§ 38-8. Preliminary plat.
(a)
Purpose and applicability. A preliminary plat shall be required for all proposed developments or subdivisions of land within the corporate boundaries of the city, except where otherwise provided in this chapter. A preliminary plat is neither required nor permitted in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction except that a preliminary plat is required for any development that meets the criteria within this section if the property owner and the city have executed a development agreement pursuant to V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 212.172. The required preliminary plat is intended to provide sufficient information to evaluate and review the general design of the development to ensure compliance with the city comprehensive plan, the city Unified Development Code, the thoroughfare plan, and the requirements of this chapter. Where a master plat is required, the preliminary plat shall conform to the approved master plat.
(b)
Application; required information. An application in writing for tentative approval of a preliminary plat of the proposed subdivision shall be filed with the planning director at least 14 days prior to the meeting of the planning and zoning commission at which time approval is asked. The preliminary plat shall be submitted on standard 24-inch by 36-inch paper at a scale of one inch equals 100 feet by the subdivider or his agent prior to the sale, offering sale of any lots, tract or building site and prior to completion of final surveys of streets or lots prior to the grading or construction work on any streets and before any map of such subdivision is prepared in form for recording. Where a master plat has been approved, the information contained in the preliminary plat application shall identify the phase of the master plan which the preliminary plat represents and shall be consistent with the information shown on the master plat. The preliminary plat application shall be submitted in accordance with and be accompanied by the following in accordance with the manual of standard design, manual of water distribution, and manual of street and drainage:
(1)
Location map. A vicinity sketch or key map at a scale of not more than 400 feet to the inch for all subdivisions exceeding five acres in size or containing ten or more lots. Such sketch or map shall show existing subdivisions, streets, property lines and the recorded names of the owners of the adjoining parcels. It shall also show how the streets and alleys of the proposed subdivisions connect or relate to streets and alleys in neighboring subdivisions or undeveloped property and the relationship of the development to existing or proposed major and secondary thoroughfares.
(2)
Names of owner, etc. The preliminary plat shall show the name of the owner and/or subdivider and the name of the engineer, land planner or surveyor responsible for the preparation of the plat.
(3)
Identification. The proposed name of the subdivision (which must not be as similar to that of existing subdivisions as to cause confusion) and names of adjacent subdivisions and landowners shall be shown on the plat.
(4)
Boundary lines, etc. Location of boundary lines and width and location of platted streets and alleys within, or adjacent to, the property; physical features of the property, including location of any existing utilities with the size of sewer and water mains. The outlines of the wooded areas or the location of important individual trees is requited. For all plats, contours must be shown at the intervals of two feet. All elevations shown shall be referred to sealevel datum. The acreage of the property is to be indicated.
(5)
Location and width of the proposed streets and other features. The location and width of the proposed streets, roads, lots, alleys, easements, widening of existing thoroughfares, and other features, and their location in relation to platted streets, alleys and easements in adjacent subdivisions shall be shown consistent with the thoroughfare plan or other adopted plan for roads and streets. The street layout shall be in conformity with a plan for the most advantageous development of the entire neighborhood areas. Whenever the proposed subdivision contains or is adjacent, or parallel to a railroad right-of-way or a major thoroughfare or freeway or expressway standards, provision shall be made for a street approximately parallel to and on each side of such right-of-way to provide reasonable use of the intervening land. Proposed streets shall be adjusted to the contour of the land so as to produce useable lots and streets of reasonable gradient.
(6)
Plat contents. The horizontal scale of the preliminary plat shall be not less than 100 feet to one inch and the plat shall also show:
a.
The north point, scale and date;
b.
The boundary line, accurate in scale, of the tract to be submitted;
c.
The names of all proposed streets;
d.
The layout, number, and approximate dimension of all proposed lots or building tracts and the square feet of each;
e.
All parcels of land intended to be dedicated to public use reserved for the common use of owners of lots or sites in the subdivision, and the acreage;
f.
Any and all arrangement of lots, building lines or streets proposed.
(7)
Profiles and cross sections. Profiles and cross sections sufficient to ascertain that the preliminary plat proposals will function in accordance with the standards of the city.
(8)
Zoning information. A designation shall be shown of the proposed uses of land within the subdivision that is:
a.
The classified type of residential use by the Unified Development Code;
b.
Location of business or classification of industrial sites by the Unified Development Code classification; and
c.
Sites for churches, schools, parks, or other special uses, and their acreage.
(9)
Certificates. The following certifications shall be placed on the preliminary plat:
a.
Reviewed for preliminary approval:
Planning & Zoning Commission Chairman Date b.
Approved for preparation of final plat:
Mayor, City of Rockwall Date (10)
Subdivider's statement. A preliminary plat application shall be accompanied by a written statement, signed by the subdivider stating the developer will comply with all the city requirements in the city requirements in the proposed subdivision and all such proposals shall conform to or exceed the standards for such improvements prescribed by the city.
(c)
Conformance to Unified Development Code standard required. All lots or building sites proposed for residential use shall conform to the standards prescribed by the Unified Development Code for the zoning district in which the plat is to be located
(d)
Tentative approval of council. After the preliminary plat has been reviewed and has received the preliminary approval of the city's engineer and/or planning director, and after such preliminary plat has received the approval of the planning and zoning commission, such preliminary plat shall be submitted to the city council for their tentative approval. The city council may give its tentative approval to such preliminary plat with conditions to be met by the final plat and improvement of the subdivision, or may deny the plat application. The tentative approval of the preliminary plat by the council does not constitute acceptance of the subdivision, but is an authorization to proceed with the preparation of engineering plans and the final plat in accordance with the conditions of such approval.
(e)
Acceptance of engineering plans. The planning director shall not accept any engineering plans until such preliminary plat has been approved by the city council, unless a statement is signed stating that the applicant is aware that changes may be required on the engineering plans in order to comply with the conditions of approval as required by the planning and zoning commission and city council.
(f)
Lapse and extension of preliminary plat approval.
(1)
Expiration of plats. The applicant shall submit a final plat to the city for the entire area for which a preliminary plat has been approved, within one year of the date of approval or conditional approval of the preliminary plat. If the property owner fails to submit a final plat application within such period, the preliminary plat shall lapse, and all further proceedings concerning the subdivision shall terminate. The applicant shall be required to submit a new preliminary plat, as required by this chapter, subject to all zoning and subdivision standards then in effect.
(2)
Extension and reinstatement procedure.
a.
Sixty days prior to the lapse of approval for a preliminary plat, the property owner may petition the planning and zoning commission to extend or reinstate the approval. Such petition shall be considered at a public meeting of the commission.
b.
In determining whether to grant such request, the commission shall take into account the reasons for lapse, the ability of the property owner to comply with any conditions attached to the original approval, the extent to which the property owner agrees to abide by newly adopted subdivision regulations, and any changed conditions in the surrounding area which would make an extension undesirable. The commission shall extend its approval of the plat, or deny the request. In the event the commission denies extension of the preliminary plat, the property owner must submit a new application for approval.
c.
The commission may specify a shorter time for lapse of the extended plat that is applicable to original approvals, but shall not extend the period that a preliminary plat approval is valid to more than two years from the date of original approval.
d.
At any time following the lapse of approval of a preliminary plat, a developer may request, and the commission may approve, at its discretion, a reinstatement of such preliminary plat for the purpose of considering and approving a final plat for all or a portion of the area covered by the preliminary plat. The commission shall reinstate a preliminary plat only when it determines that it would be in the public interest to do so to avoid unnecessary review of a new preliminary plat, and when the pattern of development proposed by the plat would not be to the detriment of any nearby area or the general development of the city. The commission may establish such conditions on reinstatement as are necessary to ensure that the reinstated plat conforms to the city's comprehensive plan, including a requirement that the plat conform to the city's current subdivision standards.
(g)
Criteria for approval. The following criteria shall be used to determine whether the application for a preliminary plat shall be approved, approved with conditions, or denied:
(1)
Where a master plat has been approved for the land subject to the proposed preliminary plat, the preliminary plat conforms to the general layout of the master plat, the conditions attached to the master plat, and the phasing plan approved therein.
(2)
The preliminary plat is consistent with all zoning requirements for the property, and any approved development or annexation agreements.
(3)
The proposed provision and configuration of roads, water, wastewater, drainage easements and rights-of-way and park facilities conforms to the city's master facilities plans for such facilities, including the city's adopted thoroughfare plan, and any amendments thereto.
(4)
The water, wastewater, roadway and drainage systems serving the development have adequate capacity to accommodate the demands for services created by the development at the time of preliminary plat approval, or that such capacity will be available by the time of final plat approval, in accordance with section 38-15 et seq. of these subdivision regulations.
(5)
The dedication of land, construction of public improvements or fees to be contributed by the subdivider are adequate to offset the impacts on public improvements created by the development.
(6)
The design of the subdivision meets all other standards of this chapter.
(7)
Where the proposed development is located in whole in part in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city and is subject to an interlocal agreement under V.T.C.A., Local Government Code ch. 242, the proposed preliminary subdivision plat meets any county standards to be applied pursuant to the agreement.
(h)
Creation of remainder tracts. Where a master plat is not required, an applicant for preliminary plat approval may propose a subdivision of land that creates a remainder tract, as defined in section 38-7(c). The applicant must submit the information required by the city for a remainder tract with the application for preliminary plat approval. The planning and zoning commission and the city council may approve the proposed subdivision, or require that the remainder tract be included within the preliminary plat. If the city allows the applicant to create the remainder tract, the provisions of section 38-7(c) shall apply.
(Code 1982, § 24-8; Ord. No. 78-20, § VII, 8-7-1978; Ord. No. 84-9, § 1, 2-6-1984; Ord. No. 02-41, § 1(24-6), 9-3-2002; 10-11-2004; Ord. No. 03-02, § 1(24-8), 2-3-2003; Ord. No. 04-58, § 1(24-8), 10-11-2004; Ord. No. 06-24, § 2, 6-19-2006)