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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 06-1652 ORDINANCE NO. Vh -1 ~ 5'- AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, CHAPTER 17, ARTICLE III, PERMITS; PROVIDING FOR A DEFINITION OF DEVELOPMENT PERMITS; PROVIDING FOR PERMIT APPLICATIONS; PROVIDING FOR DORMANT PROJECTS; PROVIDING FOR EXEMPTIONS; PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the actions of the Texas legislature puts cities and their citizens at risk for quality, sustainable development that could impact the quality of life for the citizens of the City of The Colony and the State of Texas; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that it desires to implement those expiration periods on permits as allowed under Chapter 245 of the Texas Local Government Code to protect the public welfare and to ensure that the goals of the City Council are realized to enhance the quality of life for its citizens. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS: Section 1: The Code of Ordinances is hereby amended to create Chapter17, Permits, and shall be as follows: "Chapter 17, Article III PERMITS Sec. 17-8. Permits. Permits relating to the development or improvement of land or any part of land shall be subject to requirements of Chapter 245 of the Texas Local Government Code, as amended. A permit means a license, certificate, approval, registration, consent, permit, or other form of authorization required by law, rule, regulation, order, or ordinance that a person must obtain to perform an action or initiate, continue, or complete a project for which the permit is sought. In determining the applicability of regulatory changes that are effective after a permit application is filed, an application shall be construed to be filed when an original application or plan for development or plat application is filed that gives the City fair notice of the project and the nature ofthe permit sought. 64933 Sec. 17-9. Permit Applications Permits shall be subject to the following requirements: (a) A permit application is deemed to be filed on the day that the application is received by the City. If a permit application is made by certified mail, the application shall be deemed to be filed on the day the application is deposited with the United States Postal Service. A certified mail receipt obtained by the applicant at the time of deposit shall be prima facie evidence of the date of deposit. (b) A permit application that 1) does not meet all criteria for approval, 2) that is not accompanied by all required documentation, plans, drawings, studies, reports or other information, or 3) does not meet the City's technical requirements to the form and content of the permit application, shall expire on the 45th day after the date that the application is filed. (c) City staff shall review and provide written comments within 10 business days following the initial or first time submittal of any permit application that applies to any project or any land upon which any development or improvement of any form is proposed. City staff shall, within ten (10) business days following the initial or first time submittal of any permit application, review the application and, if the application is deficient, shall send the applicant written notice that 1) identifies the necessary documents or other information and 2) the date the application will expire if the documents or other information is not provided. (d) If the applicant fails to provide the specified documents or other information within the time provided in the notice, the permit application shall expire and be void on the 45th day after its initial or first time submittal. (e) If an application for a permit that involves the same project or related project is filed following the filing of the first application, the 45-day period shall commence on the date of the first application. Sec. 17-10. Dormant permits/projects. (a) If, after approval of an individual permit, no progress has been made towards completion of the project within two years of the approval of the permit, the permit shall expire and become null and void. (b) A project shall expire if, on the fifth anniversary of the date the first permit application was filed, no progress has been made towards completion of the proj ect. (c) Following the expiration of a permit or a project, any new permit application shall be a new submittal, subject to any and all intervening changes in law, regulations, rules, and ordinances, and subject to the assessment of new fees. 64933 Sec. 17-11. Exemptions. (a) The provisions of this chapter shall apply only to the application of a law, regulation, rule or ordinance to a project which law, regulation, rule or ordinance becomes effective after the initial or first submittal of an application for a permit. (b) This chapter shall not apply to: (1) a permit that is at least two years old, is issued for the construction of a building or structure intended for human occupancy or habitation, and is issued in accordance with the building, fire, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical codes as adopted and amended by the City solely to address imminent threats of destruction of property or injury to persons; (2) zoning regulations that do not affect landscaping or tree preservation, open space or park dedication, property classification, lot size, lot dimensions, lot coverage, or building size or that do not change development permitted by a restrictive covenant required by the City; (3) regulations for sexually oriented businesses; (4) fees imposed in conjunction with development permits; (5) regulations for annexation, that do not affect landscaping or tree preservation or open space or park dedication; (6) regulations for utility connections; (7) regulations to prevent imminent destruction of property or injury to persons from flooding that are effective only within FEMA-designated flood plains and enacted to prevent the flooding of buildings intended for public occupancy; (8) construction standards for public works located on public lands or easements; or (9) regulations to prevent the imminent destruction of property or injury to persons if the regulations do not: affect landscaping or tree preservation, open space or park dedication, lot size, lot dimensions, lot coverage, building size, residential or commercial density, or the timing of a proj ect." SECTION 2: That all provisions of the Ordinances of the City of The Colony, Texas, in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance be, and the same are hereby, repealed, and all other provisions of the Ordinances of the City not in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. 64933 SECTION 3: Should any sentence, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase or section of this ordinance be adjudged or held to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of this ordinance as a whole, or any part or provision thereof other than the part so decided to be invalid, illegal or unconstitutional, and shall not affect the validity of the Code of Ordinances ofthe City of The Colony, Texas SECTION 4: This ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage. PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS THIS E day of ~ 2006. ATTEST: ~~---i LJ~ Christi ilson, City Secretary Robert E. Hager, Cit (REH/alg)(64933) 64933