Message from the City Manager: Building Permits & Water – 07/17/24

The enactment of Stage 2 water restrictions yesterday has spurred some good questions and suggestions regarding halting new building permits until our water supply issues can be resolved.

It’s not a bad suggestion, and the City did in fact enact a temporary residential and commercial building moratorium on November 14 through March 13, 2024.

The purpose of the pause was to provide time to develop ordinances that support water conservation including landscaping suggestions and irrigation system requirements before any new plats were submitted.

However, there is a statute at the state level called “Local Government Code, State of Texas, Chapter 245.”  Chapter 245 that prohibits Texas cities from withholding permits for any project, whether residential or commercial, for which a development permit has been submitted. Note that I’ve only said submitted, not approved.

The state refers to these types of projects as being “vested.”  Simply put, the moratorium enacted last fall, or any new moratoriums, cannot not by law apply to any property development already submitted or in progress.

For example, the moratorium implemented last fall did not apply to 900 residential lots that were already classified as being vested. Many of these higher density lots became vested prior to the adoption of the 2018 Comprehensive Plan, which limits home density to an average of one home per acre.

The City is now trending at approximately a 3% growth rate per year, which comes to about 100 – 125 new homes being built each year. The 900 homes vested prior to the moratorium represent a nine-year supply of lots for the houses here in Heath.

Had the City taken action to apply the moratorium to these vested projects, it would have subjected itself to many lawsuits from the property owners.

You can read the statute here: LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 245. ISSUANCE OF LOCAL PERMITS (texas.gov)

If you have further questions, please reach me at klasher@heathtx.com.