When does a Final Plat become legally binding for a boundary survey in Texas?
If a property goes through a muicipality's platting process, and (according to minutes) is approved by City Council with conditions that are to be met, yet is never filed of record at the county clerk's office by the City, is it a legally binding plat??ÿ To add to the issue, no one knows for certain if the conditions were ever met.
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Probably, the final answer would lie in the platting law in effect at the time of the plat.
But, I would wonder: Is the original map still available? Was it signed by the parties? Was it signed by the municipality (whoever needs to sign it there)? Were the lots sold and occupied?
That said, there are illegal and/or unrecorded plats where I work (not TX), and they are still relied upon for boundary.
I've no idea but it seems absurd to consider it legally binding before the conditions are met, even if it were recorded. Since there were conditions attached to the approval, it would be mistake for the municipality not to have a process to verify the conditions were met before the plat becomes legally binding.
In the various jurisdictions I've worked, I have seen several "norms" when it comes to subdivisions.
In west TN, a surveyor would have to submit a preliminary plat for engineering / zoning / counsel review. If everyone accepted the preliminary, the surveyor would submit the FINAL PLAT for signature and recording, all before the ground was broken for the first improvement. The recorded final plat, with restrictions & covenants, were always the legally binding documents, even before construction. If there were significant differences between what was already recorded and what was built, the surveyor had to amend/revise his final plat.
In most parts of MS, the final plat is authorized only AFTER the infrastructure has been installed and inspected, with the exception of the final lift of asphalt. In all of the projects I've been involved with, the developer must provide a security bond to cover the cost of repairs and the final lift of asphalt before he/she is granted the exception.
