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Zoning Bulletin <br />October 25, 2013 I Volume 7 I Issue 20 <br />oratorium— unicipality approves <br />subdivision plat and subsequently <br />enforces sewer connection <br />moratorium against property <br />Developer contends property's approval for <br />subdivision exempts it from the moratorium, <br />per state statutory law <br />Citation: City of Lorena v. BMTP Holdings, L.P., 56 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. <br />1115, 2013 WL 4730647 (Tex. 2013) <br />TEXAS (08/30/13)—This case addressed the issue of whether prop- <br />erty approved for subdivision is exempt from any development <br />moratorium based on shortages of public facilities, under Texas statu- <br />tory law, Local Government Code Chapter 212, or whether exemption <br />is only available to properties approved for construction. <br />The Background/Facts: BMTP Holdings, L.P. ("BMTP") was a <br />residential real estate developer operating in the City of Lorena, Texas <br />(the "City"). As a developer, BMTP did not construct residences. <br />Rather, it obtained municipal approval of plats to divide property into <br />residential lots and build community infrastructure such as roads, storm <br />drains, curbs, and taps into the municipality's sewer system. BMTP <br />then would sell the subdivided property to builders who would obtain <br />municipal permits and construct houses on the lots. Prior to 2003, <br />BMTP began subdividing the property at issue for a residential subdivi- <br />sion named South Meadows Estates. <br />In January 2006, the City Council approved the final plat for the final <br />phase (phase five) of South Meadows Estates. The City Manager then <br />executed the plat, indicating the City's acceptance of it and its eligibil- <br />ity for filing with the county clerk's office. In the spring of 2006, BMTP <br />began building the infrastructure for the fifth phase of the development, <br />which it completed in May 2006. <br />On June 5, 2006, upon engineers' detetiiiination that the City's sew- <br />age system was over capacity, the City enacted a 120-day moratorium <br />on sewer tap permits. That moratorium was extended seven times. In <br />November 2008, a new, and virtually similar, moratorium was enacted. <br />The City informed BMTP that it intended to enforce the moratorium <br />against seven remaining unsold lots in South Meadows Estates. BMTP <br />asserted that the City had already approved the plats for the seven lots, <br />thus exempting them by law from any moratorium. <br />© 2013 Thomson Reuters 9 <br />