Zoning and building permits in Colleyville, TX

Zoning lives in Chapter 3 of the Land Development Code, which "shall constitute the comprehensive zoning ordinance for the City of Colleyville, Texas." The code says "The regulations contained in this Chapter have been adopted under the authority of Chapter 211".

The commercial districts are Section 3.17 CPO, Professional Office Commercial District; Section 3.18 CN, Neighborhood Commercial District; Section 3.19 CC-1, Village Retail District; Section 3.20 CC-2, Shopping Center District; and Section 3.21 CC-3, Highway Commercial District. Chapter 3 adds Section 3.22 ML, Light Manufacturing District and Section 3.23 PUD, Planned Unit Developments.

Each district has a stated purpose. One purpose statement in the chapter says a district "is designed to be compatible adjacent to or near residential areas so as to provide office services needed by homeowners on a usual basis." A district table in the chapter lists "CPO Professional Office Commercial" with the entry "Daytime only". Another purpose statement reads "general commercial retail goods and services as well as some office, entertainment and community facility uses." A third is "oriented to general commercial goods and services as well as office, entertainment and community facility uses." The quoted purpose lines do not name their districts, so read each one in its section of the code.

Start every property question with the district on the city's zoning map, then read the purpose statement. A user who needs evening hours should ask the city how the daytime entry applies before looking at a small office building in that district.

Uses are assigned to districts in Section 3.24 Schedule of Permitted Uses. The code's legend has three outcomes. "A “P” in a cell indicates that the use is allowed by right as the principal use in the applicable zoning district". "An “S” in a cell indicates that the use may be allowed with the approval by the City Council of a Special Use Permit following the applicable review and approval procedures." And the City of Colleyville says "An empty cell indicates that the land use is prohibited in the applicable zoning district", unless a Planned Unit Development District ordinance, a Special Use Permit or Section 3.6.B, Classification of New and Unlisted Uses, allows it. The Special Use Permit rules sit in Section 3.25.

For office users, the rows read the same way. General Business Offices not elsewhere listed shows P under CPO, CN, CC1, CC2 and CC3, and S under ML. Real Estate Agency Offices shows the same entries. So does Attorney Offices. Physician’s or Dentist’s Offices shows P under CPO, CN, CC1, CC2 and CC3, and S under ML. The City of Colleyville Land Development Code notes to the table include one for medical and veterinary clinics: outpatient services only. The medical rows came by amendment: the code's ordinance history lists an entry to "Amend Section 3.24, Table of Permitted Uses to include addition of medical office uses".

A use allowed by right can move straight to permits. A special use permit means a council hearing, so build that time into the lease or the purchase contract before you sign. An empty cell is a question for the city or a local land use attorney: ask whether a planned development or an unlisted use ruling is realistic before you spend money on drawings.

The process runs in a fixed order. These are the steps the code describes:

1. All requests for a change in zoning shall be submitted, together with the required fee, to the Administrative Official.
2. No less than fifteen (15) days notice of the time, place and nature of the public hearing shall be published in publication having general circulation in the city of Colleyville.
3. Written notice of the public hearing shall be sent to all owners of real property lying within five hundred (500) feet of the property and all Home Owner's Associations (HOA's) lying within one thousand (1,000) feet of the property being considered. The code adds: "The sign shall be posted at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing and shall remain posted until the hearing."
4. At the hearing, "the Planning and Zoning Commission shall hold a public hearing and receive comment." The Commission shall vote on the proposal and report its recommendation to the City Council.
5. No amendment shall be made without public hearing before the City Council.

Two rules change the math. The Colleyville Land Development Code says failure by the Commission to act on an amendment within sixty (60) days of the first date of public hearing shall be considered a recommendation for denial of the amendment. In a provision whose trigger is not in the quoted line, the code says an amendment shall not "be passed except by a favorable vote of three-fourths (3/4) of all members of the City Council." Chapter 1 also carries its own heading for "Alcohol and Package Store SUP Requests". The schedule of fees and charges associated with application filing, processing, plan review, or any other fee required by provisions of this Land Development Code, shall be established by the City Council.

Ask the city, or a local attorney, which situations trigger the higher council vote before you file. Talk with the neighbors who will get the mailed notice before they read the sign, and make any purchase or lease contingent on the outcome.

A site plan shall be submitted for review and approval to the Administrative Official prior to the issuance of a building permit. The Colleyville Land Development Code says no building permit shall be issued unless the property has been platted of record. And no building permit shall be issued by the Administrative Official except in conformity with the provisions of this Chapter.

The platting chapter speaks of development "without having a plat of the subdivision prepared and approved in accordance with this Chapter." It says "The Planning and Zoning Commission shall approve or disapprove a Preliminary, Final" plat. It also names Chapter 212, with the title "Municipal Regulation of Subdivisions and Property Development".

Before you buy land or an older building for a new project, ask the city whether the tract is platted of record. If it is not, the plat comes before any building permit.

Contractors must be currently registered in order to create an online permit. The established goal is to complete plan reviews within seven (7) working days. For fees, Building Inspections says "See fee adoption schedule on department web page www.colleyville.com."

If the project touches the outside of a building on the boulevard, read the city grant rules before you pull the permit. A City of Colleyville incentive page lists "Improvements that bring existing, non-conforming building and signs into compliance with the current Land Development Code." A city grant page also says "No grant will be awarded for work that has already been initiated or completed."

Get your contractor's registration in place before the drawings are finished, and allow for at least one round of comments on top of the review goal. Apply for any grant before work starts, not after.

A City of Colleyville Building Inspections document reads "CODE ADOPTION Effective April 1, 2025". It names the "2024 International Codes" and the "2024 International Fire Code".

Ask your architect which code edition the drawings were prepared under. Plans drawn for an older edition can come back with comments.

No non-residential building, or portion thereof, or parcel of land shall change in use or occupancy until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the City. Application for a certificate of occupancy shall be made to the Building Inspection Office. No connection to the City utility systems shall be allowed unless and until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the City Inspector.

If you are a tenant changing the use of a suite, tie the rent start date to the certificate of occupancy, not to the lease signing. If you own the building, ask the city what the prior tenant's certificate covered before you market the space to a different use.

The code says "Parking regulations are based on the gross floor area (GFA) of the building." In the Parking Group Schedule, group 7 is "1 per 200 sq. ft. of gross floor area" and group 8 is "1 per 300 sq. ft. of gross floor area". The schedule of permitted uses assigns each use a parking group, and the General Business Offices not elsewhere listed row carries an 8. The City of Colleyville Land Development Code says a reduction may be authorized after approval of a Special Use Permit by the City Council when associated with new development or a significant change in use of an existing building or site.

Count the spaces before you sign. A use with a heavier parking group can fail in a building whose lot was sized for general office, and fixing that takes a council hearing.

The impact fee chapter "shall be uniformly applicable to new development which occurs within the water, wastewater and roadway service areas." The Colleyville Land Development Code says no final plat for new development shall be approved within the service area without assessment of impact fees. The chapter references a plan "approved by Ordinance O-17-2005 on February 21, 2017".

Ask for the impact fee assessment while you are still pricing land, so the figure is in your budget before the plat is filed.

The 2015 comprehensive plan, Destination Colleyville, will guide the city through 2035. Destination Colleyville builds upon the 2004 Comprehensive Plan. Community Impact reported the council passed it "in a 5-2 vote." The city says "One of the plan's major initiatives is to enhance Colleyville Boulevard's role as a key commercial corridor". Action 9.14 reads "Focus on attracting sales-tax generating uses at intersections and professional or medical office uses at mid-block locations." The city's plan page also says "maintain a 1.8 dwelling units per net acre maximum density".

A rezoning that matches the plan is easier to argue at a hearing than one that does not. If you want an office use at a corner or a retail use mid-block, expect questions and come with an answer. Projects and capital spending are tracked on the development tracker.