Richardson, TX Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Article VI of Richardson's Soil Siltation Control ordinance splits responsibility between two parties. Section 23-280 puts the duty on property owners: each owner must take appropriate measures to control the gradual wearing away and siltation of soil on their property so stormwater runoff does not carry silt, earth or topsoil onto streets, sidewalks, drainage easements, storm drains, or other public or private property, and the owner answers for any damage caused by that erosion, including erosion caused by the owner's own agents, employees and independent contractors.

Section 23-281 places an identical duty directly on contractors performing work in the city, making the contractor liable for erosion damage traceable to the contractor's own actions or omissions on the job site, separate from the property owner's liability. Section 23-282 gives the city its enforcement lever: building officials, the city engineer and inspectors are not required to issue plats, drainage studies, plans and specifications, building permits, interim inspections, acceptance of completed public infrastructure, or certificates of occupancy while conditions on the property are not stabilized and soil detrition and siltation are occurring or have recently occurred, whether the runoff happened inside or outside the boundaries of the property under review.

Practically, this means a homebuilder or developer whose site is actively eroding onto a neighbor's yard or a city street can be stopped cold at the inspection or CO stage until silt fencing, ground cover or other stabilization measures are installed and holding. The ordinance dates to Ord. No. 3217-A, adopted March 22, 1999, and was folded into the Code at the editor's discretion to preserve numbering continuity.