By Henderson S.B. No. 1103
74R6881 MRB-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the authority of certain counties to designate areas as
1-3 scenic districts and to regulate various activities in the
1-4 districts; providing a penalty.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 7, Local Government Code, is
1-7 amended by adding Chapter 239 to read as follows:
1-8 CHAPTER 239. COUNTY DESIGNATION AND REGULATION
1-9 OF SCENIC DISTRICT
1-10 Sec. 239.001. CHAPTER APPLICABLE TO POPULOUS COUNTY. This
1-11 chapter applies only to a county with a population of more than 2.8
1-12 million.
1-13 Sec. 239.002. DESIGNATION OF DISTRICT. The commissioners
1-14 court of the county may designate as a scenic district an area that
1-15 is:
1-16 (1) located in the unincorporated part of the county
1-17 adjacent to or near a public road;
1-18 (2) visible by occupants of motor vehicles travelling
1-19 on the road; and
1-20 (3) determined by the commissioners court to be in
1-21 need of controls to protect the scenic beauty of the area.
1-22 Sec. 239.003. HEARING. Before a scenic district is
1-23 designated, the commissioners court shall hold a hearing at which
1-24 all persons, including the residents of the area under
2-1 consideration for designation as a scenic district, may testify and
2-2 present written information about the need for the district. The
2-3 commissioners court shall hold the hearing at a place convenient to
2-4 the residents of the area under consideration and shall post notice
2-5 of the hearing. The notice must:
2-6 (1) state the time, place, and subject of the hearing;
2-7 and
2-8 (2) be posted at places in the area under
2-9 consideration as the commissioners court considers appropriate to
2-10 inform the residents of that area of the hearing.
2-11 Sec. 239.004. CONTROLS APPLICABLE TO DISTRICT. (a) To
2-12 preserve or enhance the scenic beauty of the area in a scenic
2-13 district, the commissioners court may regulate in the district:
2-14 (1) on-premise signs as permitted by Section 17,
2-15 Article 2, Chapter 221, Acts of the 69th Legislature, Regular
2-16 Session, 1985 (Article 6674v-3, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes);
2-17 (2) landscaping;
2-18 (3) the materials that may be used on the facade of a
2-19 residence or other building; and
2-20 (4) the distances that residences and other buildings
2-21 must be set back from a road.
2-22 (b) The commissioners court may charge a fee and require a
2-23 permit for the location of an on-premise sign in the district. The
2-24 amount of the fee for a sign may vary according to factors, such as
2-25 the size or height of the sign, established by the commissioners
2-26 court.
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. CONFLICT WITH MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE. To the
3-11 extent a regulation adopted under this chapter conflicts with a
3-12 municipal ordinance, the municipal ordinance prevails in the area
3-13 of the municipality's jurisdiction.
3-14 Sec. 239.007. INJUNCTION. The county, in a suit brought by
3-15 the county attorney or other prosecuting attorney representing the
3-16 county, is entitled to appropriate injunctive relief to prevent the
3-17 violation or threatened violation of a regulation adopted under
3-18 this chapter.
3-19 Sec. 239.008. CRIMINAL PENALTY. A person commits an offense
3-20 if the person knowingly violates a regulation described by Section
3-21 239.004. An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
3-22 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
3-23 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-24 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-25 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-26 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-27 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-1 passage, and it is so enacted.