Subdividing in Austin’s ETJ: Title 30 and the joint city-county single office

Last verified August 7, 2026 against the Austin Land Development Code · Kimbrough Gray · KiliGray Homes

Title 30, the Austin/Travis County Subdivision Regulations, governs subdivision of land in the portion of Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction within Travis County. A joint single office reviews applications and must act within 30 days, citing the law behind any condition or disapproval.

Applies to: Subdivision of land in the part of the City of Austin extraterritorial jurisdiction that lies within Travis County. Inside the city limits, Chapter 25-4 applies instead.

Where Title 30 actually applies

The name invites three wrong guesses, so start with the text:

What the code says

undefined

Austin Land Development Code

So it is not a Travis County code, it does not cover all of Travis County, and it does not apply inside the city limits — there, Chapter 25-4 governs.

What it covers is the overlap: land in Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction that happens to sit in Travis County. It exists because two authorities have a claim on the same ground, and it is enacted by the commissioners court with the concurrence of the city council — neither can change it alone.

Looking for a "Travis County building code"? There largely isn't one. Texas counties have far narrower authority than cities here. A county may apply the International Residential Code to new single-family and duplex construction in unincorporated areas — but where a municipality has adopted a building code in its ETJ, the municipal code controls and the county standards have no effect there. Subdivision, not building construction, is what Title 30 governs.

The single office

Rather than making an applicant satisfy two bureaucracies, Title 30 creates one. The single office reviews and decides subdivision applications, and it works differently from a normal department:

where Title 30 gives the single office a duty or power, it is exercised by consensus of the staff;
where staff cannot reach consensus, the managing officials make a single determination;
every application gets a designated single point of contact; and
the managing officials jointly appoint a manager to oversee it.

Responsibility for review is divided between city and county by subject matter and geography — a case manager comes from the county outside near-term annexation areas, and from the city inside them.

Thirty days, and they have to cite the law

§30-2-33 is the provision worth knowing, and it expressly supersedes any contrary provision of Title 30.

The single office must approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove with reasons not later than the 30th day after the application is filed.

And a condition or reason is not free-form. It must:

be written;
not be arbitrary;
be directly related to requirements adopted under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 212 Subchapter A or Chapter 232; and
include a citation to the law that is the basis for it.

That last requirement is a genuine applicant protection. A condition without a citation does not meet the section.

And fifteen days after you respond

§30-2-41 carries the other half of the state-mandated clock, and it too supersedes contrary City Code provisions.

Once you file an applicant response, the office is back on a 15-day clock. But the response has obligations of its own: it must adequately address each condition or reason, and include only changes necessary to address them.

Slipping unrelated revisions into a response is therefore a bad idea — it risks taking the submission outside the section that gives you the fast turnaround.

When the county does not require a plat

§30-2-4 lists exceptions. The most useful is the first: a tract of land that existed in its current configuration before 1 September 1983.

Others include a manufactured home rental community meeting minimum infrastructure requirements, a judicial partition under a final judgment, and acquisition by an entity with the power of eminent domain — by condemnation, dedication, or contract and conveyance instead of condemnation.

These are county exceptions specifically. The city has its own at §§30-2-2 and 30-2-3, and they are not the same list.

Variances go to the platting board

§30-2-37 gives the platting board three routes. It shall grant a variance from an Article 3 platting requirement where enforcement would create a hardship. It may grant one for a mass housing project, planned unit development or similar neighborhood unit. And it may grant one where the variance protects the public interest.

Note the shift from "shall" to "may" — hardship is an entitlement, the other two are discretionary.

What differs from working inside the city

The single point of contact is a real advantage and worth using. On a city subdivision you often chase several reviewers; here one named person is assigned to the application.

The 30-day clock changes negotiating posture. Conditions have to be written, non-arbitrary and cited to a statute — so a condition you do not understand is a condition you can reasonably ask to see the citation for.

And keep applicant responses tight. The 15-day turnaround depends on the response addressing the stated reasons and nothing else; a response that also improves the scheme elsewhere invites a fresh review rather than a quick one.

Common questions

Does Travis County have a building code?

Not in the way a city does. Texas counties have narrow authority — the International Residential Code may be applied to new single-family and duplex construction in unincorporated areas, but where a municipality has adopted a building code in its ETJ, the municipal code controls. Title 30 governs subdivision, not building construction.

What is Title 30 in Austin?

The Austin/Travis County Subdivision Regulations. It applies to subdivision of land in the portion of Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction that lies within Travis County.

Who approves a subdivision in Austin’s ETJ?

A joint city-county single office, acting by consensus of its staff. Where staff cannot agree, the managing officials make a single determination.

How long does ETJ plat review take?

The single office must approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove with reasons within 30 days of filing, and act within 15 days of a compliant applicant response.

Can a plat be refused without a reason in Austin’s ETJ?

No. A condition of approval or reason for disapproval must be written, must not be arbitrary, must relate to requirements adopted under the relevant Texas statute, and must cite the law it rests on.

When is no plat required in Travis County?

Among other cases, for a tract that existed in its current configuration before 1 September 1983, a qualifying manufactured home rental community, a judicial partition under final judgment, and acquisitions by an entity with eminent domain power.

Send us an address and we will tell you what we find

We do this research ourselves on every project we take on — zoning, floodplain, watershed, trees, whether it is a legal lot. Send us an address and we will run it and tell you what we find. It works the same whether you own a vacant lot, a house you are thinking of adding a unit to, or a house you are thinking of replacing. No charge and no strings, and if it is a bad lot we will say so.

Send us an address

We are homebuilders, not the City of Austin. This page explains how we read the code in practice — it is not legal advice and it is not an official determination. Always confirm with Austin Development Services before you rely on it for a project. The authoritative text is the Austin Land Development Code; permitting questions go to Austin Development Services Department.