PREVIEW: Friendswood officials to decide who has authority to approve plats and commercial site plans

Friendswood City Council will vote on whether to transfer power from the Planning & Zoning Commission to the director of community development to approve subdivision plats and commercial site plans that meet the city’s code requirements at its May 4 meeting.

The backstory

While city staff said shifting that authority internally could streamline development efficiency and allow the commission to retain some oversight, P&Z voted unanimously April 9 to not recommend approving shifting the plat and site plan approval authority to city staff.

In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 3699, which amended the Texas Local Government Code to allow cities to delegate to city staff the approval or disapproval of plats, according to city documents.

The context

According to city documents, the following cities require Planning & Zoning to authorize plat approvals:

• Alvin
• Clear Lake Shores
• Dickinson
• Galveston
• League City
• Pearland
• Santa Fe
• Webster

In contrast, many of those same cities delegate authorization of commercial site plans to city staff, according to city documents.

What else?

City Council will also vote on awarding two contracts tied to the Blackhawk Boulevard reconstruction project.

Stay tuned

City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. May 4 at Council Chambers, located at 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood.