County to Re-Write Subdivision Ordinance
Fayette County plans to hire a law firm to help the Commissioners Court rewrite its subdivision ordinance.
The ordinance regulates property divisions in the unincorporated areas of the county, which have grown dramatically in recent years as more and more people want to buy small acreage.
First enacted in 2001, the ordinance established the county’s two-acre minimum lot size requirement, along with platting requirements for large development. Commissioners have amended the ordinance three times since then.
In 2018 the Commissioners imposed a requirement for each newly-created lot to have exclusive access to a public road. In 2021 they amended it again to discourage the proliferation of “flag lots.” These unusually-shaped parcels with long, narrow “stems” started to appear as developers found creative ways to meet the 2018 road access amendment. Then last year they amended the ordinance once more to tighten regulations on flag lots. The 2024 amendment requires 170 feet of road frontage for each lot. It also requires a platted survey for any development of more than five lots over a two-year period, along with a drainage study for any platted subdivision.
Last fall, the Commissioners began working on a revision to the ordinance to streamline development requirements and bring it up to date with changes in law and land development practices. Commissioners took up the issue again during a workshop session at last Thursday’s Commissioners Court meeting.
“We had a pretty good gathering of ideas at that time,” said County Inspector Clint Sternadel, who oversees subdivision regulations. “We’re trying to organize those ideas in a such a way that they still met the statutory requirements from the state. Trying to do that in-house was kind of reinventing the wheel.”
Sternadel said he sought guidance from the Texas Association of Counties. They recommended a law firm that specializes in subdivision regulation: Allison, Bass & Magee.
“When you consider growth in the State of Texas, very few counties are growing as fast as we are,” said County Judge Dan Mueller.
“I’ve got a running list in my office as developers have brought up some really unique projects,” Sternadel said. “Commissioners have brought it up and we’ve talked about it - some things you did like and didn’t like in the previous plats that have been submitted. Take all of that and let this firm take those puzzle pieces and give us a rough draft to start with.”
Sternadel proposed forming a committee to work with the law firm.
“I think real estate agents and developers, even surveyors, could have a lot of input on this,” said Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom.
Local surveyor William Bernsen, who attends most Commissioners Court meetings, often speaks on topics related to land development. He offered to serve on the committee. Bernsen said the subdivision ordinance needs a revision, but he advocated for minimum regulations.
“I want the absolute minimum, which is better for the citizens, easier to enforce, easier to comply with, yet still protects the health and welfare of the community,” he said. “If you go too far, you become tyrannical in government.
The Court also discussed possibly appointing an engineer to the committee.
“No offense, but you have some people looking to make a dollar every way they can,” said Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann. “So if you have a room full of realtors and surveyors, all those people are making money off subdivisions. Maybe they’ll try to sway the county to it one way or the other.”
McBroom suggested appointing one or two commissioners to the committee to provide oversight. He offered to serve on the committee.
Sternadel said some of the topics the committee might want to consider include regulations for subdivision maintained by a home owners association (HOA) and the density of structures on lots.
“Another thing in there that I didn’t know is, and we always talk about water, we can require (developers) to get an engineer to tell them there is sufficient groundwater” McBroom said. “We can do that.”
“There’s a lot we can do and there’s a lot I don’t think the county wants to afford to do,” Sternadel said. “Talk about setbacks – how many people are we going to hire to run around the county and every time somebody builds a cow shed, to go out there with a tape measure to tell them you’re eight inches too close to a neighbor’s fence line.”
County Attorney James Herbrich offered to pay the legal expenses for Allison, Bass and Magee using funds in his budget. Herbrich said the law firm has much more experience in land development issues than the County Attorney’s Office.
McBroom said the County does not need to rush approval of a new subdivision ordinance, since the State Legislature is currently in session. Changes in state law could affect decisions the County needs to make.
Commissioners took no formal action at last week’s meeting, but they instructed Sternadel to assemble an advisory committee.