Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB692 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Rodríguez S.B. No. 692
2	2	(González of El Paso)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to regulation by certain counties of lots in platted
8	8	subdivisions that have remained undeveloped.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 232.008(h), Local Government Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(h) Regardless of the date land is subdivided or a plat is
13	13	filed for a subdivision, the commissioners court may deny a
14	14	cancellation under this section if the commissioners court
15	15	determines the cancellation will prevent the proposed
16	16	interconnection of infrastructure to pending or existing
17	17	development as defined by Section 232.0395 [232.0085].
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 232.0085, Local Government Code, is
19	19	transferred to Subchapter B, Chapter 232, Local Government Code,
20	20	redesignated as Section 232.0395, Local Government Code, and
21	21	amended to read as follows:
22	22	Sec. 232.0395 [232.0085]. CANCELLATION OF CERTAIN
23	23	SUBDIVISIONS IF LAND REMAINS UNDEVELOPED. (a) This section
24	24	applies only to real property located in the unincorporated area
25	25	of[:
26	26	[(1) outside municipalities and the extraterritorial
27	27	jurisdiction of municipalities, as determined under Chapter 42; and
28	28	[(2) in] an affected county, as defined by Section
29	29	16.341, Water Code, that:
30	30	(1) has adopted the model rules developed under
31	31	Section 16.343, Water Code;[,] and
32	32	(2) is located along an international border.
33	33	(b) The commissioners court of a county may cancel, after
34	34	notice and a hearing as required by this section, a subdivision for
35	35	which the plat was filed and approved before September 1, 1989, if:
36	36	(1) the development of or the making of improvements
37	37	in the subdivision was not begun before June 5, 1995 [the effective
38	38	date of this section]; and
39	39	(2) the commissioners court by resolution has made a
40	40	finding that the land in question is likely to be developed as a
41	41	colonia.
42	42	(c) The commissioners court must publish notice of a
43	43	proposal to cancel a subdivision under this section and the time and
44	44	place of the required hearing in a newspaper of general circulation
45	45	in the county for at least 21 days immediately before the date a
46	46	cancellation order is adopted under this section. The county tax
47	47	assessor-collector shall, not later than the 14th day before the
48	48	date of the hearing, deposit with the United States Postal Service a
49	49	similar notice addressed to each owner of land in the subdivision,
50	50	as determined by the most recent county tax roll.
51	51	(d) At the hearing, the commissioners court shall permit any
52	52	interested person to be heard. At the conclusion of the hearing,
53	53	the court shall adopt an order on whether to cancel the subdivision.
54	54	The commissioners court may adopt an order canceling a subdivision
55	55	if the court determines the cancellation is in the best interest of
56	56	the public. The court may not adopt an order canceling a
57	57	subdivision if:
58	58	(1) the cancellation interferes with the established
59	59	rights of a person who is a nondeveloper owner and owns any part of
60	60	the subdivision, unless the person agrees to the cancellation; or
61	61	(2) the owner of the entire subdivision is able to show
62	62	that:
63	63	(A) the owner of the subdivision is able to
64	64	comply with the minimum state standards and model political
65	65	subdivision rules developed under Section 16.343, Water Code,
66	66	including any bonding requirements; or
67	67	(B) the land was developed or improved within the
68	68	period described by Subsection (b).
69	69	(e) The commissioners court shall file the cancellation
70	70	order for recording in the deed records of the county. After the
71	71	cancellation order is filed and recorded, the property shall be
72	72	treated as if it had never been subdivided, and the county chief
73	73	appraiser shall assess the property accordingly. Any liens against
74	74	the property shall remain against the property as it was previously
75	75	subdivided.
76	76	(f) In this section:
77	77	(1) "Development" means the making, installing, or
78	78	constructing of buildings and improvements.
79	79	(2) "Improvements" means water supply, treatment, and
80	80	distribution facilities; wastewater collection and treatment
81	81	facilities; and other utility facilities. The term does not
82	82	include roadway facilities.
83	83	(3) "Nondeveloper owner" means a person who:
84	84	(A) owns one or more lots in a subdivision to be
85	85	occupied as the owner's personal residence; and
86	86	(B) has not participated and does not participate
87	87	in the marketing, promotion, or offering of lots for sale or lease
88	88	as part of a common promotional plan in the ordinary course of
89	89	business.
90	90	SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 232, Local Government
91	91	Code, is amended by adding Section 232.045 to read as follows:
92	92	Sec. 232.045. APPLICABILITY OF INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS
93	93	TO LOTS UNDEVELOPED FOR 25 YEARS OR MORE. (a) This section applies
94	94	only to a county with a population of more than 800,000 that is
95	95	adjacent to an international border.
96	96	(b) A commissioners court by order may implement a process:
97	97	(1) applicable to a subdivision in which 50 percent or
98	98	more of the lots are undeveloped or unoccupied on or after the 25th
99	99	anniversary of the date the plat for the subdivision was recorded
100	100	with the county; and
101	101	(2) through which the county, to the extent
102	102	practicable, may apply to the subdivision more current street,
103	103	road, drainage, and other infrastructure requirements.
104	104	(c) A regulation or standard adopted by a county under this
105	105	section must be no less stringent than the minimum standards and
106	106	other requirements under the model rules for safe and sanitary
107	107	water supply and sewer services adopted under Section 16.343, Water
108	108	Code, and any other minimum public safety standards that would
109	109	otherwise be applicable to the subdivision.
110	110	(d) A regulation or standard adopted by a county under this
111	111	section applies only to a lot that is owned by an individual, firm,
112	112	corporation, or other legal entity that directly or indirectly
113	113	offers lots for sale or lease as part of a common promotional plan
114	114	in the ordinary course of business, and each regulation or standard
115	115	must expressly state that limitation. For the purposes of this
116	116	subsection, "common promotional plan" means a plan or scheme of
117	117	operation undertaken by a person or a group acting in concert,
118	118	either personally or through an agent, to offer for sale or lease
119	119	more than two lots when the land is:
120	120	(1) contiguous or part of the same area of land; or
121	121	(2) known, designated, or advertised as a common unit
122	122	or by a common name.
123	123	SECTION 4. A county may not apply an order adopted under
124	124	Section 232.045, Local Government Code, as added by this Act, to a
125	125	subdivision that is the subject of a judicial proceeding pending on
126	126	May 1, 2017, to determine whether the subdivision is subject to a
127	127	valid and existing subdivision plat.
128	128	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.