Rachel Rich was elected chair of the Lago Vista Planning & Zoning Commission Wednesday, and commissioners nominated Dave Schneider as vice chair, as the panel discussed staffing shortages in development services that members and the city attorney said could expose the city to statutory deadlines for plat review.

The commission elected Rachel Rich in a voice vote after a nomination by Commissioner Kathy Koes; a second was made and members voted "aye." After confirming Rich would accept the role, commissioners nominated Dave Schneider for vice chair and concluded that vote by voice as well. Both leadership changes were announced during the meeting's opening reorganizational items.

Why it matters: Commissioners said limited staff in development services is slowing plat and permit processing and creating procedural risk. City Attorney Brad Bullock told the commission that state law imposes firm timelines on plat review — commonly called a "shot clock" — and if an application is administratively complete but not acted on within statutory timelines, it can be deemed accepted. That raises potential liability and operational urgency for the commission and city staff.

Most important facts

- Election: Commissioner Kathy Koes nominated Rachel Rich for chair. The nomination was seconded and approved by voice vote. Rich confirmed, "Yes, I do." (Rachel Rich, Planning & Zoning commissioner.)

- Vice chair: Rachel Rich nominated Dave Schneider as vice chair; the nomination was seconded and approved by voice vote.

- Staffing gaps: Commissioners and staff identified three key open roles: development services director, public utility director, and at least one planner. Commissioners were told those unfilled positions have limited the city's ability to process cases and hold regular review work.

- Tree ordinance: Commissioners said a subcommittee had made progress on a draft tree ordinance before work paused; they agreed to resurface that item on a future agenda so the commission does not "drop the ball."

- Plat-review legal risk: City Attorney Brad Bullock told commissioners, "state law has continued to put additional pressure on cities to rapidly turn around plat review, and if plat review does not occur within, you know, certain specified statutory timelines, they are deemed accepted." Bullock said whether the statutory clock has started on any specific submittal depends on whether the application was administratively complete, which is a case-by-case determination.

Other details and context

Commissioners discussed operations and housekeeping: they agreed to continue meeting on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., and new and continuing members introduced themselves. Several members noted overlapping roles on other city boards, including the Board of Adjustments and the Building and Standards Commission. Frank Robbins identified himself as planning director and described his role as taking direction from staff and chair responsibilities; Robbins also noted he is serving as an alternate for some panels.

On staffing, commissioners asked whether Taylor — referred to in the meeting as the city manager — is permanent. Commissioners were told Taylor remains interim; filling the identified vacancies was described as a high priority but difficult in the current recruitment market.

Legal next steps: When commissioners asked whether the city could simply refuse to accept plats or other applications while staffing is short, Bullock said that refusal could raise liability questions and offered to discuss specific instances in executive session. Commissioners agreed to notice an executive session on the liability question at a future meeting.

The meeting concluded after roughly 18–20 minutes of discussion on these operational matters; the chair adjourned the session at the stated time.