Land just outside Abilene city limits may still be in the city's ETJ

Just outside Abilene, one side of a road can feel rural while the plat still goes through City Hall. The city's planning materials show an extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, beyond the city limits. Land in that ring is not inside Abilene, but plat questions can still land on a city desk.

Abilene's plat handout gives the threshold. A plat is required when land is divided for sale or transfer and any new tract is 20 acres or less inside the city, or 10 acres or less in the ETJ. New homes, commercial work, or a request for city water or sewer on an unplatted tract can also trigger platting unless an exception applies.

Outside the ETJ, the county rulebook carries more of the load. Taylor County's development procedures cover subdivisions and RV parks. The Environmental Department still handles floodplain and OSSF permits in unincorporated areas. Near Abilene, start with the band the parcel sits in: city limit, ETJ, or county-only.