§ I. General.

a.

Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish the procedures and requirements for the submittal, review, consideration and action by the commission to provide the necessary details and orderly processing of the subdivision of land within the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.

b.

Plat approval required.

1.

It shall be unlawful for any person to subdivide any tract, lot, or parcel of land within the city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction unless and until a preliminary and final plat of such subdivision has been approved, or an exemption satisfied, in accordance with the terms of this appendix. Unless and until a preliminary and final plat, amending plat or replat of a subdivision shall have been first approved in the manner provided herein by the commission or an exemption satisfied, it shall be unlawful for any person to construct or cause to be constructed any street, utility, facility, building, structure, or any other improvement on any lot, tract, or parcel of land within such subdivision, except as specifically permitted herein.

2.

No building, plumbing, electrical or mechanical permit shall be issued by the city for the construction of any structure on a lot or tract in a subdivision for which a final plat has not been approved by the commission and filed for record or certificate of exemption issued. No site plan shall be approved by the city for the construction of any structure on a lot or tract in a subdivision for which a preliminary plat has not been approved by the commission, or certificate of exemption issued. No building, plumbing, electrical, or mechanical permit shall be issued by the city for the construction or repair of any structure on a lot or tract in a subdivision in which the permanent public improvements have not been approved and accepted by the city.

3.

Large tract division. A division of land under subsection b.1 of this section 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. Access shall be satisfied by compliance with section III.b.1(a). Upon request by the owner of a tract resulting from this division who qualifies, the city must issue a certificate of exemption certifying that the division meets this exception.

4.

Partial plat approval. Notwithstanding subsection b.1 of this section, a subdivision plat need not include all of a tract being divided if:

(a)

General.

(i)

The portion of the tract being divided but not included within the plat boundaries is not intended to be a part of the development reflected in the proposed plat; or

(ii)

If some or all of the portion being divided but not included within the plat boundaries is intended to be a part of the development reflected in the proposed plat, then such part may be platted in a subsequent phase of the development, provided the person dividing the property submits a conceptual plan pursuant to section II.a that meets with city approval;

(b)

The tracts being divided:

(i)

Each have access that complies with section III.b.1(a); and

(ii)

Each are greater than five acres in size;

(c)

Excluding the portion of the tract being divided but not included within the plat boundaries will not substantially alter or impede any pending or anticipated development;

(d)

The boundaries of the portion of the tract not included within the plat are depicted and identified on the plat of the subdivision by dashed lines as provided for by section II.b.2(c)(2), and with a notation thereon indicating that development of such tract is contingent upon a subdivision plat thereof being filed and approved by the city, if such plat is required;

(e)

The plat application includes an acknowledgement, executed by the owner of the tract being divided, confirming that development of the portion of the tract not included within the plat boundaries would be contingent upon a subdivision plat being filed and approved by the city, if such plat is required, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the city governing plats and the subdivision of land in effect at the time the application for plat approval for such portion is sought; and

(f)

The general purposes of this appendix will be served without the necessity of including such tract within the boundaries of the plat.

5.

Upon request by the owner of the tract resulting from a division under subsection 4(a)(i) of this section that is not intended to be a part of the development reflected in the proposed plat, and who qualifies, the city must issue a certificate of exemption certifying that the division meets this exception.

c.

Authority. The city shall not repair, maintain, install or provide any street or public utility service, nor authorize the sale or supply of water or sewer service, in any subdivision for which a final plat has not been approved by the commission and filed for record. The city shall not repair, maintain, install, or provide any street or public utility service, nor authorize the sale or supply of water or sewage service, in any subdivision in which the permanent public improvements have not been approved and accepted by the city.

d.

Exemptions. The provisions of these subdivision regulations shall not apply to:

1.

Annexed and consolidated areas. Land legally platted and approved prior to the effective date of the city's subdivision regulations with frontage on an existing, improved public street and with all utilities and public infrastructure needed to serve the land.

2.

In-fill tract. Land constituting one or more contiguous tracts with total acreage of less than five acres with frontage on an existing, improved public street and with all utilities and public infrastructure needed to serve the land, for which a legal deed of record describing the boundary of said tract or parcel was filed of record in the deed records of the county clerk of the appropriate county on or before the effective date of the ordinance from which this appendix is derived.

3.

Certificate of exemption. Upon request by the owner of a tract who qualifies for an exemption under subsection d.1 or d.2 of this section, the city must issue a certificate of exemption certifying that the division meets this exception.

e .

Definitions. The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and the enforcement of this appendix. The terms not defined herein shall be construed in accordance with the ordinances of the city or their customary usage and meaning in municipal planning and engineering practices.

Access or accessway means the public or private street by which pedestrians and vehicles shall have lawful and usable ingress and egress to a property line, provided, however, that access may be provided through a private easement in a commercial development.

Alleys. Alleys shall only be used to provide secondary access to lots which otherwise have their primary access from an adjacent street. Minimum pavement width for alleys shall be 20 feet.

Block means an area of land within a subdivision entirely bound by streets (other than alleys), highways, natural barriers, or the exterior boundaries of the subdivision.

Block length means the distance along a side of a street between the nearest two streets which intersect said street on said side.

Block-face means one side of a city street between two consecutive intersections.

City means the City of Friendswood, Texas, a municipal corporation located within Galveston and Harris Counties, Texas.

Commission means the planning and zoning commission of the City of Friendswood, Texas.

Comprehensive plan means the general plan adopted by the city council for the growth and development of the city and its environs, including any and all elements of such plan, addressing such topics as land use, streets and thoroughfares, utilities, drainage, parks, community facilities and schools, as well as other related topics or plans.

Conceptual plan means a plan showing all of the proposed improvements, including, but not limited to, streets, lots, drainageways, etc.

Council means the duly elected governing body of the City of Friendswood, Texas.

Cul-de-sac means a dead-end street with turnaround.

Filed final plat means the date of the commission meeting that the plat is set for action.

Final plat means a complete and exact subdivision plan prepared in conformity with the provisions of this appendix and other related ordinances and in a manner suitable for recording with the county clerk of the county or counties in which said subdivision is located.

Frontage means that side of a lot abutting an accessway where the lot is assigned an address.

In-fill tract means any vacant tract or tracts of land that can be developed for the use for which they are zoned, and which are surrounded by, or adjacent to, existing developed property.

Lot means a physically undivided tract or parcel of land having frontage on an accessway and which is, or in the future may be, offered for sale, conveyance, transfer or improvement; which is designated as a distinct and separate tract; and which is identified by a tract or lot number or symbol in a duly approved subdivision plat which has been properly recorded.

Preliminary plat means a map or drawing of a proposed subdivision prepared in accordance with the provisions of this appendix and which illustrates the features of the development for the purpose of review and preliminary approval by the commission.

Private streets means a right-of-way or accessway, meeting all requirements of public streets, except owned and maintained by private interests.

Public sidewalk means the minimum paved walkway, built in conformance with the city design criteria manual and standard construction details, located within the public right-of-way, or easement dedicated for public use, which provides continuous pedestrian access to adjacent land.

Public streets means a public right-of-way, dedicated for public use, which provides vehicular and pedestrian access to adjacent land. Included within this definition are the following general classification of streets:

(a)

Major thoroughfares or arterial streets means principal traffic arteries more or less continuous across the city and which are intended to connect remote parts of the city and which are used primarily for fast or heavy-volume traffic.

(b)

Collector streets means streets which carry traffic from minor streets to the major system of arterial streets and highways; said street may service commercial or industrial areas.

(c)

Minor streets means streets which are used primarily for access to the abutting properties and which are intended to serve traffic within a limited area.

(d)

Boulevard means a collector street utilizing two 22-foot, minimum width, paved roadway sections divided by a 12-foot-wide lane with raised median, which serves to separate traffic moving in opposite directions.

Subdivider and/or developer are synonymous and are used interchangeably, and shall include any person, partnership, firm, association, corporation and/or any officer, agent, employee, servant and trustee thereof, who does, or participates in the doing of, any act toward the subdivision of land within the intent, scope and purview of these regulations.

Subdivision or subdivide means the division of any lot, tract or parcel of land by plat, map or description into two or more parts, lots or sites for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale, rental or lease, or division of ownership. Any dedication and the laying out (or realignment) of new streets, or other public accessways, with or without lotting, is a subdivision. The term "subdivision" or "subdivide" also includes the resubdivision and replatting of land or lots which are part of a previously recorded subdivision. An "addition" is a subdivision as defined herein. The term "subdivision" or "subdivide" includes the division of land whether by plat or by metes and bounds description, and, when appropriate to the context, shall relate to the process of subdividing or to the land subdivided.

Title certificate means a certificate prepared and executed by a title company authorized to do business in the state or an attorney licensed in the state certifying the true owner or owners of the property and describing all encumbrances of record which affect the property. Such certificate shall include all property included within the platted area, and such certificate shall not have been executed more than 45 days prior to the submission of same to the commission.

Tract means a lot or parcel of land, however denoted, fee simple title to which is owned by a person or persons by virtue of one or more deeds or other instruments. Multiple parcels of land described in a deed or other instrument are, despite being included in a single deed or other instrument, separate parcels of land if such parcels are described by separate, complete legal descriptions therein.

f.

Effective date and applicability means all subdivision applications filed for preliminary plat approval on or after the effective date of the ordinance from which this appendix is derived shall be subject to these regulations. A subdivision application filed or which has received preliminary approval prior to the effective date of the ordinance from which this appendix is derived shall be subject to the subdivision regulations in effect at the time of filing the application for preliminary plat approval.

(Ord. No. 2000-01, § 2, 1-17-2000; Ord. No. 2007-05, § 1(A), 4-16-2007; Ord. No. 2008-10, § 1, 5-19-2008; Ord. No. 2008-19, § 2, 7-7-2008)