Terms Used In Texas Local Government Code 232.021

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.

In this subchapter:
(1) “Board” means the Texas Water Development Board.
(2) “Common promotional plan” means any plan or scheme of operation undertaken by a single subdivider or a group of subdividers acting in concert, either personally or through an agent, to offer for sale or lease lots when the land is:
(A) contiguous or part of the same area of land; or
(B) known, designated, or advertised as a common unit or by a common name.
(3) “Executive administrator” means the executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board.
(4) “Floodplain” means any area in the 100-year floodplain that is susceptible to being inundated by water from any source or that is identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. Sections 4001 through 4127).
(5) “Lease” includes an offer to lease.
(6) “Lot” means a parcel into which land that is intended for residential use is divided.
(6-a) “Lot of record” means:
(A) a lot, the boundaries of which were established by a plat recorded in the office of the county clerk before September 1, 1989, that has not been subdivided after September 1, 1989; or
(B) a lot, the boundaries of which were established by a metes and bounds description in a deed of conveyance, a contract of sale, or other executory contract to convey real property that has been legally executed and recorded in the office of the county clerk before September 1, 1989, that has not been subdivided after September 1, 1989.
(7) “Minimum state standards” means the minimum standards set out for:
(A) adequate drinking water by or under § 16.343(b)(1), Water Code;
(B) adequate sewer facilities by or under § 16.343(c)(1), Water Code; or
(C) the treatment, disposal, and management of solid waste by or under Chapters 361 and 364, Health and Safety Code.
(8) “Plat” means a map, chart, survey, plan, or replat containing a description of the subdivided land with ties to permanent landmarks or monuments.
(9) “Sell” includes an offer to sell.
(10) “Sewer,” “sewer services,” or “sewer facilities” means treatment works as defined by § 17.001, Water Code, or individual, on-site, or cluster treatment systems such as septic tanks and includes drainage facilities and other improvements for proper functioning of septic tank systems.
(11) “Subdivide” means to divide the surface area of land into lots intended primarily for residential use.
(12) “Subdivider” means an individual, firm, corporation, or other legal entity that directly or indirectly subdivides land into lots for sale or lease as part of a common promotional plan in the ordinary course of business.
(13) “Subdivision” means an area of land that has been subdivided into lots for sale or lease.
(14) “Utility” means a person, including a legal entity or political subdivision, that provides the services of:
(A) an electric utility, as defined by § 31.002, Utilities Code;
(B) a gas utility, as defined by § 101.003, Utilities Code; and
(C) a water and sewer utility, as defined by § 13.002, Water Code.