Texas counties operate within the scope of the Texas Constitution, meaning any action taken by the county must be authorized by a statute; this applies to county land use authority.
Chapter 232 of the Local Government Code outlines a county’s regulatory authority related to subdivisions beginning with the following:
Sec. 232.001. PLAT REQUIRED.
- The owner of a tract of land located outside the limits of a municipality must have a plat of the subdivision prepared if the owner divides the tract into two or more parts to lay out:
- a subdivision of the tract, including an addition;
- lots; or
- streets, alleys, squares, parks, or other parts of the tract intended by the owner of the tract to be dedicated to public use.
The County Commissioners Court must vote on every plat.
EXCEPTIONS
The plat requirement does not apply if there will be no streets, alleys, squares, parks, or other parts of the tract intended by the owner of the tract to be dedicated to public use and all proposed lots:
- will be used for agricultural purposes as defined by Article VIII, Section 1-d, Texas Constitution or for farm, ranch, wildlife management, or timber production use within the meaning of Section 1-d-1, Article VIII, Texas Constitution;
- divided into four or fewer parts and will be sold to an individual who is related to the owner within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity (family members);
- will be sold to veterans through the Veterans’ Land Board; or
- are larger than 10 acres.
The Commissioners Court should review Section 232.0015 of the Local Government Code to determine whether other circumstances may apply when “determin[ing] whether specific divisions of land are required to be platted.”
The Commissioners Court is not required to adopt subdivision regulations. However, if the county does not adopt regulations, the plat will only include a minimal description of the boundaries of the streets and lots, as required by the statute.
If a county wants to impose additional requirements, the county must adopt regulations following the procedures outlined in Section 232.003 of the Local Government Code. Generally speaking, the scope of authority addresses roads and streets, water use in certain situations, and other actions to promote the “health, safety, morals, or general welfare of the county…”
Polk County
When developers provide the minimum amount of infrastructure, and that infrastructure collapses or disintegrates over the years, first responders and law enforcement are sometimes unable to access residents in those areas, explained Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy. This allows for any number of dangerous circumstances to exist.
“On the outer edges of the property and in secluded areas, we have found crack houses and other forms of illegal activity,” Murphy reported. “Children are in danger. In addition, if an exception has been made and no plat is filed, we may not even be aware that anyone lives there.”
Too often, there are additional structures built where only one house should exist.
“That creates an overload on the water, septic, electrical, and other systems in that area,” Murphy elaborated. “Overloading of the septic systems creates a huge health and safety issue for any neighboring properties, especially those residents who live downhill or downstream from those individuals and are completely unaware of the possible health issues that might be created for them.”
Earlier this year, Polk County experienced a worst-case scenario. On Feb. 15, 2024, 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham disappeared on the way to her bus stop in Livingston. Tragically, her body was recovered five days later near the Trinity River.
The FBI requested subdivision plats for the area, including the subdivision where Audrii lived, because they wanted to check sewage and water infrastructure in the area along with any other drainage or topography features that could have been used to hide her body, Murphy said. Since the majority of those subdivisions were built during a time that Texas had little to no restrictions, none of those subdivision plats have that kind of infrastructure well marked or maintained.
“Land use and subdivision regulations are multi-faceted issues that cannot be approached without serious consideration of the entire area and the local environment,” Murphy stated. “We are not trying to tell people what they can or cannot do with their land. But you don’t want your water well receiving drainage from someone else’s septic system, and you don’t want runoff from someone else’s aerobic system.”
Additional authority would help prevent these types of scenarios and assure infrastructure was in place to help when needs arise.
County officials developed the following resolution to address these concerns:
County Land Use Authority
WHEREAS, counties have no significant land use authority; and
WHEREAS, substandard and obnoxious development can reduce the value and investment of adjacent property owners; and
WHEREAS, counties should have a limited ability to protect the current landowners and public health and safety; and
WHEREAS, appropriate development is inhibited and discouraged by substandard and inappropriate development;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas requests that the Texas Legislature grant limited, local option authority to Texas counties to ensure more compatible development within the county to protect our landowners and public health and safety, and prevent overuse of natural resources, such as ground and surface water.