SAN BENITO — Residents like Tom Goodman are fuming about a city policy requiring residential lots be subdivided before officials grant utility permits.
When his daughter bought a home sitting on two lots in one of the city’s old neighborhoods, she found out officials would not grant her a utility permit until the re-platting process was completed, he said, adding the cost of subdividing ranges from $8,000 to $18,000.
In his daughter’s case, officials allowed her to sign an affidavit in which she pledged to subdivide the property within four months, Goodman, a South Padre Island real estate broker, said Monday.
“That’s completely unjust for a piece of property that’s been that way for more than 50 years,” he said, adding he had never come across a policy requiring home owners subdivide before being granted utility permits during his 30 years of work in the Rio Grande Valley.
Last month, Goodman came before city commissioners to outline his concerns.
In the city’s old neighborhoods, many home sales require the re-platting of small lots.
“They’re just small and they were highly segmented,” Goodman said, referring to the old lots.
More residents subdividing
Now, commissioners are reviewing the city’s ordinance overseeing the subdividing of lots along with the policy requiring home owners subdivide before being granted utility permits.
“We have a problem in that old section of San Benito,” Mayor Rick Guerra said. “Now we’re having more (re-platting) because now there’s more construction. It’s hurting people and that’s not what we’re here for. We need to see what we can do. We need to work with them.”
Comparing city re-platting fees
While Goodman says he has never come across a policy requiring lots be subdivided before utility permits are granted, officials here argue the city offers lower re-platting fees than cities such as Harlingen and Brownsville.
In San Benito, the city’s base fee for a preliminary plat review stands at $200 while it charges $50 for final plat review, spokesman David Favila stated.
Meanwhile, Harlingen’s review fees range from $150 for preliminary construction to $250 for replats while every variance request costs $25, he stated.
In Brownsville, the city charges $350 to $1,500 for “minor” subdivision plat reviews and $500 to $2,000 for “major” subdivision plats, Favila stated.
However, surveying and engineering costs drive re-platting charges.
“The cost for re-platting varies from project to project and from city to city and most major costs are incurred by outside engineering firms and surveyors, who developers must secure and negotiate costs with ahead of construction of a subdivision,” Favila stated.
Call to scrap re-platting fees in old neighborhoods
After fielding complaints, Commissioner Pete Galvan says he wants to scrap re-platting requirements in the city’s old neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, he accused officials of “denying water and occupancy rights” to home buyers required to subdivide their properties before being granted utility permits.
“There have been calls right and left — the citizens started speaking up,” Galvan said, referring to residents’ complaints, adding he was planning to buy an old home sitting on two lots until he found out its re-platting would cost $9,000.
“A replat is not black and white — they have to look at the circumstances,” he said, adding some cities limit re-platting to cases in which utilities lie under lots.
“I don’t believe in focusing on re-platting for old homes,” he said. “You can’t expect to hold that requirement for homes that have been there 50 years. Now people are afraid to sell their homes because they think the buyer won’t be able to afford to replat. We need to look at this. We need to provide a fair solution. Our responsibility is to take care of the citizens and I don’t think we’re holding our end of the bargain.”
Hearing both sides
Meanwhile, Commissioner Rene Garcia said he is reviewing concerns.
“I want to hear both sides,” he said. “We operate the city by statutes and ordinances. Everything is pretty well structured. I just don’t want to go overboard or do something excessive. If it’s something we have to look at and maybe amend, it’s something we would look at. This is something we need to study.”
