By: Leibowitz H.B. No. 3328
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to land development in certain counties.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  The following is added to Chapter 232 of the
Local Government Code as Subchapter F and entitled PROVISIONS FOR
THE PRESERVATION OF THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY:
       Section 232.200 Applicability
       This subchapter applies to each of the following counties
where, at an election ordered and held by a county commissioners
court for that purpose, a majority of the qualified voters of that
county vote to approve the application of this Subchapter to their
county: Bandera, Bexar, Blanco, Comal, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Medina,
Travis, and Williamson.
       Section 232.201  Land Development Regulatory Authority
       The commissioners court may regulate, by order, land
development in the unincorporated area of the county by:
             (1)  requiring a subdivision to use a central water or
wastewater system under standards adopted by the county;
             (2)  requiring that a subdivision have a minimum fire
suppression system, including the use of fire hydrants, storage
tanks, or ponds;
             (3)  requiring improvements to roadways serving a
subdivision;
             (4)  requiring a minimum amount of open space or
imposing a limit on the amount of impervious cover for recharge and
runoff purposes;
             (5)  adopting any other regulation necessary to
regulate or manage land development.
       Section 232.202  Impact fees.
       A county may enact and impose impact fees on land within their
boundaries in compliance with Chapter 395.
       Section 232.203  Historic Districts & Roadways
       (a)  A county commissioners court, after public hearings and
consultation with a historical commission established pursuant to
Subchapter A of Chapter 318, may define and establish districts
encompassing neighborhoods, natural features, geographic areas and
roadways that have great historic cultural, scenic or natural
resource value to the community.
       (b)  A county commissioners court possesses all the
authority to regulate within these districts granted to the
commissioners court of El Paso to regulate the El Paso Mission Trail
Historical Area by Subchapter I of Chapter 231.
       Section 232.204  Interpretation
       This Subchapter is cumulative of any other powers and
authorities exercised by counties and is not intended to limit any
other powers exercised by counties under any other law.
       Section 232.205  Uniformity of Application
No private individual, corporation or other artificial entity shall
have special rights or immunities against this Subchapter. This
Subchapter is not subject to the provisions of Chapter 245 of the
Local Government Code.
       SECTION 2.  Section 395.001(7), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
             (7)  "Political subdivision" means:
                   (A)  a municipality;
                   (B)  [,] a district or authority created under
Article III, Section 52, or Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas
Constitution;
                   (C)  [, or,] for the purposes set forth by Section
395.079, certain counties described by that section; or
                   (D)  a county authorized to regulate land
development under Subchapter F, Chapter 232.
       SECTION 3.  Section 395.011(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
       (b)  Political subdivisions may enact or impose impact fees
on land within their [corporate] boundaries or extraterritorial
jurisdictions only by complying with this chapter, except that
impact fees may not be enacted or imposed in the extraterritorial
jurisdiction for roadway facilities.
       SECTION 4.  Sections 395.016(c) and (d), Local Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
       (c)  This subsection applies only to impact fees adopted
after June 20, 1987. For new development which is platted in
accordance with Subchapter A, Chapter 212, or Subchapter A or B,
Chapter 232, or the subdivision or platting procedures of any other
[a] political subdivision before the adoption of an impact fee, an
impact fee may not be collected on any service unit for which a
valid building permit is issued within one year after the date of
adoption of the impact fee.
       SECTION 5.  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, 2007.