MUNICIPAL LAND USE
REGULATORY AUTHORITY
2014 Eagle Ford Consortium
April 22, 2014
Presented by: Jameene Y. Banks
Denton Navarro Rocha Bernal Hyde & Zech, P.C.
Jameene.banks@rampage-sa.com
2517 North Main, San Antonio, Texas 78212
(210) 227-3243 Phone; (210) 225-4481 Facsimile
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ZONING
PLATS AND SUBDIVISIONS
ANNEXATION
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND ITS IMPACT
LGC § § 213.00 et. al. & 211.004
 A city may adopt a comprehensive plan which may:
 Include provisions on land use, transportation and
public facilities;
 Consist of a single plan or a coordinated set of plans
organized by subject and geographic area; and
 be used to coordinate and guide the establishment of
development regulations
 City is not required to have a comprehensive plan in
order to zone; HOWEVER
 If a city adopts a comprehensive plan it must be
followed when making zoning decisions. LGC §
211.004(a)
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What Can Zoning Regulate?
LGC § 211.003
Height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other
structures;
Percentage of a lot that may be occupied;
Size of yards, courts, and other open spaces;
Population density;
The location and use of buildings, other structures, and land
for business, industrial, residential, etc.;
Construction in areas of historical, cultural, or architectural
importance;
The bulk of buildings (if home-rule)
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What Must Zoning be Designed to do?
LGC § 211.004
Lesson congestion in the streets
Secure safety from fire, panic, dangers
Promote health & general welfare
Provide adequate light & air
Prevent overcrowding of land
Avoid undue concentration of population
Facilitate adequate provision of transportation, water,
sewer, schools, parks, etc.
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Zoning Pitfalls
Exclusionary Zoning (excludes racial minorities, ethnic groups, lower income, etc.)
Constitutional Issues
Substantive Due Process – legislation goes to far
Procedural Due Process – notice and opportunity to be heard
Equal Protection
Takings
Regulation of certain uses
Religious institutions - RILUPA
Manufactured homes - TMHSA
SOB’s – LGC section 243.000 et. al.
Alcohol sales – TABC
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More Zoning Pitfalls
Group homes – THRC section 123.003
Federal Fair Housing Act
Pawn Shops – LGC section 211.035
Cell Towers – Federal Telecommunications Act
Amateur Radio Antennas – Texas and Federal
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Zoning Commissions
LGC § 211.007
Home Rule must have
General Law may have
A planning commission may serve as the zoning
commission
If no commission, city council performs functions
of zoning commission
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Zoning Procedure
LCG § § 211.006 & .007
• Zoning procedures must be followed or else zoning
ordinances are void
• City council establishes regulations and procedures for
establishing district boundaries and adopting
regulations.
• Zoning Commission (or council if none) conducts landuse inventories, determines preliminary land-use goals
and policies, formulates specific district regulations, and
draws tentative district boundary lines.
• A Preliminary Report is formulated based on the above
determinations and is made to the City Council for final
approval
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Citizen Input
• A public hearing is held to receive input from
the public on the Preliminary and Final
Report.
• Public Hearings must be held before both the
P & Z and City Council
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Zoning Tools for Unique Circumstances
• Specific Use Permits: Allows uses that zoning
ordinance permits but requires screening or
special conditions to ensure suitability.
– The authority to grant an SUP must be provided
for in the zoning ordinance.
– The ordinance must specify the conditions to be
met for the SUP.
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Planned Developments
• Development that does not fit the standards within
the standard zoning
• Unique circumstances
• Allows for Mixed Uses of Land: (Multi Family, Office
Developments, Retails, Hospitals and Hotels)
• General Requirements:
– Designate a minimum size
– Plan the development as an integrated unit
– Traffic and parking requirements
– Buffer zones; Landscaping
– Height and density regulations
– Formal zoning amendment process required
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Plat & Subdivision Authority
After a Public Hearing on the matter cities may
adopt rules governing plats and subdivisions of
land within the municipality’s jurisdiction
(including the ETJ) to promote the health, safety,
morals, or general welfare of the municipality
and the safe, orderly, and healthful
development of the city.
Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 212.002
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When are Plats Required?
LGC § 212.004
• Owner divides the tract into 2 or more parts
to lay out a subdivision,
• to lay out suburban, building, or other lots,
• or to lay out streets, alleys, squares, parks or
other parts of the tract intended to be
dedicated to public use or for the use of
purchasers or owners of lots fronting on or
adjacent to the streets, alleys, squares, parks,
or other parts.
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• The municipal authority responsible for
approving plats shall act on a plat within 30
days after the date the plat is filed
• A Plat MUST be approved If It conforms to the
general plan of the municipality.
• A plat is considered APPROVED unless it is
denied within 30 days
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Annexation Authority
• Chapter 43 Texas Local Government Code
• Home Rule Cities
– Local Government Code
– Full Power of Annexation
– Charter Provisions
• General Law Cities
– Local Government Code
– Limited Powers of Annexation
– Unilateral / Petition
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Type A General Law City
• Section 43.023 – AUTHORITY OF GENERAL-LAW
MUNICIPALITY WITH POPULATION OF MORE THAN 5,000 TO
ANNEX AREA ON PETITION AND ELECTION OF AREA VOTERS
– Less than 1 mile in width
– Petition signed by 100 or more qualified voters of the area
– Municipality orders election
• Sec. 43.024. AUTHORITY OF TYPE A GENERAL-LAW
MUNICIPALITY TO ANNEX AREA ON REQUEST OF AREA
VOTERS.
– ½ or less in width
– Majority vote by area qualified voters
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Type A Cont.
• Sec. 43.026. AUTHORITY OF TYPE A GENERAL-LAW MUNICIPALITY TO
ANNEX AREA IT OWNS.
• Sec. 43.028. AUTHORITY OF MUNICIPALITIES TO ANNEX SPARSELY
OCCUPIED AREA ON PETITION OF AREA LANDOWNERS.
– Less than ½ mile in width
– vacant and without residents or on which fewer than three
qualified voters reside
– Owners must petition for annexation
• Sec. 43.024. AUTHORITY OF TYPE A GENERAL-LAW MUNICIPALITY TO
ANNEX AREA ON REQUEST OF AREA VOTERS.
– ½ or less in width
– vacant and without residents or on which fewer than three
qualified voters reside
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Other Land Use Tools
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Public Improvement Districts
Neighborhood Empowerment Zones
380 Agreements
Development Agreements
Several other specialized programs and district
authorized by statute
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Ch. 380 Programs and Agreements
The governing body of a municipality may
establish and provide for the administration of
one or more programs, including programs for
making loans and grants of public money and
providing personnel and services of the
municipality, to promote state or local economic
development and to stimulate business and
commercial activity in the municipality. For
purposes of this subsection, a municipality
includes an area that:
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(1) has been annexed by the municipality for limited
purposes; or
(2) is in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the
municipality.
(b) The governing body may:
(1) administer a program by the use of
municipal personnel;
(2) contract with the federal government, the
state, a political subdivision of the state, a
nonprofit organization, or any other entity for
the administration of a program; and
(3) accept contributions, gifts, or other resources
to develop and administer a program.
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Development Agreements
LGC Ch. 212
• Allows a city to enter into agreements governing land use in the
city’s ETJ;
• Can do creative things:
• (1) guarantee the continuation of the extraterritorial status of the
land and its immunity from annexation by the municipality;
• (2) extend the municipality's planning authority over the land by
providing for a development plan to be prepared by the landowner
and approved by the municipality under which certain general uses
and development of the land are authorized;
• (3) authorize enforcement by the municipality of certain municipal
land use and development regulations in the same manner the
regulations are enforced within the municipality's boundaries;
• (4) authorize enforcement by the municipality of land use and
development regulations other than those that apply within the
municipality's boundaries, as may be agreed to by the landowner
and the municipality;
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• (5) provide for infrastructure for the land, including:
– (A) streets and roads;
– (B) street and road drainage;
– (C) land drainage; and
– (D) water, wastewater, and other utility systems;
• (6) authorize enforcement of environmental regulations;
• (7) provide for the annexation of the land as a whole or in
parts and to provide for the terms of annexation, if
annexation is agreed to by the parties;
• (8) specify the uses and development of the land before and
after annexation, if annexation is agreed to by the parties; or
• (9) include other lawful terms and considerations the parties
consider appropriate.
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