88R6854 SCL-D
By: Hughes S.B. No. 558
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to parkland dedication for property development by certain
municipalities; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 212, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter H to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. PARKLAND DEDICATION: MUNICIPALITIES WITH POPULATION
OF MORE THAN 800,000
Sec. 212.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Consumer price index" means the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City Average, published
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of
Labor or its successor in function.
(2) "Improvement" and "market value" have the meanings
assigned by Section 1.04, Tax Code.
(3) "Land value" means the market value of land per
acre, not including an improvement to the land.
(4) "Parkland" means an area that is designated as a
park for the purpose of recreational activity.
(5) "Parkland dedication" means the fee simple
transfer of land or the dedication of an easement to a municipality
for nonexclusive use as parkland.
(6) "Plan" means a subdivision development plan,
subdivision plan, site plan, land development plan, and site
development plan proposing the development of residential units.
Sec. 212.202. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to a municipality with a population of more than 800,000.
Sec. 212.203. EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY. Notwithstanding any
other law, a municipality has exclusive authority within its
boundaries to require the dedication of parkland or a parkland
dedication fee instead of the dedication. A municipality may not
delegate that authority to another political subdivision.
Sec. 212.204. PARKLAND DEDICATION, FEE, OR COMBINATION. A
municipality that requires a landowner to dedicate a portion of the
landowner's property for parkland use under a plan application
filed under this subchapter shall require the landowner to:
(1) pay a fee set in accordance with Section
212.208(h); or
(2) dedicate a portion up to the maximum size
authorized under Section 212.207 for the portion and pay a reduced
fee set in accordance with Section 212.208(i) if the dedication is
less than the maximum size.
Sec. 212.205. REQUEST FOR PARKLAND DEDICATION
DETERMINATION. (a) A landowner may make a written request to a
municipality that the municipality make a timely determination of
the dedication amount the municipality will impose under the
municipality's parkland dedication requirements as applied to the
landowner's property being considered for development.
(b) A municipality may make a reasonable written request to
the landowner for additional information necessary to provide a
determination under this section.
(c) A municipality shall respond in writing to a request
made under Subsection (a) not later than the 30th day after the date
the municipality receives a completed request. If the municipality
fails to respond in accordance with this subsection, the
municipality may not require a parkland dedication as a condition
of approval of a proposed plan or application for property that is
the subject of the request.
(d) A parkland dedication determination issued under this
section:
(1) is a legally binding determination of the amount
of the landowner's parkland dedication for the property that is the
subject of the determination; and
(2) is applicable to the property that is the subject
of the determination for a period that is the lesser of:
(A) two years; or
(B) the time between the date the determination
is issued and the date a plan application is filed that uses or
relies on the determination.
(e) A landowner may release in writing a municipality from
the requirements of this section.
Sec. 212.206. PARKLAND DEDICATION AUTHORITY LIMITED TO
RESIDENTIAL USE. (a) A municipality may not require a parkland
dedication or impose a parkland dedication fee instead of a
parkland dedication for land that is not proposed for residential
use under a plan application.
(b) If a plan application submitted to a municipality
proposes development of the land subject to the application that
includes both residential and nonresidential uses, the
municipality shall determine the amount of a parkland dedication
based only on the portion of the land proposed for residential use.
Sec. 212.207. LIMITATION ON PARKLAND DEDICATION AMOUNT. A
municipality may not require a landowner to dedicate as parkland
under this subchapter more than 10 percent, without adjustment or
disqualification for impairment, of the gross site area of the land
subject to a plan application.
Sec. 212.208. DETERMINATION OF FEES. (a) For purposes of
determining the amount of a fee imposed under this section, the
governing body of a municipality, after providing at least 30 days'
public notice and holding a public hearing, shall by official
action designate all territory within its municipal boundaries as a
suburban area, urban area, or central business district area. The
governing body may use the same designation for multiple areas in
the municipality. The governing body may amend a designation only
during the adoption or amendment of a municipal comprehensive plan
under Chapter 213.
(b) Not later than the 10th day after the date the
municipality designates its territory under Subsection (a), the
municipality shall notify each appraisal district in which the
municipality is wholly or partly located of the designation.
(c) Once every 10 years, each appraisal district in which
the municipality is wholly or partly located shall calculate and
provide to the municipality the average land value for each area or
portion of an area designated by the municipality under Subsection
(a) that is located in the district.
(d) If multiple appraisal districts calculate an average
land value for different portions of an area designated under
Subsection (a), the municipality shall determine the area's total
average land value by:
(1) multiplying each district's calculated value for
the portion located in the district by the percentage, expressed as
a fraction, that the portion is to the total area; and
(2) adding the resulting amounts.
(e) In each year other than the year in which an appraisal
district calculates average land values under Subsection (c), a
municipality shall calculate the average land value for each area
designated under Subsection (a) by multiplying the previous year's
average land value for the area by the final consumer price index of
the previous year.
(f) A municipality shall set the municipality's dwelling
unit factor, which reflects the number of parkland acres for each
dwelling unit proposed by a plan application. The factor may not be
more than:
(1) .01 for single-family dwelling units;
(2) .005 for multi-family dwelling units; and
(3) .004 for hotel or motel dwelling units.
(g) A municipality shall set the municipality's density
factor for each area designated by the municipality under
Subsection (a). The density factor may not be less than:
(1) one for the suburban area;
(2) four for the urban area; and
(3) 40 for the central business district area.
(h) A municipality shall determine the amount of a fee
imposed under Section 212.204(1) for land subject to a plan
application by:
(1) adding, as appropriate:
(A) the product of the number of single-family
dwelling units proposed by the plan by the dwelling unit factor
prescribed by Subsection (f)(1);
(B) the product of the number of multi-family
dwelling units proposed by the plan by the dwelling unit factor
prescribed by Subsection (f)(2); and
(C) the product of the number of hotel and motel
dwelling units proposed by the plan by the dwelling unit factor
prescribed by Subsection (f)(3);
(2) multiplying the sum calculated under Subdivision
(1) by the average land value for the area in which the land is
located; and
(3) dividing the product calculated under Subdivision
(2) by the applicable density factor.
(i) A municipality shall determine the amount of a fee
imposed under Section 212.204(2) for land subject to a plan
application by:
(1) calculating the amount of the fee for the land
under Subsection (h); and
(2) subtracting from the amount calculated under
Subdivision (1) the product of the land value applicable to the land
and the number of acres dedicated.
(j) If a calculation made under Subsection (i) results in a
negative number, the applicable landowner is entitled to receive
from the applicable municipality the amount equal to the positive
difference between the calculated amount and zero. The
municipality shall pay that amount to the landowner at the time of
transfer of fee simple title or the recording of the easement.
Sec. 212.209. COLLECTION OF FEES. A municipality shall
provide a landowner a written determination of fees owed under this
subchapter before approving a plan application but may only collect
a fee authorized under this subchapter as a precondition to the
issuance of a final certificate of occupancy.
Sec. 212.210. FEE USE. A municipality may use a fee
collected under this subchapter only for parkland acquisition,
development, maintenance, or repair or other park purposes:
(1) within its municipal boundaries; or
(2) outside its municipal boundaries when partnering
with one or more other political subdivisions.
Sec. 212.211. APPEAL. (a) A landowner may appeal a
determination made by a municipal department, board, or commission
regarding any element of a parkland dedication requirement,
including amount, orientation, or suitability, as that element
applies to the landowner's property, to the municipal planning
commission or, if the municipality has no planning commission, the
governing body of the municipality.
(b) A landowner may appeal a municipal planning
commission's determination under Subsection (a) to the governing
body of the municipality.
(c) In an appeal under this section, a municipal planning
commission or governing body of a municipality may uphold, reverse,
or modify a parkland dedication requirement as applied to the
landowner making the appeal.
(d) A municipal planning commission or governing body of a
municipality shall uphold, reverse, or modify a parkland dedication
requirement that is the subject of an appeal not later than the 60th
day after the date the appeal is filed with the commission or
governing body. If the commission or governing body fails to act in
accordance with this subsection, the parkland dedication
requirement is considered reversed.
SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2023, each
municipality to which Subchapter H, Chapter 212, Local Government
Code, as added by this Act, applies shall:
(1) effective January 1, 2024:
(A) designate the areas of the municipality as
required by Section 212.208(a), Local Government Code, as added by
this Act; and
(B) set the municipality's dwelling unit and
density factors, as required by Sections 212.208(f) and (g), Local
Government Code, as added by this Act; and
(2) provide to each appraisal district in which the
municipality is wholly or partly located the location of each area
designated under Subdivision (1)(A) of this subsection in a manner
sufficient to allow the appraisal district to make the calculations
required by Subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2024, each appraisal district
that appraises property located in a municipality described by
Subsection (a) of this section shall calculate and provide to the
municipality the average land values as required by Section
212.208(c), Local Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. Subchapter H, Chapter 212, Local Government
Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a plan application filed
on or after January 1, 2024.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.