HBA-NIK H.B. 3746 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3746 By: Dukes Land & Resource Management 4/12/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas, Inc. (BBBS) purchased the property at 1400 Tillery in approximately 1985 to house its business office. The property is out of McKinley Heights Subdivision and consists of 0.651 acres. Because the original subdivision contained covenants and restrictions that permitted only residential use, a replat of a portion of the subdivision (the 0.651 acres) was necessary to allow BBBS to remodel the building, which originally served as a church, and establish its business operations. BBBS applied for an amendment to the original plat in 1986, and a replat of a portion of the subdivision was approved by the City of Austin (city); it was replatted as the Griffith Subdivision on March 11, 1986. In reliance upon the replat, BBBS remodeled the building and received a certificate of occupancy from the city in 1988. Subsequently, the city determined it approved the replat erroneously and advised BBBS that the covenants and the restrictions in the original plat remain applicable, and therefore, a vacation of the original plat and a replat are required. Currently, a subdivision or a part of a subdivision can be replatted in two ways. The first is by vacating the underlying plat, which requires that all the owners of lots in that plat apply for the vacation of the plat. The other is by recording over the preceding plat without vacation if the replat is signed and acknowledged by only the owner of the property being replatted, approved by the municipal authority responsible for approving plats after a public hearing on the matter, and does not attempt to amend or remove existing covenants or restrictions. Both of these processes may be cumbersome and expensive for a nonprofit corporations like BBBS. H.B. 3746 allows a property owner to replat part of a subdivision without vacation of the original plat, and without a public hearing, if the replat is signed and acknowledged by only the owner of the property being replatted, and if it involves property that is used for business purposes by a nonprofit corporation established to assist children in at-risk situations. This bill would also permit the governing body of a municipality to delegate to one or more persons the authority to approve the replat of part of a subdivision administratively if the replat meets the criteria set out in the bill. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 212.014, Local Government Code, as follows: (a) Created from existing text. (b) Authorizes a replat of part of a subdivision, notwithstanding certain provisions of Subsection (a) of this section and Section 212.015 (Additional Requirements for Certain Replats), to be recorded. Provides that such a replat is controlling over the preceding plat without a public hearing on the matter and without vacation of that plat if the replat adheres to specified provisions. Provides that any existing covenants or restrictions do not have to be amended or removed if they were recorded more than fifty years before the date of the replat and the replatted lots have been continuously used by the nonprofit corporation as a business office for a minimum of ten years. (c) Authorizes a replat of a subdivision under Subsection (b) involving less than one acre fronting on an existing street and not requiring the creation of any new street or the extension of municipal facilities to be approved under Section 212.0065(a)(3) (Delegation of Approval Responsibility), Local Government Code. SECTION 3. Amends Section 212.0065(a), Chapter 212, Local Government Code, to authorize the governing body of a municipality to delegate to certain persons the authority to replat part of a subdivision involving less than one acre, fronting on an existing street and not requiring the creation of any new street or the extension of municipal facilities, provided the property is owned and used as the business office by a nonprofit corporation established for the purpose of assisting children in at-risk situations by means of volunteer and individualized attention. SECTION 4. Effective date: June 1, 1999. SECTION 5. Emergency clause.