County plats and development permits in Texas

Who reviews a site outside city limits

Outside a city's limits, the county regulates subdivisions under Local Government Code Chapter 232. The commissioners court approves the plat, or county staff it designates, and the plat is recorded with the county clerk.

In a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), a written agreement between the city and the county names the office that approves plats and related permits. Treat any ETJ map as a starting point and confirm the line with the planning department.

Since September 1, 2023, under Senate Bill 2038, many owners can petition to leave an ETJ. Release changes the reviewer, not the basics. The county then reviews the plat, and release does not bring water or sewer with it.

Does your site need a plat

Under Chapter 232, an owner who divides a tract outside city limits into two or more parts, to lay out lots, a subdivision, or streets and other land dedicated to public use, needs a plat. A division counts whether it is made by deed, contract for deed or contract of sale.

The law lists exceptions. They include land kept in agricultural use, lots all over 10 acres with no streets or public dedications, and some transfers to family members. A county may also define which divisions it requires to be platted.

That last rule is why we ask the county. If a plat is required, it often governs the schedule. So we confirm in writing whether one is required before we prepare it. If the county says no plat, we get that in writing too.

When you need us

• You plan to divide or develop land in an ETJ or an unincorporated county.
• A battery storage site sits on rural county land, and nobody has asked the county about a plat.
• A tract is leaving an ETJ by petition, so its plat moves to the county.
• The county, TxDOT, TCEQ and the fire code official all have a say in the site.

What we do

1. Confirm the jurisdiction. City limits, ETJ or unincorporated, and which office approves plats there.
2. Ask whether a plat is required, and get the county's answer in writing.
3. Prepare the plat application and county submittal on the surveyor's boundary, with the drainage, access and road sheets the county's rules call for.
4. Coordinate the other approvals. The driveway permit, the drainage study, construction stormwater coverage, the county fire marshal's review of access and water supply, septic with the county's program, and the 911 address.
5. Answer review comments. If the county approves with conditions or disapproves, Chapter 232 requires a written statement of each condition or reason, citing the law it rests on. We answer each one in writing.

The boundary and topographic survey come from the surveyor. A county may require a registered professional surveyor to set lot and block monuments before the plat is recorded.

What you get

• A written answer on who reviews the site and whether a plat is required.
• The plat application and county submittal, with the sheets it needs.
• Written responses to each round of review comments.

Work in Texas counties

• Williamson County. For a business park, we prepared the plat application and submitted it to the county, did the site civil design, and prepared the fire line plans and submittals for the county fire marshal's review. The county had denied septic, so we moved the wastewater to a TCEQ 210E reuse authorization.
• Johnson County. For a site on a county road, we designed the septic system and prepared its permit package, called the county inspector, and designed a stormwater pond with a level spreader in a full civil set.
• Brazoria County. On a battery storage facility, we designed the site drainage and detention pond, wrote the drainage report and answered the county's review comments.

What affects time and cost

• Whether a plat is required. A site with no plat drops that work. A site with one runs on the county's plat process.
• Who approves in the ETJ. The city-county agreement decides which rules apply.
• What the county requires. Under Chapter 232 a county can set road right-of-way widths, road and drainage specifications, and a bond for the improvements.
• The other agencies. TxDOT, TCEQ and the fire code official each run their own review. A site that disturbs one acre or more needs coverage under TCEQ's construction stormwater general permit, TXR150000.
• Review time. We commit our own production times. County review times are not ours to promise.