81R24467 JTS-D
By: Gattis H.B. No. 4144
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4144:
By: Homer C.S.H.B. No. 4144
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a municipality's comprehensive development.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 211.004, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 211.004. COMPLIANCE WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
[(a)] Zoning regulations must be adopted in accordance with a
comprehensive plan developed under Subchapter C and must be
designed to:
(1) lessen congestion in the streets;
(2) secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers;
(3) promote health and the general welfare;
(4) provide adequate light and air;
(5) prevent the overcrowding of land;
(6) avoid undue concentration of population; or
(7) facilitate the adequate provision of
transportation, water, sewers, schools, parks, and other public
requirements.
SECTION 2. Chapter 211, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR LAND USE
Sec. 211.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Land use" means one or more uses of land
designated for a tract or an area under a comprehensive plan for
land use or a current or future land use plan or map.
(2) "Landowner" means the current owner of record, but
also includes a predecessor in interest.
(3) "Tract" means all or a majority of the metes and
bounds of a tract.
Sec. 211.102. ADOPTION, AMENDMENT, AND REVIEW OF
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR LAND USE. (a) The governing body of a
municipality shall adopt by resolution or ordinance a comprehensive
plan for land use that details current and future land uses and
serves as a basis for making planning or zoning decisions under this
chapter.
(b) The governing body may amend the comprehensive plan for
land use from time to time in accordance with this subchapter.
(c) The governing body of a municipality shall review its
comprehensive plan for land use not less than every three years.
Sec. 211.103. INCORPORATION OF LAND USE ASSUMPTIONS. Land
use assumptions adopted in a manner that complies with Subchapter
C, Chapter 395, may be incorporated in a comprehensive plan for land
use.
Sec. 211.104. NOTATION ON MAP OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. A map
of a comprehensive plan illustrating future land use must contain
the following clearly visible statement: "A comprehensive plan
does not constitute zoning regulations or establish zoning district
boundaries."
Sec. 211.105. ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR ADOPTION, AMENDMENT,
AND REVIEW OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR LAND USE. (a) The governing
body of a municipality shall appoint an advisory committee to make
recommendations regarding the adoption, amendment, or review of its
comprehensive plan for land use.
(b) The advisory committee is composed of at least five
members appointed by a majority vote of the governing body. At
least 40 percent of the membership of the advisory committee must be
representatives of the real estate, development, or building
industries who are not employees or officials of a political
subdivision or governmental entity.
(c) The meetings of the advisory committee shall be open to
the public and conducted in accordance with Chapter 551, Government
Code.
(d) The municipality shall make available to the advisory
committee professional reports concerning municipal planning and
land uses.
(e) In making recommendations regarding or while reviewing
a comprehensive plan for land use, the advisory committee may
receive information from the municipality, any interested
landowner, or the general public.
Sec. 211.106. ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT. (a) The advisory
committee shall issue a written report to the governing body of the
municipality detailing its findings and recommendations as to the
adoption, amendment, or review of the comprehensive plan for land
use.
(b) The advisory committee's written report shall be made
available to the municipality, each interested landowner, and the
general public as soon as practicable after its receipt by the
governing body.
Sec. 211.107. GOVERNING BODY ACTION ON ADVISORY COMMITTEE
REPORT; PUBLIC HEARING. (a) The governing body of the municipality
may not adopt or amend the comprehensive plan for land use until the
governing body conducts at least one public hearing on the
recommendations made by the advisory committee.
(b) The governing body of the municipality may not amend or
adopt the comprehensive plan for land use before the 30th day after
the date the governing body receives the advisory committee's
report, unless each of the landowners affected by the plan or
amendment consents to the plan or amendment.
(c) At the public hearing, a landowner may object to any
land use applied to the landowner's tract by the comprehensive plan
for land use.
Sec. 211.108. PETITION TO SPECIAL COMMISSIONERS BY AFFECTED
LANDOWNER. (a) A landowner may petition the commissioners court of
the county to appoint three disinterested persons who reside in the
municipality and county as special commissioners to assess the
reasonableness of a land use applied to the landowner's tract under
the comprehensive plan if:
(1) the landowner objects in writing to the land use;
and
(2) the landowner has been unable to sell or develop
the tract in conformity with the land use for a period of three
years.
(b) The special commissioners shall swear to assess fairly
and impartially the reasonableness of the land use applied to the
tract by the comprehensive plan for land use. The special
commissioners shall conduct their proceedings and shall have the
same powers as special commissioners under Subchapter B, Chapter
21, Property Code.
(c) A special commissioner:
(1) must be a resident of the municipality and county
in which the tract is located;
(2) must be impartial and have no conflict of interest
in the matter that is the subject of the petition;
(3) may not be connected, employed, or affiliated with
real estate development, real estate sales, or the construction
industry or reside in a household with a person who is connected,
employed, or affiliated with real estate development, real estate
sales, or the construction industry; and
(4) may not be a municipal official or employee or
serve on a municipal board, or reside in a household with a person
who is a municipal official or employee or serves on a municipal
board.
(d) The commissioners court may appoint a replacement for
any special commissioner who fails or refuses to serve.
Sec. 211.109. AMENDMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR LAND USE
IN RESPONSE TO SPECIAL COMMISSIONERS' RECOMMENDATION. If a
majority of the special commissioners determines that a land use
applied to a landowner's tract by the comprehensive plan for land
use is unreasonable, a majority of the special commissioners may
determine a reasonable land use for the tract and order that the
comprehensive plan for land use be amended to reflect that use.
Sec. 211.110. PETITION FOR ENFORCEMENT OF SPECIAL
COMMISSIONERS' ORDER. (a) If the governing body of the municipality
refuses to amend the comprehensive plan for land use in accordance
with a special commissioners' order, the landowner may file suit in
the district court in the county where the tract is located to
enforce the special commissioners' order.
(b) The special commissioners' order may be enforced by
mandamus or declaratory or injunctive relief.
(c) A prevailing landowner may recover reasonable
attorney's fees, expert witness fees, and costs of court.
SECTION 3. Section 213.002, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 213.002. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. (a) The governing body
of a municipality may adopt a comprehensive plan for the long-range
development of the municipality. A municipality may define the
content and design of a comprehensive plan.
(b) A comprehensive plan under this chapter may:
(1) include [but is not limited to] provisions on
[land use,] transportation[,] and public facilities;
(2) consist of a single plan or a coordinated set of
plans organized by subject and geographic area; and
(3) incorporate the comprehensive plan for land use
required by Subchapter C, Chapter 211 [be used to coordinate and
guide the establishment of development regulations].
[(c) A municipality may define, in its charter or by
ordinance, the relationship between a comprehensive plan and
development regulations and may provide standards for determining
the consistency required between a plan and development
regulations.
[(d) Land use assumptions adopted in a manner that complies
with Subchapter C, Chapter 395, may be incorporated in a
comprehensive plan.]
SECTION 4. Section 213.005, Local Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 5. A landowner affected by a land use under a
municipality's comprehensive plan for land use may petition a
commissioners court of a county to appoint special commissioners
under Section 211.106, Local Government Code, as added by this Act,
on or after September 1, 2009, regardless of whether the land use
provisions are incorporated in a comprehensive plan that was
adopted before or after that date and regardless of whether the land
use provisions are incorporated in a comprehensive plan that was
adopted under Chapter 213, Local Government Code, as it existed
before the effective date of this Act, or under Subchapter C,
Chapter 211, Local Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.