What PlatTracker is
PlatTracker is the modern replacement for Houston's older paper-and-PDF plat workflow. It's a Microsoft PowerApps portal operated by the City of Houston Planning & Development Department, and it's the system of record for every plat, replat, and minor plat that goes through the Houston Planning Commission.
The portal serves three audiences:
- Applicants — developers, surveyors, civil engineering firms — submit plat applications, upload supporting documents, pay fees, and track their applications through review.
- City staff — planning, engineering, public works — review submittals, route comments back to applicants, and prepare the biweekly agenda.
- The public — including contractors, adjacent property owners, and anyone watching the Houston construction market — can view current agendas, past agendas, and the application records on each agenda.
The biweekly Planning Commission cycle
Houston's Planning Commission meets every two weeks. Each meeting reviews and votes on a published agenda of plat applications, replats, variances, public hearings, and special exceptions. The cycle, in rough order:
- 01Application submission (continuous)
Applicants upload plats and supporting documents through PlatTracker at any time. Each application enters a staff review queue.
- 02Staff review (~3–6 weeks)
Planning, engineering, public works, and other affected city departments review the application. Comments are returned to the applicant; revisions are uploaded; the cycle iterates.
- 03Agenda assembly (T-7 days)
Approximately one week before each Planning Commission meeting, staff assembles the next agenda from applications that have cleared review.
- 04Agenda publication (T-3 days)
The agenda is published to PlatTracker, including a downloadable spreadsheet listing every application and a notice email to public subscribers.
- 05Planning Commission meeting
The commission convenes (typically Thursday afternoon), opens public hearings on relevant items, and votes to approve, conditionally approve, or deny each application.
- 06Recording (post-approval)
Approved plats proceed to recording with the Harris County Clerk. The recorded plat becomes the legal subdivision of record.
How to read the current agenda spreadsheet
The most useful artifact PlatTracker publishes is the current agenda spreadsheet — a downloadable file listing every application on the upcoming Planning Commission meeting. The spreadsheet is updated when agendas change and replaces older PDF agenda formats.
The columns you'll see:
- Subdivision Name — the marketing or legal name of the proposed development.
- App No — the city's internal application number (e.g., "2026-0635"). Useful as a stable reference.
- PC Date (Cycle) — the Planning Commission meeting date the application is scheduled for.
- Date Submitted — when the application originally entered the queue.
- Application Type — see the type-code section below.
- Land Use — the intended end use (single-family, multifamily, commercial, etc.).
- Property Size — total acreage.
- Lot Count — number of lots in the proposed subdivision.
- Council District — which Houston City Council district the property sits in.
- Zip Code — useful for territory filtering.
- Applicant / Organization — the person and firm submitting the application.
- Developer Org Name — the LLC or company developing the property.
- Status — current application status (Submitted, Under Review, Scheduled, Approved, etc.).
Application type codes
Houston classifies plat applications by type. The codes you'll see most often:
| Field | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| C1P | Class 1 subdivision plat — major plat, larger scale | |
| C2P | Class 2 subdivision plat | |
| C2R | Class 2 subdivision replat — amendment to a recorded Class 2 plat | |
| C3P | Class 3 subdivision plat — typically smaller-scale subdivision | |
| C3F | Class 3 subdivision plat with finalization | |
| C3R | Class 3 subdivision replat | |
| C4P | Class 4 subdivision plat | |
| C4R | Class 4 subdivision replat | |
| MP | Minor plat — small, simplified plat (typically ≤4 lots) | |
| AMP | Amending plat — narrowly-scoped clerical or correction-style amendment | |
| VP | Vacating plat — extinguishes a previously-recorded plat |
How to subscribe to plat reports
The City of Houston Planning & Development Department maintains an email distribution list for biweekly plat report emails. Each new agenda triggers an email with a link to the PlatTracker portal. To subscribe, visit the City of Houston Planning & Development Department website and look for the plat report mailing list signup — typically located on the development reports or planning commission page.
The email list is a useful baseline subscription. The limitation: each email lands as a wall of links, with no filtering by your trade, your zip codes, or your scope of interest.
The contractor workflow (and where it falls short)
Most contractors who use PlatTracker directly follow a workflow like this:
- 01 ·Subscribe to the plat report email distribution.
- 02 ·Each cycle, download the current agenda spreadsheet.
- 03 ·Filter or scan for relevant applications (by zip, council district, lot count, application type).
- 04 ·For interesting applications, click through to PlatTracker for more detail (developer entity, applicant contact, supporting documents).
- 05 ·Add interesting projects to a tracking spreadsheet or CRM.
- 06 ·Repeat every two weeks.
This works, but the workflow is brittle. You're manually filtering hundreds of records every two weeks, you don't get cross-references to other public layers (parcel transfers, plan-review status, permits), and you have no way to score or prioritize what you're seeing. Most contractors who try this for a few months either stop doing it consistently or hire a part-time analyst to maintain it.