As stated in the Unified Development Code (UDC), City Council from time to time, on its own motion, or at the recommendation of City staff amend, change, or modify text in any portion of the UDC to establish and maintain stable and desirable development. It is generally considered good practice to periodically review and update the development regulations due to changing conditions, community goals, and/or State and Federal regulations.

Background:
On September 1, 2023, House Bill (HB) 3699 went into effect. This bill had a variety of new provisions within it for municipalities to consider and/or adhere to. One of these provisions relates to the platting process. HB 3699 gives municipalities the option for subdivision plats to be administratively approved. Currently, the City of Schertz Unified Development Code (UDC) splits approval authority for plats between the Planning and Zoning Commission and city staff. Currently, staff has the authority to administratively approve or deny minor plats and amending plats. The Planning and Zoning Commission has the authority to approve or deny replats, preliminary, final, and vacating plats.

PLUDC20230228 proposes to amend Article 3 and Article 12 of the UDC in order to give city staff approval authority for subdivision plats. 

Proposed Amendments: 

Article 3 - Boards, Commissions and Committees
UDC Section 21.3.3 Planning and Zoning Commission	Changes the authority of the Planning and Zoning Commission. The commission will have final authority on plats and plans only "if forwarded by the City Manager or his/her designee".
UDC Section 21.3.5 Administrative Authority	Gives approval authority to "City Manager or his/her designee" for subdivision plats.
Article 12 - Subdivisions
UDC Section 21.12.2 General Provisions	21.12.2.A. Cleans up language pertaining to property ownership and the dedication of land for public use 21.12.2.I. Includes "City Manager or his/her designee" to subsection related to plat disapproval
UDC Section 21.12.8 Preliminary Plat Process	Details the process for administrative approval/denial/appeal of preliminary plats
UDC Section 21.12.10 Final Plat Process	Details the process for administrative approval/denial/appeal of final plats
UDC Section 21.12.13 Replat Process	Details the process for administrative approval/denial/appeal of replats
UDC Section 21.12.14 Vacating Plat Process	Details the process for administrative approval/denial/appeal of vacating plats

 

Platting is a technical process that requires the involvement of the entire development team from the city. The Planning, Public Works, Engineering, and Fire Department all thoroughly review subdivision plats to ensure that all state and City of Schertz requirements are met.

The UDC stipulates that platting has a "certification" then "formal" process. When a "formal" plat is accepted by the city, state law requires that the city review and approve this plat within 30 days. This is commonly referred to as the "shot-clock" rule. In the event the "shot-clock" has run out, and the review has not been completed, the state law requires automatic approval of the plat. To ensure that staff has enough time to properly review subdivision plats, the City of Schertz adopted the certification process. There are two separate platting processes; the "certification" process where the bulk of the review takes place, and the "formal" application where our platting fee is assessed and the shot-clock begins.The formal plat application is what is presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission and staff has a strict submittal calendar to guarantee a Commission meeting to consider the plat within the 30 day shot-clock. 

The "certification" then "formal" process is a common practice among other municipalities and a necessary step for staff to ensure that all City of Schertz's UDC requirements are met. However, it adds complexity and time to the overall development process. The purpose of PLUDC20230228 is to help make the process more efficient by potentially removing a time-consuming step in the process.

Texas Local Government Code (LGC) Section 212.005(a) states the following:
"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."

When plats are presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission, staff has ensured that all applicable regulations and requirements are already met and the action of bringing the item to the Planning and Zoning Commission is largely procedural.  The Planning and Zoning Commission meets twice a month (sometimes once a month) and this potentially puts added time and cost on a property owner's project. Additionally, staff spends a lot of time and effort to organize an agenda, compile staff reports, and present these plats to the Planning and Zoning Commission; when ultimately according to LGC 211.005(a) the Commission must approve them unless an applicable regulation or requirement is not met, which staff has already ensured the plat meets all requirements prior to bringing the item to the Commission for action. 

The exception to this is when a plat does not or cannot reasonably meet all the applicable requirements. An example of this is when a waiver is requested from the requirement to connect to the sanitary sewer system. Staff often sees this in the more under-developed areas of the city, as sanitary sewer is far enough away that it would be unreasonably expensive for a property owner to connect. Staff is leaving the discretionary action of a waiver request in the Planning and Zoning Commission's authority, also staff may forward any plat to the Commission if it chooses to. 

Finally, staff is proposing to explicitly outline an appeals process where, if for some reason a plat that does not meet all the applicable requirements is denied by staff, then an applicant can appeal staff's decision to the Planning and Zoning Commission. 

Staff believes that these proposed amendments will largely eliminate a procedural/ceremonial process and make our development process more streamlined, efficient, and cost-effective for both property owners/applicants and for the city. Staff and the city attorney have worked through these proposed amendments to ensure that they meet all new state law requirements as laid out in HB 3699. Therefore, staff recommends approval of PLUDC20230228 as proposed.

The Planning and Zoning Commission in making a recommendation to City Council on the proposed Unified Development Code Amendment. In considering action on a UDC Amendment, the Commission should consider the criteria within UDC, Section 21.4.7 D.