Pasadena, Texas | Plats, Permits and Fees

Pasadena, Texas Plats, Permits and Fees: Plat Steps, Deadlines, Site Plans and What the City Charges

A Pasadena, Texas project passes through up to four City reviews: the plat, the recorded map that divides land into lots, under Appendix A; a site plan under Chapter 28; the floodplain development permit under Chapter 9; and the building permit. This page gives the steps and deadlines for each, the state law limits on how long the City may take, and the fees the code and the Planning Department publish. The Pasadena overview gives the short version.

The Plat Steps in Appendix A

• Pre-application. Before a preliminary plat, the subdivider "may seek the advice of the Planning Department or the Planning Commission." The Commission tells the subdivider within 15 days whether the plans "do or do not meet the objectives" of the ordinance (Sec. 10). The fee is $150, and the City's schedule marks it "Not required."
• Preliminary plat. A plat is "considered filed" only when "City staff and city engineer have determined that it meets all requirements," it "has been placed on an agenda for the Planning Commission," and the agenda "has been posted as required by law." The Commission "shall approve or disapprove any preliminary plat within thirty (30) days from the date it is filed," and a plat not disapproved in that time "is deemed to have been approved." A disapproved plat may come back within 30 days without a new fee (Sec. 11).
• Final plat. It must be submitted "within six (6) months" of preliminary approval unless the Commission extends the time. It comes with a City tax certificate, a utility certificate from public works and sealed engineering drawings for streets, drainage, water and sewer (Sec. 13).
• City Council. "After consideration by the commission, the plat shall be submitted to the city council for action. Should the city council fail to act on the plat within thirty (30) days thereafter, the plat shall be deemed finally approved." The Commission then records the plat with the county (Sec. 13).
• Construction. After final approval, the subdivider applies to public works for street, water and sewer permits, and City inspectors follow the work to acceptance by City Council (Sec. 13).

Larger projects built in phases can use a master preliminary plat that shows the whole tract. "Conditional approval of a master preliminary plat shall expire three (3) years after the date it is filed" (Sec. 12). State law sets the outside limits: Local Government Code 212.009 gives the city authority 30 days after filing to approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove a plat, and where an ordinance also requires the governing body's approval, the governing body has 30 days after the planning commission acts.

Shorter Routes: Short Form and Administrative Plats

Appendix A, Sec. 14 sets two shorter routes that skip the preliminary plat. The short form procedure covers an amending plat, which corrects errors on a recorded plat under Local Government Code 212.016, and a subdivision whose lots all front an existing street of adequate width, need no new street, alley or easement, and already have the required utilities and drainage. The Planning Commission acts within 30 days, and the plat does not go to City Council.

The administrative procedure covers an amending plat or a subdivision of "two or fewer lots fronting on a previously dedicated street" with utilities in place. The director of planning approves it within 30 days and records it. Sec. 14 adds: "The director shall not disapprove the plat and shall be required to refer any plat which he refuses to approve to the planning and zoning commission or city council, or both." The 2026 Platting Procedures Guide says administrative review "is only applicable for plats of 2 lots or fewer, fronting on a previously dedicated street where no public improvements are necessary," and that "An administrative replat may still require a public hearing."

Replats and the Public Hearing

Local Government Code 212.015 adds steps for a replat when "any lot in the preceding plat was limited by deed restrictions to residential use for not more than two residential units per lot." If that replat "requires a variance or exception, a public hearing must be held by the municipal planning commission or the governing body." Notice goes out before the 15th day before the hearing, by newspaper and by mail to owners of lots in the original subdivision within 200 feet. If owners of at least 20 percent of the adjoining land within 200 feet protest in writing, approval needs "the affirmative vote of at least three-fourths of the members present." Where no variance is needed, the city mails notice of the approval within 15 days.

The Platting Guide applies these steps: "At least fifteen days before the public hearing, the Department posts a legal notice in the Pasadena Citizen and sends written notice of the public hearing to property owners within 200 feet of the subject property within the original subdivision." A replat that the director cannot approve administratively "must receive both preliminary and final approval from the Planning Commission." Remember also Appendix A, Sec. 34, which bars a partial replat from changing a single-family plat restriction except to open space uses.

Submittal Windows and Paperwork

The 2026 submittal schedule says the Planning Commission meets at 6:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of each month, with no meeting on the fourth Monday of November or December. "Submittals shall be made only during designated periods," Wednesday to Friday between 8:00 a.m. and noon, and "Incomplete submittals will not be scheduled for review by the Commission." The applications page says all Planning applications go through the Citizen Self-Service portal launched April 28, 2026.

A plat submittal includes the signed application, the plat checklist, a letter of intent signed by the owner that states the acreage, the number of lots and the intended use, a title report or City Planning Letter dated within 60 days, and a Letter of Available Utilities dated within 90 days from Public Works. The Platting Guide's tax certificate policy says the Harris County Clerk requires original tax certificates from the county and the school district for each lot, showing the previous tax year with no balance due. The guide lists the County Clerk's filing fee at $60.00 for a one-page plat and $50.00 for each added page.

Planning Fees

Source: Pasadena Code of Ordinances, Sec. 28-46, Exhibit A (Ordinance No. 19-185 of November 5, 2019), and the City's Planning Application Fee Schedule, read October 9, 2026.

Sec. 28-45 says "No application for plan or plat review shall be accepted until the applicant has paid all fees as set forth herein. Fees paid shall be non-refundable." The City's schedule adds: "Any submittals received outside of a submittal window will be invoiced at the start of the next submittal window." By VanPlex arithmetic, a preliminary and a final plat for a 10-lot townhouse subdivision come to $550 each, $1,100 in all.

Site Plans

Sec. 28-66 requires a site plan, reviewed by the planning director, for new development "except single-family residential," for garages, shops and barns over 1,200 square feet, and for redevelopment and additions. A site plan "may not be approved unless the tract or property on which the development is proposed is legally platted," and the building official may not issue a building permit or certificate of occupancy without it. Under Sec. 28-65, an application "expires after one hundred eighty (180) days after the application is accepted unless the application has been approved," and an approved plan expires if work does not start within one year. Multifamily site plans go to the Planning Commission instead, at $500 plus $5 per unit. A master site plan, for property of generally 10 acres or more built in phases over no more than seven years, needs 20 percent permanent open space and is adopted by City Council ordinance.

Building Permits

Sec. 9-60, as adopted by Ordinance No. 25-198 of October 21, 2025, sets the building permit fees, and the Permit Department posts the same text as its fee schedule. New one- and two-family construction is "computed at the rate of twenty cents ($0.20) per square foot covered by roof or similar structure," counting all floors, with a $50 minimum. Commercial and multifamily work is also $0.20 per square foot, with a $100 minimum. Plan review is $0.10 per square foot: for residential work of 500 square feet or more, and for commercial work with a floor of $100 and a ceiling of $2,000. A certificate of occupancy adds $20 to a one- or two-family project and $50 to a commercial one. Each permit carries a $10 application fee where no other is set.

• Contractor registration. $75, renewed each year for $75. Commercial contractors show $300,000 of liability insurance. Homeowners with a homestead exemption, and a person building or remodeling a single-family home to live in, are exempt.
• Work without a permit. The property goes on "HOLD" until "a fee equal to twice the fee that would normally be required and a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) administrative fee have been paid."
• Reinspection. $50 for each inspection after a failed one.
• Order of approvals. The floodplain development permit comes first (Sec. 9-179), and a required site plan must be approved before the building permit (Sec. 28-66).

State law sets the City's deadline. Local Government Code 214.904 gives a city until the 45th day after a permit application is submitted to grant or deny it, give written reasons why it cannot yet decide, or agree on a deadline in writing. After a written notice, the city has 30 more days. A city that misses the deadline "may not collect any permit fees associated with the application" and must refund any it collected.

Water and Sewer Connections

Source: Pasadena Code of Ordinances on municode, Supplement 33 Update 1, Sec. 37-4, Sec. 37-5 and Sec. 37-60.

"All water taps shall be made by the city," and the City "shall, in all cases, decide on the size of the meter which can be set and the location of same" (Sec. 37-2). Sewer taps are made by City staff or by a licensed, bonded master plumber with a permit, and streets under a sewer tap must be bored; an open cut needs the public works director's approval and the mayor's written consent (Sec. 37-5). The pro rata charge is a share of the cost of a new water or sewer main, charged by the foot of street frontage. For a lot deeper than 150 feet used only for a single home or duplex, the extra depth is not charged (Sec. 37-60(b)).

A search of the municode text for "impact fee" returned three sections, and none of them sets an impact fee, a one-time charge under Local Government Code chapter 395 for new public facilities. On the code as read for this guide, the charges for a new home's water and sewer service are the meter, tap and pro rata charges in the table.

Where the Plat Documents Disagree

• The Platting Guide says "The Planning Commission has the final approval authority for plats." Appendix A, Sec. 13 sends final plats to City Council, and the guide's own steps include "Mayor and City Council approve plat." The code controls.
• Appendix A asks for "Twenty-four (24) prints" of a preliminary or final plat, while the Platting Guide asks for "Ten (10) folded copies," and since April 28, 2026 applications are filed online.
• The Platting Guide cites "Texas Local Government Code Chapter 212.014" for the replat hearing; the hearing rule is in Section 212.015.
• Sec. 28-46 charges $5 "per lot," and the Planning Application Fee Schedule charges $5 "per lot/reserve." Reserves are the tracts a plat sets aside apart from building lots, such as the "designated detention reserve" named in Sec. 9-194.1.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Pasadena overview, plats, permits and impact fees in Houston, and Texas property tax.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)