Kerrville council adopts subdivision-code change requiring certificate of assured groundwater rights

The Kerrville City Council on April 22 unanimously approved an ordinance amending Chapter 82 of the city subdivision code to add a requirement that a developer provide a certificate of assured groundwater rights when filing a plat.

The change appears as ordinance number 2025-07 and was part of the consent agenda. The amendment adds a step for staff review so that the city can verify whether a developing property’s groundwater rights are owned or encumbered, staff said. “The requirement for groundwater is to just for the staff to be able to verify when a property is developing, do they own the groundwater rights?” a city staff member explained during public comment responses.

Citizen George Broody asked why a landowner within city limits would need to prove groundwater rights, and whether the ordinance changes the longstanding rule that a plat cannot be recorded until required public improvements are completed or secured by agreement and bond. “So my question is, is that those steps being changed in this or is that the same before and after?” Broody asked.

City staff said the amendment does not remove the requirement that infrastructure be completed or secured before recording. “The amendments are just moving the funding requirement from an application requirement to a recording requirement. So they’ll still be required either provide security prior to recording and then build the infrastructure or build the infrastructure prior to recording of the plat,” the staff member said.

The ordinance had been approved unanimously on first reading April 8 and was approved on second reading as part of the grouped consent agenda on April 22. No councilmember votes were named in the public transcript of the consent vote; the mayor announced the motion passed unanimously.