Texas Administrative Code › Title 31 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION › Part 10 - TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD › Chapter 364 - MODEL SUBDIVISION RULES › Subchapter B - MODEL RULES › Division 3 - PLAT APPROVAL › Section 364.57 - Criteria for Subdivisions that Occurred Prior to September 1, 1989

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Authority and scope. This section shall
					 apply only to tracts of land that were divided into two or more parts to lay
					 out a subdivision before September 1, 1989 and have not been platted or
					 recorded. This section is in addition to the authority of the county to grant a
					 delay or variance pursuant to Local Government Code §
											232.043
					 or a rule of the county adopted pursuant to such provision.
(b) Purpose. It is the purpose of this
					 section to promote the public health of the county residents, to ensure that
					 adequate water and sewerage facilities are provided in subdivisions within the
					 jurisdiction of this county, and to establish the minimum standards for
					 pre-1989 subdivisions for which no plat has been filed or recorded in the
					 records of the county.
(c) Required
					 plat. In the event that the owner of tract of land located outside the limits
					 of a municipality who subdivided the tract into two or more parts to lay out a
					 subdivision of the tract prior to September 1, 1989, including an addition, or
					 to lay out suburban lots or building lots, and to lay out streets, alleys,
					 squares, parks or other parts of the tract intended 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, was legally obligated to,
					 but has failed to have a plat of the subdivision prepared, approved by the
					 commissioners court, and filed, the owner of a residential lot which was
					 created by the subdivision may have a plat of the individual lot prepared and
					 approved by the commissioners court as provided in this section in lieu of the
					 filing of a plat of the subdivision.
(d) Special criteria. The commissioners court
					 may approve the plat of a residential lot which does not comply with the
					 provisions of §§
											364.15(b)
					 of this title (sale restrictions), 364.36 of this title (Setbacks), 364.37 of
					 this title (Number of Dwellings per Lot), 364.52 of this title (Final
					 Engineering Report), and 364.54 of this title (Financial Guarantees for
					 Improvements) as applied to an individual subdivided lot if such approval is in
					 harmony with the general purpose and intent of these rules so that the public
					 health, safety, and welfare may be secured and substantial justice done.
(1) Owners of individual lots in a single
					 unplatted subdivision may file a joint request for approval of their respective
					 individual residential lots.
(2) An
					 application for approval of the plat of an individual lot shall be made in
					 writing. The application shall state specifically the chapter, section, or
					 subsection with which the plat does not comply and from which a waiver is being
					 requested. The application shall contain available information and
					 documentation which supports the requested approval. The applicant shall also
					 provide such additional documentation as the commissioners court may request to
					 support the application, including:
(A) a copy
					 of a dated plat, sales contract, utility records, or other acceptable
					 documentation that the subdivision occurred prior to September 1,
					 1989;
(B) the name and address of
					 the original subdivider or the subdivider's authorized agent, if
					 known;
(C) a survey and plat of the
					 lot for which approval is requested, showing existing residences, roads, and
					 utilities; and
(D) a deed, an
					 affidavit of ownership or other evidence of ownership of the lot for which
					 approval is requested.
(3) Approval of plats of individual lots
					 shall be granted subject to the limitations of state law, and based on written
					 findings by the commissioners court that:
(A)
					 the lot for which approval is requested is within a tract that was subdivided
					 prior to September 1, 1989, and is not owned by the original
					 subdivider;
(B) a plat was required
					 for the subdivision, but has not been filed with the county by the subdivider
					 legally obligated to file it;
(C)
					 an existing, currently occupied residential dwelling is located on the
					 lot;
(D) existing water and sewer
					 services which comply with the minimum standards set forth herein are available
					 to the lot; and
(E) the request is
					 reasonable, compliance with specified sections of these rules is impractical,
					 and a waiver is not contrary to the public health and safety.