Building and Business Development 

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• Building Inspection / Building Permit - in progress

  • On 13 Dec, 2021, at 9:52 AM, Bill Funderburk wrote: The City of Willow Park uses a third-party inspection firm, Bureau Veritas, for all building inspections, which includes electrical, plumbing, and mechanical. The city entered into an agreement with Bureau Veritas in August 2014, and they also provide residential and commercial plan review. Once plans have been reviewed and approved by Bureau Veritas permits are issued by the City Development Department. Bureau Veritas inspectors are certified under the International Building Codes and the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. The one exception, the Fire Department enforces the Fire Code which includes plan review and inspections. The Fire Chief has authority to enforce this code. Bill Funderburk Assistant City Manager City of Willow Park, Texas

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• ETJ Extraterritorial Jurisdiction

  • What Is An ETJ?, Texas City Limits Coalition, September 2019

  • ​Texas Municipal League  > September 2019 Legal Q&A > What is the extraterritorial jurisdiction and why was it created? Annexation is the process by which a city extends its municipal services, regulations, voting privileges and taxing authority to new territory. Cities annex territory to provide urbanizing areas with municipal services and to exercise regulatory authority necessary to protect public health and safety. Annexation is also a means of ensuring that residents and businesses outside a city's corporate limits who benefit from access to the city's facilities and services share the tax burden associated with constructing and maintaining those facilities and services. Annexation and the imposition of land use controls may also be used as a growth management technique to implement a comprehensive plan.

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• Chapter 380 Agreements ​

  • Willow Park Chapter 380 Agreement with UNCO

  • ​Comptroller of Texas > Chapter 380/381 Economic Development Agreements    

    • Municipality Agreements
           Chapter 380 of the Local Government Code authorizes municipalities to offer incentives designed to promote economic development such as commercial and retail projects. Specifically, it provides for offering loans and grants of city funds or services at little or no cost to promote state and local economic development and to stimulate business and commercial activity.
           In order to provide a grant or loan, a city must establish a program to implement the incentives. Before proceeding, cities must review their city charters or local policies that may restrict a city's ability provide a loan or grant.

    • Local Development Agreement Database
           In May 2021, the 87th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 2404, which went into effect Sept. 1, 2021, and required the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to create and make accessible an online database for local governments to report their economic development agreements authorized by either Chapter 380 or Chapter 381 of the Local Government Code.
           All agreements must be submitted to the Chapter 380-381 economic development database using eSystems. The statute also required the Comptroller to make the database available to the public. Local governments are required to post a link to their agreements on the Comptroller’s webpage to their website.

    • Chapter 380/381 Economic Development Agreements Online Public Search Reporting  

  • Texas Statutes > Local Government Code > Title 12. Planning And Development > Subtitle A. Municipal Planning And Development > Chapter 380. Miscellaneous Provisions Relating To Municipal Planning And Development    

  • Texas Municipal League > Economic Development Conference > Chapter 380 Economic Development Agreements: The Right Stuff?

  • Texas Public Policy Foundation > Policy Makers Guide to Corporate Welfare > Chapter 380: Economic Development Agreements    ​​

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• Comprehensive Plan 2014  
     The Comprehensive Plan for the City of Willow Park will guide and direct future development decisions. The Comprehensive Plan tells the story of who Willow Park is and what it wishes to become as it grows and matures. This document is intended to serve as a flexible long‐range planning tool that guides the growth and physical development of Willow Park for ten years, twenty years or an even longer period of time.
     A comprehensive plan is not a zoning ordinance, but rather it is a high‐level tool utilized by the City to guide future development decisions. As new development, zoning requests and other development decisions are made, the comprehensive plan helps to ensure orderly and coordinated growth. Determining what land uses are appropriate within Willow Park, and where such land uses should be located, helps to protect the integrity of the City’s neighborhoods and corridors. Ultimately, coordinated land use patterns help to protect private property by maintaining and enhancing value and protecting property from incompatible uses.

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• ETJ Extraterritorial Jurisdiction

  • What Is An ETJ?, Texas City Limits Coalition, September 2019

  • ​Texas Municipal League  > September 2019 Legal Q&A > What is the extraterritorial jurisdiction and why was it created? Annexation is the process by which a city extends its municipal services, regulations, voting privileges and taxing authority to new territory. Cities annex territory to provide urbanizing areas with municipal services and to exercise regulatory authority necessary to protect public health and safety. Annexation is also a means of ensuring that residents and businesses outside a city's corporate limits who benefit from access to the city's facilities and services share the tax burden associated with constructing and maintaining those facilities and services. Annexation and the imposition of land use controls may also be used as a growth management technique to implement a comprehensive plan.

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• Impact Fee

  • What Is an Impact Fee?, Investopedia 

    • An impact fee is typically a one-time payment imposed by a local government on a property developer.

    • The fee is meant to offset the financial impact a new development places on public infrastructure.

    • Public infrastructure includes roads, schools, parks, recreational facilities, water and sewerage, among other services.

    • Impact fees are determined based on the size of the new development, the cost of implementing it, and how much it will impact the surrounding area.

    • How an Impact Fee Works 

      • Impact fees are a popular alternative to raising property taxes to pay for new infrastructure. New infrastructure is sometimes paid through a special assessment tax, which is levied against taxpayers within a designated district.

      • However, people who already own property in a rapidly developing area would rather see the developer pay an impact fee. This is because the developer is forced to cover the cost of new infrastructure necessitated by their development, rather than the taxpayers already living there.

  • Impact Fees, Fort Worth, Texas  

    • ​New residential, commercial or industrial development can significantly increase traffic on roadways, water consumption and wastewater volumes. Impact fees are a one-time charge assessed to new development and redevelopment, calculated in accordance with the methodology outlined in Chapter 395 of the Texas Local Government Code. The fees are based on land use assumptions, expected population growth and corresponding capital improvements and expenditures necessary to support that growth.

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• Planned Development 

  • City of Willow Park Code of Ordinances  > Chapter 14 Zoning > Article 14.10 New Development Site Plan Process

    • Sec. 14.10.001 Intent of “PD” Planned Development District
      ​(a) The “PD” (Planned Development) District is intended to be used for the development of large or mixed use parcels of land and for smaller parcels where dissimilar uses may require special controls to avoid interference with existing or planned uses. Development within a Commercial, Local Retail, Office, or Residential-3 District must be approved through the site planning process. Commercial development may be allowed under temporary zoning controls (see article 14.13 of this chapter) with the approval of the city council; however, the approval of a specific use permit must be based on and accompanied by approval of a preliminary site plan as described in this article.

    • Sec. 14.10.002 General “PD” regulations

    • Sec. 14.10.003 “PD” procedures and requirements

    • Sec. 14.10.004 Conceptual “PD” plan

    • Sec. 14.10.005 “PD” site plan approval

    • Sec. 14.10.006 Amendments to adopted “PD” site plans

    • Sec. 14.10.007 “PD” site plan information

    • Sec. 14.10.008 “PD” administration

    • Sec. 14.10.009 “PD” enforcement

  • Land Use Regulation for Texas Cities, Brad Young, Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP 21 February 2013. Some cities allow for special districts (often called “Planned Development Districts”) that provide even greater flexibility for land use than is available in a normal zoning district. For example, a planned development district may provide for a mix of residential, retail, and professional office uses on terms and conditions that the city includes in the planned development district ordinance. Two pitfalls that cities must be careful to avoid in zoning are “spot zoning” and “contract zoning.” “Spot zoning” is the illegal practice of zoning a single tract of land in a manner that is incompatible with the surrounding area and in a manner that is incompatible with the city’s zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan. “Contract zoning” is an illegal agreement between the city and a property owner to adopt a certain zoning classification in exchange for certain promises by the property owner. Because contract zoning usurps the city council’s legislative function, the council cannot enter into such a contract.

  • Introduction to Planned Development Zoning, Frank Turner, FAICP, Terry D. Morgan, Esq. A look at how planned development zoning was developed and initially used, and how it has come to be used in Texas cities. Planned development zoning and other flexible zoning techniques were developed to overcome the rigidity of traditional zoning.

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• Special Use Permit / Specific Use Permit

  • What Is a Special Use Permit? A special use permit allows a parcel of land or property to be used in a manner that deviates from normally accepted activities in that area. In other words, the special use permit creates exceptions to zoning regulations and ordinances. These permits are generally issued and overseen by local zoning bodies and authorities. An example of a special use permit is where the zoning authorities allow a business to operate in an area that is not normally marked for business activities (such as in a residential area). Another example is where a church is allowed to operate in an area otherwise marked for businesses.

  • Planning and Zoning Applications > Willow Park Special Use Permit Application

  • ​City of Willow Park Code of Ordinances  > Chapter 14 Zoning > Article 14.10 New Development Site Plan Process

    • Sec. 14.10.001 Intent of “PD” Planned Development District 

      • (a) The “PD” (Planned Development) District is intended to be used for the development of large or mixed use parcels of land and for smaller parcels where dissimilar uses may require special controls to avoid interference with existing or planned uses. Development within a Commercial, Local Retail, Office, or Residential-3 District must be approved through the site planning process. Commercial development may be allowed under temporary zoning controls (see article 14.13 of this chapter) with the approval of the city council; however, the approval of a specific use permit must be based on and accompanied by approval of a preliminary site plan as described in this article.

    •  ARTICLE 14.13 SPECIFIC USE PERMITS > Sec. 14.13.002    Specific use permit regulations

      • (a) In recommending that a specific use permit for the premises under consideration be granted, the planning and zoning commission shall determine that such uses are harmonious with and adaptable to building structures and uses of abutting property and other property in the vicinity, and with the requirements for the paving of streets, alleys and sidewalks, means of ingress and egress to public streets, provisions for drainage, adequate off-street parking, protective screening and open space, heights of structures, and compatibility of building construction.

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• Tap Fees, Glossary, Century 21  

  • ​Tap fees are the charges assessed to install a new water or sewer connection to a municipal or privately owned source. A tap fee is assessed according to the size of the piping connection and whether it is for a residential or commercial application. The larger the pipe size connection, the higher the tap fee will generally be. Tap fees are assessed for both new construction and upgrades to existing connections. Tap fees tend to be extremely expensive, so it is essential the connection is properly sized to avoid being assessed at a fee higher than necessary while still having the necessary pressure and flow rate. Municipalities and privately owned service providers establish their own rates, usually based on the cost it takes to generate the water or extract the sewer. Collected tap fees are put into an account to fund future upgrades and maintenance measures in order to accommodate future customers.

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