Layer 1 · Rules
Every rule that applies to your parcel.
Not a generic checklist. The specific rules for this land, from the code and the maps to the deed records, each with its source, its status and who decides.
What the rules layer reads
Twelve families of rules. One parcel.
The code
Zoning, the development code and subdivision rules, and which version applies to your parcel.
Jurisdictions
City limits, ETJ, county, utility and water districts: every body you will work through, and what each controls.
Aquifer
Whether the parcel sits over a protected aquifer zone, and the plans and limits that follow.
Sensitive land
Critical environmental features, protected habitat, slopes, buffers and setbacks from water.
Impervious cover
How much of the site can be roof and paving, and what changes the limit.
Watershed and floodplain
The watershed rules, the mapped floodplain and what each means for the layout.
Utilities today
Water, wastewater or septic, power and fire flow: who serves the parcel and what capacity exists.
What is coming
Planned roads, utility extensions, capital plans and new development nearby.
Deed restrictions and title
Recorded restrictions, easements and covenants from the deed records and title plants.
Fire and building codes
The adopted fire and building codes, with the local amendments that change them.
New laws
State and local changes that affect the parcel, and the date each takes effect.
Vested rights
Earlier permits or plats that may hold older rules in place. In Texas, often called grandfathering.
Every finding
Four answers. Nothing rounded up to a pass.
Clear
Checked against the source. Nothing stands in the way.
Requirement
Something you must do or provide, and who decides it.
Unknown
Not confirmed yet. Never treated as a pass. We say how to find out.
Conflict
Sources disagree, or the plan conflicts with a rule. These rank first.
Vested rights
The rules you may already have.
In Texas, a project can often be held to the rules in effect when its first permit application was filed. An old plat or permit can matter more than the current code.
VALITER looks for those records and flags where vested rights may apply, and where they do not. An attorney or the city confirms the answer.
- The rule and the exact source
- The date we checked it
- How sure we are
- Who decides
- What it depends on
- Whether a licensed professional must confirm it
Keep reading
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