The first of these deals with the United States Army Corp of Engineers and the 179′-line flowage easement. The ECC committee is not allowed to let any project encroach below the 179′-line without written authorization from the USACE. So, if any part of your project is to be past the 179′-line we will deny your project until this is addressed, and that may take 3 to 6 months to get USACE approval. The MUD is our next partner. The first of the things with them is to address if the project will encroach into any of their easements around the property. If it does you will have to contact the MUD to get a written abandonment of the easement which will also be recorded with the county. The ECC will need the written approval from the MUD for that abandonment, before you can be allowed to encroach into the easement. The MUD’s last step is to see if the project will be connected to their water and sewer systems. If it does, then the ECC will need the letter given to you from them for this service. The last of our partners is the Angelina Neches River Authority. They come into play if you are not in an area that the MUD services with sewer. If you are not, a septic system will need to be installed. Since this is so, you will need to get a septic plan along with an approval from the ANRA. Both of these are to be included in your permit application.

The last section we will talk about is Variances. If your project will encroach into any of the setbacks (front, sides or rear) you will need to fill out a Variance Request. On the request you will need to ask to get into the setbacks by how ever many feet, along with a written rationale why it is needed. The ECC committee will look at what is presented, see if it’s reasonable and if it will work before it is granted. If it’s not granted, the ECC committee will come up with some suggestions, talk with the homeowner and try to figure something out that might work. The ECC recommends that if your project is within 1′ of the setbacks you ask for a variance. This is to stop any issues that may arise during the pre-pour inspection if there are encroachments into any of the setback and to not hold up the project.