Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1667 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: Hughes S.B. No. 1667
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the procedure for approval of certain land development
7	7	applications by a political subdivision.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 212.001, Local Government Code, is
10	10	amended by adding Subdivision (4) to read as follows:
11	11	(4) "Required planning document" means a document
12	12	required by the municipality or state or federal law for the
13	13	approval of a plan or plat. The term includes, as applicable:
14	14	(A) associated drainage studies;
15	15	(B) traffic impact analyses;
16	16	(C) utility evaluations;
17	17	(D) geotechnical reports;
18	18	(E) federal permits such as Federal Emergency
19	19	Management Agency Conditional Letters of Map Revision and Letters
20	20	of Map Revision; and
21	21	(F) groundwater availability certifications
22	22	required under Section 212.0101.
23	23	SECTION 2. Section 212.008, Local Government Code, is
24	24	amended to read as follows:
25	25	Sec. 212.008. APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL. (a) A person
26	26	desiring approval of a plan or plat must apply to and file a copy of
27	27	the plan or plat with the municipal planning commission or, if the
28	28	municipality has no planning commission, the governing body of the
29	29	municipality.
30	30	(b) Except as provided by Section 212.0101, a municipal
31	31	planning commission or the governing body of the municipality may
32	32	not require a person to submit or obtain approval of a required
33	33	planning document or fulfill any other prerequisites or conditions
34	34	before the person files a copy of the plan or plat with the
35	35	municipal planning commission or governing body.
36	36	(c) A municipal planning commission or the governing body of
37	37	the municipality may approve a plan or plat on the condition that
38	38	the applicant must also submit or obtain approval of certain
39	39	required planning documents after the plat application is filed.
40	40	If the municipal planning commission or the governing body of the
41	41	municipality conditionally approves a plan or plat on such a
42	42	condition, the municipality's approval process for each individual
43	43	required planning document shall also be subject to the same
44	44	procedures and timelines as those prescribed for plans or plats
45	45	under Sections 212.009, 212.0091, 212.0093, 212.0095, and
46	46	212.0096, with the exception that the municipal planning commission
47	47	or the governing body of the municipality may only approve or
48	48	disapprove, but may not conditionally approve, each individual
49	49	required planning document.
50	50	SECTION 3. Section 212.0085, Local Government Code, is
51	51	amended by amending the heading and adding Subsections (b), (c),
52	52	and (d) to read as follows:
53	53	Sec. 212.0085. APPROVAL AND BIFURCATED APPROVAL PROCEDURE:
54	54	APPLICABILITY.
55	55	(a) The approval procedures under this subchapter apply to a
56	56	municipality regardless of whether the municipality has entered
57	57	into an interlocal agreement, including an interlocal agreement
58	58	between a municipality and county under Section 242.001(d).
59	59	(b) After receiving a request from at least five applicants
60	60	and conducting a public hearing on the matter at which interested
61	61	parties shall be heard, a municipality shall establish a bifurcated
62	62	approval procedure under this subchapter, including a phased
63	63	approach to the approval of a preliminary plan or plat and a final
64	64	plan or plat.
65	65	(c) Each phase of a bifurcated approval procedure adopted
66	66	under subsection (b) shall be subject to the approval procedures in
67	67	Sections 212.009, 212.0091, 212.0093, and 212.0095.
68	68	(d) An applicant may, but is not required to, opt-in to the
69	69	bifurcated approval procedure established by the municipality
70	70	under subsection (b).
71	71	SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 232, Local Government
72	72	Code, is amended by adding Section 232.0001 to read as follows:
73	73	Sec.232.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
74	74	(4) "Required planning document" means a document
75	75	required by the county or state or federal law for the approval of a
76	76	plan or plat. The term includes, as applicable:
77	77	(A) associated drainage studies;
78	78	(B) traffic impact analyses;
79	79	(C) utility evaluations;
80	80	(D) geotechnical reports;
81	81	(E) federal permits such as Federal Emergency
82	82	Management Agency Conditional Letters of Map Revision and Letters
83	83	of Map Revision; and
84	84	(F) groundwater availability certifications
85	85	required under Section 212.0101.
86	86	SECTION 5. Section 232.0025, Local Government Code, is
87	87	amended by adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows:
88	88	(b-1) Except as provided by Section 232.0032, a county may
89	89	not require a person desiring approval of a plat to submit or obtain
90	90	approval of a required planning document or otherwise fulfill any
91	91	prerequisites or conditions before filing a copy of the plat
92	92	application with the commissioners court or the court's designee.
93	93	(b-2) A commissioners court or the court's designee may
94	94	conditionally approve a plat application on the condition that the
95	95	applicant must also submit or obtain approval of certain required
96	96	planning documents after the plat application is filed. If
97	97	commissioners court or the court's designee conditionally approves
98	98	a plat application on such a condition, the county's approval
99	99	process for each individual required planning document shall also
100	100	be subject to the same procedures and timelines as those prescribed
101	101	for plat applications under Sections 232.0025, 232.0026, 232.0027,
102	102	and 232.0028, with the exception that the commissioners court or
103	103	the court's deignee may only approve or disapprove, but may not
104	104	conditionally approve, each individual required planning document.
105	105	SECTION 6. Section 232.0023, Local Government Code, is
106	106	amended by amending the heading and adding Subsections (b), (c),
107	107	and (d) to read as follows:
108	108	Sec. 232.0023. APPROVAL AND BIFURCATED APPROVAL PROCEDURE:
109	109	APPLICABILITY.
110	110	(a) The plat application approval procedures under this
111	111	subchapter apply to a county regardless of whether the county has
112	112	entered into an interlocal agreement, including an interlocal
113	113	agreement between a municipality and county under Section
114	114	242.001(d).
115	115	(b) After receiving a request from at least five applicants
116	116	and conducting a public hearing on the matter at which interested
117	117	parties shall be heard, a county shall establish a bifurcated
118	118	approval procedure under this subchapter, including a phased
119	119	approach to the approval of a preliminary plat and a final plat.
120	120	(c) Each phase of a bifurcated approval procedure adopted
121	121	under subsection (b) shall be subject to the approval procedures in
122	122	Sections 232.0025, 232.0026, 232.0027, and 232.0028.
123	123	(d) An applicant may, but is not required to, opt-in to the
124	124	bifurcated approval procedure established by the county under
125	125	subsection (b).
126	126	SECTION 7. The change in law made by this Act applies only
127	127	to a plan or plat application filed on or after the effective date
128	128	of this Act. A plan or plat application filed before the effective
129	129	date of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before
130	130	the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect
131	131	for that purpose.
132	132	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.