Subdivision Regulations Tightened
The Fayette County Commissioners Court amended the County’s subdivision ordinance to limit the way developers can divide tracts of land in Fayette County.
The new rules come in response to a recent subdivision request in the High Hill area opposed by some residents.
The new rule will require 170 feet of road frontage for all newly-created lots in the unincorporated areas of the County. In addition, the County will now require a formal plat for all divisions of property creating five or more tracts within a 24 month period. All plats containing infrastructure dedicated to the public, such as roads, will now be subject to a drainage review to be paid for by the developer. The review must demonstrate that post-construction drainage design will have no adverse impact on adjoining or downstream properties.
Developer Ryan Pope of San Antonio submitted an application on April 1 requesting the division of a 44.3 acre property into 15 new tracts ranging in size from 2.5 to three acres. The property is located in Pct. 4 near the intersection of Falke- Heinrich Rd. and FM 956 north of High Hill.
“I haven’t gotten one single call from anyone who likes it,” said Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann. “Every single person who called, neighbors and people who don’t even live close, everybody wants them bigger.”
The subdivision ordinance normally requires a formal plat for division into four or more tracts. There are some exceptions to the rule, such as subdivisions among family members or tracts that will be used for agricultural purposes. County Inspector Clint Sternadel said Pope’s application did not meet any of the conditions for an exception.
Pope requested a variance to the platting requirement. If he had prepared a formal plat, Commissioners would have had no choice but to approve it. The Court tabled the request at their meeting two weeks ago. There is no public water available at that location. The new owners would have to dig water wells. At the meeting two weeks ago, Commissioners raised concerns about the close concentration of water wells, driveways and drainage.
Commissioners held a special meeting on Monday, April 22, to discuss the subdivision ordinance. They discussed various ways to address their density concerns. Sternadel proposed requiring a length to width ratio of 3:1 or 4:1 as a way of discouraging narrow lots. But property lines don’t always follow a square or rectangular pattern. Some property lines follow creeks or other natural features that result in irregular shapes. They eventually decided to consider a rule setting a minimum length of road frontage. They took no action at the meeting Monday but agreed to formulate a new rule at their regular meeting three days later.
On Thursday, Commissioners voted unanimously to deny Pope’s application since it did not meet any of the exemptions to the platting requirement. Later in the meeting, the took up the new subdivision rules. Sternadel initially recommended a minimum road frontage of 150 feet. Groundwater rules stipulate that water wells may not be drilled any closer than 50 feet from a property line. Sternadel’s proposal would ensure all new tracts have at least 50 feet of space to place a water well. Most of the tracts in Pope’s application would have had about 140 feet of road frontage.
“We obviously want to go wider than that,” said County Judge Dan Mueller. “Me, personally, I’d like to see us go wider than 150. What do you gentlemen think about 170 feet?”
“170 feet gives you a little more room,” said Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann.
“I think you have to go with the minimum,” said local surveyor William Bernsen. “In my opinion, it’s not the government’s purpose to legislate or regulate what is ‘nice’ but regulate to a minimum to protect the public health and welfare.”
Bernsen said the new rules will make it harder for developers to divide property. Mueller said to Bernsen: “It will be much harder to develop smaller lots. It won’t prevent them from developing lots.”
“Yeah, I just wonder where my children are going to live,” Bernsen said.
Commissioners voted unanimously to implement the new policy immediately even though they had not settled on the precise language. The language was submitted to Assistant County Attorney Blake Watson for legal review. The Commissioners will hold another special meeting on Monday, April 29, to vote on the final language.