By: Henderson S.B. No. 1103
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the authority of certain counties to designate areas as
1-2 scenic districts and to regulate various activities in the
1-3 districts; providing a penalty.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 7, Local Government Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Chapter 239 to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 239. COUNTY DESIGNATION AND REGULATION
1-8 OF SCENIC DISTRICT
1-9 Sec. 239.001. CHAPTER APPLICABLE TO POPULOUS COUNTY. This
1-10 chapter applies only to a county with a population of more than 2.8
1-11 million.
1-12 Sec. 239.002. DESIGNATION OF DISTRICT. The commissioners
1-13 court of the county may designate as a scenic district an area that
1-14 is:
1-15 (1) located in the unincorporated part of the county
1-16 adjacent to or near a public road;
1-17 (2) visible by occupants of motor vehicles travelling
1-18 on the road; and
1-19 (3) determined by the commissioners court to be in
1-20 need of controls to protect the scenic beauty of the area.
1-21 Sec. 239.003. HEARING. Before a scenic district is
1-22 designated, the commissioners court shall hold a hearing at which
1-23 all persons, including the residents of the area under
1-24 consideration for designation as a scenic district, may testify and
2-1 present written information about the need for the district. The
2-2 commissioners court shall hold the hearing at a place convenient to
2-3 the residents of the area under consideration and shall post notice
2-4 of the hearing. The notice must:
2-5 (1) state the time, place, and subject of the hearing;
2-6 and
2-7 (2) be posted at places in the area under
2-8 consideration as the commissioners court considers appropriate to
2-9 inform the residents of that area of the hearing.
2-10 Sec. 239.004. CONTROLS APPLICABLE TO DISTRICT. (a) To
2-11 preserve or enhance the scenic beauty of the area in a scenic
2-12 district, the commissioners court may regulate in the district:
2-13 (1) the location, height, size, anchoring, type,
2-14 lighting, and color of on-premise signs and off-premise signs;
2-15 (2) landscaping;
2-16 (3) the materials that may be used on the facade of a
2-17 residence or other building; and
2-18 (4) the distances that residences and other buildings
2-19 must be set back from a road.
2-20 (b) The commissioners court may charge a fee and require a
2-21 permit for the location of an on-premise sign or off-premise sign
2-22 in the district. The amount of the fee for a sign may vary
2-23 according to factors, such as the size or height of the sign,
2-24 established by the commissioners court.
2-25 (c) In this section, "on-premise sign" and "off-premise
2-26 sign" have the meanings assigned by Section 216.002.
2-27 Sec. 239.005. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) On the designation
3-1 of a scenic district, the commissioners court shall appoint an
3-2 advisory committee composed of residents of the district. The
3-3 members of the committee serve at the will of the commissioners
3-4 court.
3-5 (b) The committee members are entitled, as provided by the
3-6 commissioners court, to reimbursement for expenses incurred for
3-7 service on the committee.
3-8 (c) The committee shall advise the commissioners court about
3-9 the regulations and other matters relevant to the scenic district.
3-10 Sec. 239.006. NOTICE OF VIOLATION. (a) If the county
3-11 believes that a violation of a regulation adopted under this
3-12 chapter has occurred, the county shall give written notice to the
3-13 violator:
3-14 (1) identifying the violator, if the identity is
3-15 known;
3-16 (2) describing the location and nature of the
3-17 violation;
3-18 (3) informing the violator that unless the violation
3-19 is corrected within 30 days after the date the notice is mailed to
3-20 the violator or published in a newspaper, as provided by Subsection
3-21 (b) or (c), the violator is subject to criminal prosecution and
3-22 injunctive remedies for the violation;
3-23 (4) describing the criminal penalty that may be
3-24 imposed for the violation; and
3-25 (5) providing any other information the county
3-26 considers appropriate.
3-27 (b) The county shall make a diligent effort to determine the
4-1 name and the business or residential address of the violator. The
4-2 county shall send to the violator the notice required by this
4-3 section by addressing the notice to the violator at the violator's
4-4 business or residential address and depositing the notice in the
4-5 United States mail with postage paid.
4-6 (c) If the county is unable to determine the violator's name
4-7 or an address to which the notice can be sent under Subsection (b),
4-8 the county shall publish the notice in a newspaper of general
4-9 circulation in the county.
4-10 Sec. 239.007. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW. (a) The authority of a
4-11 county under this chapter is in addition to authority granted to
4-12 the county by other law, including Article 2, Chapter 221, Acts of
4-13 the 69th Legislature, Regular Session, 1985 (Article 6674v-3,
4-14 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
4-15 (b) To the extent a regulation adopted under this chapter
4-16 conflicts with a municipal ordinance or a regulation prescribed by
4-17 or under other law, the county regulation prevails.
4-18 Sec. 239.008. INJUNCTION. (a) The county, in a suit
4-19 brought by the county attorney or other prosecuting attorney
4-20 representing the county, is entitled to appropriate injunctive
4-21 relief to prevent the violation or threatened violation of a
4-22 regulation adopted under this chapter.
4-23 (b) A suit for injunctive relief to prevent a violation from
4-24 continuing may not be initiated unless the violator fails to
4-25 correct the violation within the time described in the notice
4-26 required by this chapter.
4-27 Sec. 239.009. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) A person commits an
5-1 offense if the person violates a regulation described by Section
5-2 239.004 and fails to correct the violation within the time
5-3 described in the notice required by this chapter.
5-4 (b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
5-5 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
5-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-10 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-11 passage, and it is so enacted.