Jarrell City Zoning Code

The purpose of this Chapter is to assure that subdivision and site development projects constructed within the City of Jarrell and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), are adequately furnished with necessary public infrastructure. These include water, wastewater, stormwater drainage, roads, and open space resources.

Design and construction of infrastructure in the City and ETJ shall be consistent with the policies and guidelines established in the most recent versions of the Jarrell Comprehensive Plan. Any interpretation of the requirements of this Section shall be made in a manner consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.

City approvals, including but not limited to building, repair, plumbing, or electrical permits, shall not be issued by the City for any structure on a lot in a subdivision or on a parcel for which a final plat or site development permit has not been approved and filed for record.

Full compliance with the standards contained within this Code must be obtained before the issuance of a building repair, plumbing or electrical permit for any structure on a lot within a subdivision within the jurisdiction of the City.

In fulfilling any responsibilities in this Section that require technical or other expertise, the City Manager or designee of the Council shall rely on the assistance of City Engineer or another designee for such expertise.

The City shall not repair, maintain, install or provide any streets or public utilities or services in any subdivision for which a final plat has not been approved and filed for record, nor any parcel or lot for which a site development permit has not been issued, nor in which the standards contained herein or referred to herein have not been complied with in full.

The City shall not sell or supply water, gas, electricity or sewerage within a subdivision for which a final plat has not been approved and filed for record, or parcel or lot for which a site development permit has not been issued, nor in which the standards contained herein have not been complied with in full.

The provisions of this Section shall not be construed to prohibit the issuance of permits for any lot or undivided tract or parcel of land upon which a structure exists that was in existence prior to the passage of this Code.

In the absence of any provision to the contrary, the subdivider, developer or applicant shall provide the following improvements, as approved in the construction plans, in conformance with the standards, specifications and requirements of this Unified Development Code:

All improvements must be designed and installed so as to provide for a logical system of utilities, drainage and streets and to create continuity of improvements for the development of adjacent properties. Pedestrian, vehicle, water, wastewater and drainage improvements must be extended to the perimeter of a subdivision. Including the following provisions for water and sewer main extensions.

During the course of installation and construction of the required improvements, the City Engineer or another designee of the City Manager shall make periodic inspections of the work to ensure that all improvements comply with this Code and other municipal, county and State requirements. Upon completion of installation and construction of all required improvements, the developer may seek acceptance of all public improvements by the City by submitting the required number of copies of as-built plans and a one-year maintenance bond in an amount as specified at the time of final plat submittal. In addition, the developer shall provide a statement signed by a registered professional engineer that all improvements have been installed and constructed in accordance with the submitted as-built plans.

Where a subdivision contains sewers, sewage treatment facilities, water supply systems, parks and grounds held in common, drainage facilities, or other physical facilities necessary or desirable for the welfare of the area, or that are of common use or benefit which are not or cannot be satisfactorily maintained by an existing public agency, provision shall be made which is acceptable to the City for the proper and continuous operation, maintenance, and supervision of such facilities. A copy of the agreements providing for the proper and continuous operation, maintenance and supervision of such facilities shall be presented to the City Manager and approved as to form by the City Attorney at the time of final plat approval or site development permit issuance and shall be filed of record with the plat or permit thereof.

A final plat or replat or site development permit will not be approved unless the land proposed for subdivision or site development is adequately served by essential public facilities and services. These services include:

The City of Jarrell's Design and Construction Standards shall apply for all public facilities within the City limits and ETJ of Jarrell. This policy may be further defined and supplemented by other codes adopted by the City.

Where appropriate, a letter from each respective utility service provider (when such utility is not provided by the City of Jarrell) which states that all requirements have been met, is sufficient in meeting the intent of this section.

A plat or replat or site development permit will not be approved unless the proposed lot(s) have safe and reliable street access for daily use and emergency purposes. A plat or replat will not be approved unless the proposed lot(s) have direct access to an improved public street, private street, or an approved public way, and connected by improved public street to an improved public thoroughfare. Except for lots which are provided access from an approved cul-de-sac, all subdivisions must have at least two means of vehicular access or approach on a paved public right-of-way. Where development phasing or constraints of the land prevent the provision of a second, separate means of access, the City may, in its sole discretion, accept a temporary street connection, or median divided street or entry to satisfy this requirement.

A site development permit will not be approved unless the parcel on which the development is proposed is a legal lot, duly recorded in the County Deed Records. Such legal lot shall have safe and reliable street access for daily use and emergency purposes. The permit will not be approved unless the lot has direct access to an improved public street, private street, or an approved public way, and connected by improved public street to an improved public thoroughfare.

The provision of adequate parkland for use as parks is necessary for the protection of public health, safety and general welfare of the community. The city has attempted to provide parks to serve the immediate recreational needs of residents near their homes, but it faces a severe shortage of local recreational space as new subdivisions are approved and the city's population grows. Accordingly, it appears that the provision of parks can best be accomplished in conjunction with the platting and development of new residential areas, which increase the need for parkland and whose residents will be direct beneficiaries of the provision of such parkland.

The subdividers of all residential subdivision of more than four single-family lots shall be required to provide for the parkland needs of future residents through the clear fee simple dedication of suitable land for park and recreational purposes. Nonresidential subdivisions and residential subdivisions of four or fewer single-family lots shall not be subject to the parkland dedication requirements of this section.

The subdivider shall dedicate parkland to the city as a part of the final plat approval. The area to be dedicated for the purpose of parkland shall be shown on the conceptual plan, the preliminary plat, and the final plat, and shall be included in the dedication statement. The parkland shall be dedicated to the city by general warranty deed, and acceptable evidence of clear title and evidence that all taxes have been paid shall be furnished by the city.

The minimum amount of land required to be dedicated as parkland shall be 8% of the total subdivision acreage proposed for residential use, excluding acreage within the 100-year floodplain.

Land dedicated for park and recreational purposes shall be of size, character, and location consistent with the standards outlined below:

All land proposed for dedication as parkland that is located in a floodplain area shall:

If a subdivider is unable to meet the standards set out in subsections D. and E. above, resort may be had to one or more of the following alternatives:

When an area is required to be dedicated, the city may require a cash payment in lieu of dedication or parkland.

The amount of cash payment to be made to the city shall be 8% of the fair market value of the land proposed to be subdivided, as determined by a qualified real estate appraiser employed by the city, less a credit for the value of the land actually dedicated for parkland as determined by such real estate appraiser. A subdivider, at his own expense, may obtain an additional appraisal by a qualified real estate appraiser mutually agreed upon by the city and the subdivider. In such case, the city council shall determine fair market value upon consideration of both appraisals.

All required cash payments must be submitted prior to final plat approval.

Fifty percent of land contained within the 100-year floodplain shall be credited against the parkland dedication requirement, provided that adjoining land within the 25-year floodplain is also dedicated. Land within the 25-year floodplain shall not be credited against the parkland dedication requirement.

Unless otherwise specified, the requirements of this section shall apply to all residential subdivisions. Exemptions from the provisions of this section shall be as follows:

Any land that is dedicated as parkland and is disturbed during construction of the subdivision must be restored by the developer to its original condition or better prior to release of fiscal [sureties] for the subdivision.

A plat or replat or site development permit will not be approved unless adequate parks and recreational requirements are provided, based on the standards specified in this Code. All residential developments will be required to comply with these standards and requirements. It is the intent of this Code that parks, and recreational facilities are located and constructed to provide adequate capacity and functionality to the residents they serve and provide safe, healthy recreational opportunities to the community.

All monuments and control points shall be placed by a licensed land surveyor and must be in place prior to the installation of any roadway improvements.

To the extent it is practicable, monuments should be installed in locations that will prevent disturbance or destruction of the monument by construction activities. Any monuments disturbed or destroyed during roadway construction shall be re-established in conformance with the provisions of this Code by a licensed land surveyor.

All corners of subdivisions and points of curvature (P.C.) and points of tangency (P.T.) along boundary lines of subdivisions shall be marked with a one-half inch iron rod, two feet in length, set in the center of a concrete monument six (6) inches in diameter and thirty (30) inches deep, with the top of the concrete monument set flush with the finished ground surface.

Where, due to topographic conditions, permanent structures, or other conditions, the view is obstructed between any two adjacent monuments, intermediate monuments shall be set as to assure a clear view between adjacent monuments.

Corner markers shall be a one-half inch iron rod, or three-fourths inch pipe, two feet in length, and shall be installed flush with the ground. Corners of all lots, block corners, street right-of-way P.C.s and P.T.s shall be marked with corner markers.

One permanent benchmark must be installed and referenced to the North American Datum 1983 and the State Plane Coordinate System (Texas State Plane grid coordinates, Central Zone, Feet). Surface coordinates may be provided but should include a scale factor and convergence to reflect grid coordinates. The City Manager may waive the requirement for installations of a benchmark for subdivisions smaller than 50 acres when at least two benchmarks are located within one-half mile of the proposed subdivision boundaries.

All new construction and substantial improvements shall be constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant to flood damage and using methods and practices that minimize flood damage.

All new construction and substantial improvements shall be securely anchored to prevent flotation, collapse, or lateral movement resulting from hydrodynamic and hydrostatic loads, including the effects of buoyancy.

Enclosed areas below the lowest floor that are subject to flooding shall be provided with flood openings to allow for the automatic entry and exit of floodwaters.

All new construction and substantial improvements of residential structures shall have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated to or above the base flood elevation.

All new construction and substantial improvements of nonresidential structures shall have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated to or above the base flood elevation or, together with attendant utility and sanitary facilities, be designed so that the structure is watertight to or above the base flood elevation.