§ V. Required improvements.

a.

When a preliminary plat of a subdivision has been approved, the developer shall submit to the city engineer, plans and specifications for all improvements pertinent to said subdivision. The city engineer shall, within 30 days of receipt of said plans and specifications, approve same if they conform to the requirements of these regulations and the current design criteria, or disapprove same giving its reasons therefor in writing to the subdivider. Thereafter, when the subdivider has met the objections, if any, the city engineer shall approve the plans and specifications and forthwith deliver same to the subdivider, his agent or his engineer.

b.

Before beginning any construction of the improvements required by this appendix, three complete sets of plans, specifications and contracts, including performance, payment and maintenance bonds covering said construction, shall be filed with the city. These shall show such features as required by the current design criteria.

c.

All public infrastructure improvements within all of the area of any subdivision or portion thereof given final approval by the commission shall be inspected and accepted by the city before the plat is filed of record.

d.

All improvements shall be designed and constructed in conformity with the provisions of these regulations and the current design criteria of the city. No construction shall be commenced until these regulations are complied with. It shall be the duty of the subdivider or his engineer to see that this provision is complied with in its entirety.

e.

The subdivider, owner, and the design engineer responsible for the design improvements shall have the obligation upon acceptance of the preliminary plat by the city to grant the city engineer or his authorized representative the right of ingress and egress for the purpose of inspection of the facilities under construction. If at any time during the construction of the proposed improvements the city engineer or his authorized representative finds the improvements not to be in conformance with the plans and specifications of the proposed improvements and the city subdivision ordinance or current design criteria, the city engineer or his representative will hereby be given the authority to cause the subdivider, owner, and the design engineer for the improvements to cease all operations within the property boundaries of the approved plat until all deficiencies are corrected to conform to the city subdivision ordinance and current design criteria.

f.

Upon approval of the construction drawings by the city engineer, these drawings and specifications shall become the minimum standards required for final acceptance of the subdivision, provided, however, that in the case of conflict where the design criteria impose greater requirements, the design criteria will govern in this deficient specification; all other specifications being the same as had previously been approved by the city engineer.

g.

The subdivider, owner or his engineer must furnish one certified complete set of as-built drawings on the street, drainage and utilities in the subdivision before final acceptance. The owner and the contractor must furnish to the city secretary, upon final acceptance of the subdivision by the city, a maintenance bond for the duration of one year from the date of final acceptance of the subdivision. The bond shall be for 100 percent of the present worth of the installed utilities.

h.

Adoption of minimum standards. The city design criteria manual shall provide the city's technical details for infrastructure improvements and shall be updated from time to time and adopted by resolution. The current design criteria for the city for infrastructure improvements shall be complied with in each subdivision before final approval of a plat by the commission. The current approved version shall be kept on file with the city secretary and the city engineer.

i.

Sidewalk installation fund.

1.

Payment in lieu of sidewalk installation. Where a sidewalk is required by the city design criteria manual, subdivision ordinance, or zoning ordinance, and the installation at the required time is not feasible, the city may require, or the property owner may petition the planning and zoning commission to allow, the property owner to satisfy the sidewalk requirement by payment of a fee to the city's sidewalk installation fund in lieu of installing the approved sidewalk. Said payment shall be at the current rate of construction per square foot or square yard of sidewalk at the time of application, and such rate shall be determined by surveying local construction bid prices, TxDOT bid prices and any other available bid price information, and shall be the average of comparative prices from at least three such sources.

2.

Sidewalk installation fund. There is hereby established a special fund for the deposit of all sums paid in lieu of sidewalk installation under this section or any preceding ordinance, which fund shall be known as the sidewalk installation fund. Funds shall only be released from the sidewalk installation fund upon city council approval of a plan to utilize the funds to build sidewalks at the location from which the funds originated.

3.

Timing of payment of fees in lieu of sidewalk installation. Where plat approval is required as per section I.b, sidewalks shall be required to be installed at the time of construction of the appropriate street pavement. Where plat approval is not required, sidewalks must be installed before the property owner applies for a certificate of occupancy. Payment of fees in lieu of sidewalk installation shall be due at the time of construction of the appropriate street pavement or application for certificate of occupancy, as appropriate. Where payment of fees in lieu of sidewalk installation for the entirety of a phased development is planned, such payment may be made in full for all phases of the proposed development at the time of filing of the plat for the first phase, or payment of fees in lieu of sidewalk installation for each section of a phased development may be made at the time of filing of the final plat for each phase or section, at the discretion of the developer. No improvements shall be accepted until the fees in lieu of sidewalk installation have been paid in full.

4.

Time limit/refund. The city shall account for all sums paid in lieu of sidewalk installation under this section with reference to the individual plats involved. Any funds paid for such purpose must be expended by the city within ten years after the filing of the final plat, or the filing of the final plat of each phase or section of the contributing subdivision, if a phased development. If all the funds cannot be committed within the initial ten-year time period, the director of community development may request a time extension for a period not to exceed an additional ten years for the expenditure of the funds from the city council. The extension request shall be submitted in writing to the city council at least 60 days prior to the expiration period for the funds to be committed by the city, and shall include a detailed justification for the extension request. If not so expended, the owners of the property on the first day of such ten-year period shall be entitled to a pro rata refund of such initial sum (principal only), computed on a square footage of area basis. The owners of such property must request such refund within one year of entitlement. Such request must be made in writing to the city manager or his/her designee or such right shall be barred.

(Ord. No. 2000-01, § 2, 1-17-2000; Ord. No. 2008-07, § 1, 3-24-2008; Ord. No. 2008-29, § 2, 10-6-2008)