
of the unexpended portion of any application fee or deposit or 50
percent of an application fee or deposit that has been paid;
(2) the application is granted by operation of law;
and
(3) the applicant may apply to a district court in the
county where the tract of land is located for a writ of mandamus to
compel the commissioners court to issue documents recognizing the
land development [plat] application's approval.
SECTION 12. Section 232.0026(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A commissioners court or designee that conditionally
approves or disapproves of a land development [plat] application
under this subchapter shall provide the applicant a written
statement of the conditions for the conditional approval or the
reasons for disapproval that clearly articulates each specific
condition for the conditional approval or reason for disapproval.
SECTION 13. Sections 232.0027 and 232.0028, Local
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0027. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: APPLICANT RESPONSE TO
CONDITIONAL APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL. After the conditional
approval or disapproval of a land development [plat] application
under Section 232.0026, the applicant may submit to the
commissioners court or designee that conditionally approved or
disapproved the application a written response that satisfies each
condition for the conditional approval or remedies each reason for
disapproval provided. The commissioners court or designee may not
establish a deadline for an applicant to submit the response.
Sec. 232.0028. APPROVAL PROCEDURE: APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL
OF RESPONSE. (a) A commissioners court or designee that receives a
response under Section 232.0027 shall determine whether to approve
or disapprove the applicant's previously conditionally approved or
disapproved land development [plat] application not later than the
15th day after the date the response was submitted under Section
232.0027.
(b) A commissioners court or designee that conditionally
approves or disapproves a land development [plat] application
following the submission of a response under Section 232.0027:
(1) must comply with Section 232.0026; and
(2) may disapprove the application only for a specific
condition or reason provided to the applicant for the original
application under Section 232.0026.
(c) A commissioners court or designee that receives a
response under Section 232.0027 shall approve a previously
conditionally approved or disapproved land development [plat]
application if the applicant's response adequately addresses each
condition for the conditional approval or each reason for the
disapproval.
(d) A previously conditionally approved or disapproved land
development [plat] application is approved if:
(1) the applicant submitted [filed] a response that
meets the requirements of Subsection (c); and
(2) the commissioners court or designee that received
the response does not disapprove the application on or before the
date required by Subsection (a) and in accordance with Section
232.0026.
SECTION 14. Section 232.0029, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0029. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF DISAPPROVAL. In a legal
action challenging a disapproval of a land development [plat]
application under this subchapter, the county has the burden of
proving by clear and convincing evidence that the disapproval meets
the requirements of this subchapter or any applicable case law. The
court may not use a deferential standard.
SECTION 15. Section 212.001(2), Local Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 16. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
to a land development application submitted on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application submitted before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 17. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.