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Court considers reorganizing planning, outsourcing plat reviews and restructuring fees to handle development surge
Summary
Officials proposed creating planner and clerk positions, moving GIS responsibilities, and outsourcing heavy plat reviews to engineering firms paid via revised developer fees. Commissioners expressed concern about coordination across ETJs and downstream drainage impacts.
Judge (speaker 1) proposed a reorg designed to relieve a single overburdened planning employee and to improve turnaround on plats: add a planner and clerk, move GIS responsibilities into either Road & Bridge or Environmental Health, and outsource complex plat review to engineering firms paid through revised fee schedules. “We need an engineering firm that has a dedicated engineer and a planner that know every intricate detail of our subdivision rules,” the judge said, explaining the county could offset contract costs by increasing plat fees so development pays for detailed review.
Commissioners and planning staff raised coordination concerns: work in extra‑territorial jurisdictions (ETJs) and joint reviews with cities like Seguin and Marion complicate contracting and raise the need for firms that will consider downstream impacts across parcels. Commissioners also discussed a rough proportionality tool already procured and urged faster action to implement interim fee changes and pass‑through engineering reviews while a full rewrite of subdivision regulations proceeds.
