Land Development Ordinance

Land development ordinances are a set of regulations, standards, and tools that describe what can be built where in New Braunfels. This includes zoning, but also other ordinances affecting land development in the City, such as subdivision platting, historic preservation standards, and the requirements for signs. This update project will not only review and update the content of these ordinances, it will also combine them into one central document, with an internally consistent and logical organizational structure.

The City’s current land use regulations reflect the suburban nature of the area at the time they were adopted (1940) and revised (1960, 1987, and 2006). However, particularly since 2006, New Braunfels’ rapid rate of growth has highlighted the limitations of the regulations and outpaced the ability of periodic amendments to keep up with the changes occurring in and around the City.

In 2018, the City updated the Comprehensive Plan. The new plan, Envision New Braunfels, shaped by extensive citizen input, considers both where and how the citizens wish to see the City grow in the future. The plan lays the groundwork for future regulatory changes, and the present effort to perform an assessment and analysis of the current regulations can establish a clear path forward for the future land use regulation changes. Prior to initiating the rewrite, the assessment and analysis document will identify:

• Ways in which the current regulations work well;
• Ways in which the current regulations do not work well or are unduly complicated;
• Which sections of the current regulations are inconsistent with the goals and objectives of adopted plans and policies of the City;
• Ways to integrate other ordinances in the Municipal Code – Signs, Subdivision, Historic Preservation -- to enhance consistency and usability through creation of an integrated land development ordinance;
• If updates are necessary to comply with the local, state, and federal laws;
• Ways to improve the development review procedures and streamline where appropriate; and
• Ways to improve the user-friendliness of the land use regulations.

The analysis will also include a detailed annotated outline showing how a revised set of land use regulations could be organized and what content should be incorporated.

Public Input Meetings

The land development ordinance update project started in November of 2021 with stakeholder interviews, meetings with the Citizens Advisory Committee and Technical Advisory Committee and an online survey. The initial survey to collect community feedback on priorities for the LDO rewrite garnered 761 responses. Thank you to every resident who took the time to respond, since your replies are an important component in developing a community-driven code for the built environment.

The project is anticipated to continue through 2023, and there will be multiple opportunities for public input during that timeframe. Below are the public meetings held thus far:

• April 6, 2022 – 6 – 9 p.m. at City Hall – City Council/Planning Commission Joint Workshop
• April 7, 2022 – 1 – 2:30 p.m. at City Hall – Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting
• April 7, 2022 – 4 – 7 p.m. at City Hall – Open House
• April 8, 2022 – 9:30 – 11 a.m. at City Hall – Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
• June 2, 2022 – 2:30 – 5 p.m. at City Hall – Development Community Input Meeting
• June 3, 2022 – 9 – 10:30 a.m. at City Hall – Historic Preservation Input Meeting
• October 18, 2022 - 8:30 am - Downtown Board Meeting
• November 30, 2022 - 2:30 - 4:00 pm at City Hall - Citizens Advisory Committee Workshop
• November 30, 2022 - 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm at City Hall - Community Workshop
• December 1, 2022 - 9:00 - 11:00 am at City Hall - Technical Advisory Committee Workshop

The project public participation plan anticipates numerous opportunities for the community to participate in the project throughout its duration. The Plan describes:

• Objectives: What are the goals for seeking input on the project? 
• Key audiences: Who are we hoping to hear from? 
• Key messages: What do we want people to know about the project and its progress? 
• Engagement activities: When are the anticipated opportunities to participate? 

The Participation Plan is a starting point for guiding engagement throughout the project. It is posted to foster community resident awareness of how engagement for the project is envisioned at the outset. However, as the rewrite progresses, it can be revisited, changed, and updated to reflect evolving strategies and opportunities for public participation.

View an updated project schedule