subdivide need to plat first
by Crystal Gottfried
Property owners who plan to subdivide their large parcels of land will be required to apply for and complete platting and road improvements before making the sale, or they will face criminal charges.
Comal County commissioners unanimously approved giving authority to the county’s Criminal District Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute illegal subdivision activity committed by certain individuals in violation of Chapter 232 of the Texas Local Government Code.
What this means is that the county’s district attorney may actively pursue violators without having to come to court each time a violation is discovered.
In the past, people who have bought sections of land out of large ranches and from private owners have appeared in court expecting the county to help them comply with county regulations for roads, water and septic systems; but that is over now.
The court’s action last Thursday opens the way for the district attorney’s office to proceed with criminal prosecution of property owners who continually sell unplatted land sections without providing access to a public ingress or egress.
Following this action, commissioners reconvened to rescind an action they had taken on July 27 that refused to grant a permit to some frustrated Comal County property owners. In the new court action, commissioners directed the county engineer’s office to issue a septic system permit to the new owners of 7.431 acres of land sold out of a 58.9 acre tract in Precinct 4.
Although the new owners had to illegally purchase more land from an “illegal subdivision” owner to comply with the county’s regulations for the septic system, they will now be allowed to complete the platting process with the county engineer’s office, within the next sixty days, to receive their permit.
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