Hold a public hearing, discuss, and consider approval of Ordinance # 08-2026-600, amending Chapter 98 “Subdivision,” of the Crowley Code of Ordinances to allow administrative approval of requests to postpone consideration of a plat or project

Staff Report & Agenda Item Details

Under Crowley's subdivision regulations, if an applicant wants to postpone consideration of their plat application, that postponement request can only be granted by the governing bodies responsible for plat approval, meaning either the Planning & Zoning Commission or the City Council (whichever body is scheduled to consider the plat request). Because of this requirement, we have had to schedule meetings for the Planning & Zoning Commission when the only item on the agenda is a postponement request. Scheduling meetings for this one quick item is usually not a good use of staff's, the commissioners', or the applicant's time. In a recent legislative update, the state approved regulations allowing cities to delegate all plat approvals to staff. As city staff and the city attorney interpret these regulations, the city can therefore delegate the authority to accept postponement requests to staff. The ordinance under consideration would grant that authority to staff. Staff would have the option to present the postponement request to the Planning & Zoning Commission or City Council, as applicable, for cases where the staff recommendation would be to deny the postponement request, where the platting process has been difficult and a governing body should determine whether a postponement is warranted, or where there is a lot of public interest in the case. However, in cases where the applicant has been working diligently to address review comments and simply needs additional time to make revisions or submit required documentation, staff would recommend allowing staff the option to approve those requests. An ordinance adopting a change to the subdivision regulations is attached to this staff report for the City Council's consideration. A public hearing is required. The Planning & Zoning Commission does not vote on changes to the subdivision regulations, but staff checked with the Commission to get their input, and the Commission supported the request. A redline of the proposed