88R7225 SCL-F
By: Wilson H.B. No. 3699
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to municipal regulation of subdivisions and approval of
subdivision plans or plats.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 212, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 212.0021 to read as follows:
Sec. 212.0021. SUBDIVISION REQUIREMENTS. The governing
body of a municipality, by ordinance and after notice is published
in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality, may:
(1) require a right-of-way on a street or road that
functions as a main artery in a subdivision of a width of not less
than 50 feet or more than 100 feet;
(2) require a right-of-way on any other street or road
in a subdivision of a width of not less than 40 feet or more than 70
feet;
(3) require that the shoulder-to-shoulder width on
collectors or main arteries within the right-of-way is not less
than 32 feet or more than 56 feet, and that the shoulder-to-shoulder
width on any other street or road is not less than 25 feet or more
than 35 feet;
(4) adopt, based on the amount and kind of travel over
each street or road in a subdivision, reasonable specifications
relating to the construction of each street or road; and
(5) adopt reasonable specifications to provide
adequate drainage for each street or road in a subdivision in
accordance with standard engineering practices.
SECTION 2. Sections 212.004(a) and (b), Local Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The owner of a tract of land located within the limits or
in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality who divides
the tract in two or more parts to lay out a subdivision of the tract,
including an addition to a municipality, to lay out suburban,
building, or other lots, or to lay out streets, alleys, squares,
parks, or other parts of the tract intended by the owner of the
tract to be dedicated to public use [or for the use of purchasers or
owners of lots fronting on or adjacent to the streets, alleys,
squares, parks, or other parts] must have a plat of the subdivision
prepared. A division of a tract under this subsection includes a
division regardless of whether it is made by using a metes and
bounds description in a deed of conveyance or in a contract for a
deed, by using a contract of sale or other executory contract to
convey, or by using any other method. A division of land under this
subsection does not include a division of land into parts greater
than five acres, where each part has access and no public
improvement is being dedicated.
(b) To be recorded, the plat must:
(1) describe the subdivision by metes and bounds;
(2) locate the subdivision with respect to a corner of
the survey or tract or an original corner of the original survey of
which it is a part; and
(3) state the dimensions of the subdivision and of
each street, alley, square, park, or other part of the tract
intended by the owner of the tract to be dedicated to public use [or
for the use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting on or adjacent
to the street, alley, square, park, or other part].
SECTION 3. Section 212.005, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 212.005. APPROVAL BY MUNICIPALITY REQUIRED. (a) The
municipal authority responsible for approving plats must approve a
plat or replat that is required to be prepared under this subchapter
and that satisfies the requirements of this subchapter [all
applicable regulations].
(b) This subchapter may not be construed to convey any
authority to a municipality regarding the completeness of an
application or the approval of a plat or replat that is not
explicitly granted by this subchapter.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 212, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 212.0081 to read as follows:
Sec. 212.0081. REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS. (a) Each
municipality to which this subchapter applies shall adopt and make
available to the public a complete, written list of all
documentation and other information that the municipality requires
to be submitted with a plat application. The required documentation
and other information must be related to a requirement authorized
under this subchapter.
(b) An application submitted to the municipal authority
responsible for approving plats that contains all documents and
other information on the list provided under Subsection (a) is
considered complete.
(c) A municipality that operates an Internet website shall
publish the list described by Subsection (a) on the Internet
website not later than the 30th day after the date the municipality
adopts or amends the list.
(d) A municipality that does not operate an Internet website
shall publish the list described by Subsection (a) on adoption of
the list or an amendment to the list in:
(1) a newspaper of general circulation in the
municipality; and
(2) a public place in the location in which the
governing body of the municipality meets.
SECTION 5. Section 212.009(b-2), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) or (b), the parties
shall [may] extend the 30-day period described by those subsections
for a period not to exceed 30 days if:
(1) both:
(A) 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
(B) [(2)] the municipal authority or governing
body, as applicable, approves the extension request; or
(2) Chapter 2007, Government Code, requires the
municipality to perform a takings impact assessment in connection
with the plan or plat.
SECTION 6. Section 212.010, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
(c) The municipal authority responsible for approving plats
may not require the dedication of land within a subdivision for a
future street or alley that is:
(1) not intended by the owner of the tract; and
(2) not included, funded, and approved in:
(A) a capital improvement plan adopted by the
municipality; or
(B) a similar plan adopted by a county in which
the municipality is located or the state.
(d) A municipal authority responsible for approving plats
may not refuse to review a plat or to approve a plat for recordation
for failure to identify a corridor, as defined by Section 201.619,
Transportation Code, unless the corridor is part of an agreement
between the Texas Department of Transportation and a county in
which the municipality is located under that section.
(e) If a municipal authority responsible for approving
plats fails or refuses to approve a plat that meets the requirements
of this subchapter, the owner of the tract that is the subject of
the plat may bring an action in a district court in a county in which
the tract is located for a writ of mandamus to compel the municipal
authority to approve the plat by issuing to the owner applicable
approval documentation. The owner may recover reasonable and
necessary attorney's fees and court costs in the action.
SECTION 7. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act but not later than January 1, 2024, each municipality
shall adopt and publish the list described by Section 212.0081,
Local Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an 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 applicable to the application immediately
before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.