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Council signals support to delegate final plat approvals to planning director; staff to draft ordinance
Summary
Council discussed delegating authority to staff to approve all plats except preliminary plats and asked staff to prepare the ordinance and bring it back for formal adoption.
Gunter City Council discussed delegating administrative authority for plats at its March 20 meeting and instructed staff to prepare a draft ordinance to delegate approval of all plan types except preliminary plats to the Planning & Development director (or the director’s designee).
Planning staff explained the proposed change reflects recent state law updates and local practice: minor plats and administrative final plats typically require only technical review and have been handled at staff level in many Texas cities. Staff said delegating final‑plat approvals (but continuing to bring preliminary plats and plats with substantive changes to council) would reduce delays for builders and applicants while preserving council review of large, preliminary or rezoning‑linked plats.
Council members asked for precise language referencing the planning director title and a clear list of exceptions. Staff agreed to return with a revised subdivision ordinance and specific language that delegates approval to the planning director or designee and preserves council review for preliminary plats and any plats that substantively alter an approved preliminary layout.
No formal ordinance vote occurred; the council provided direction to staff to draft the ordinance for a future meeting.
