H.B. No. 1526
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to parkland dedication for multifamily, hotel, and motel
  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. MULTIFAMILY, HOTEL, AND MOTEL PARKLAND DEDICATION:
  MUNICIPALITIES WITH POPULATION OF MORE THAN 800,000
         Sec. 212.201.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Affordable dwelling unit" means a residential
  unit offered at a below market rate for rent or sale under a
  municipal, county, state, or federal program.
               (2)  "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.
               (3)  "Improvement" and "market value" have the meanings
  assigned by Section 1.04, Tax Code.
               (4)  "Land value" means the market value of land per
  acre, not including an improvement to the land.
               (5)  "Median family income" means the United States
  Census Bureau's most recent American Community Survey's five-year
  estimate of median family income for all families within the
  applicable municipality.
               (6)  "Multifamily unit" means a residential unit other
  than a detached single-family or two-family dwelling.
               (7)  "Parkland" means an area that is designated as a
  park for the purpose of recreational activity. The term includes an
  open space, a recreational facility, and a trail.
               (8)  "Parkland dedication" means the fee simple
  transfer of land or the dedication of an easement to a municipality
  for nonexclusive use as parkland.
               (9)  "Parkland dedication fee" means a fee imposed by a
  municipality on a landowner for the acquisition, development,
  repair, and maintenance of parkland.
               (10)  "Plan" means a subdivision development plan,
  subdivision plan, site plan, land development plan, and site
  development plan each proposing the development of multifamily,
  hotel, or motel units.
         Sec. 212.202.  APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
  to a municipality with a population of more than 800,000.
         Sec. 212.203.  CONSTRUCTION. This subchapter may not be
  construed to prohibit a municipality from requiring by ordinance a
  landowner to dedicate a portion of the landowner's property for
  parkland use, impose a parkland dedication fee, or both require the
  dedication and impose the fee for the development of single-family
  or two-family uses.
         Sec. 212.204.  EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY; LIMITATION. (a)
  Notwithstanding any other law, a municipality has exclusive
  authority within its boundaries to require the dedication of
  parkland, impose a parkland dedication fee, or both require the
  dedication and impose the fee.  A municipality may not delegate that
  authority to another political subdivision.
         (b)  A municipality may only exercise its authority under
  this section through a plan application in accordance with this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 212.205.  PARKLAND DEDICATION, FEE, OR COMBINATION.
  (a) A municipality may require a landowner to dedicate a portion of
  the landowner's property for parkland use, impose a parkland
  dedication fee, or both require the dedication and impose the fee
  under a plan application filed under this subchapter by:
               (1)  paying a fee set in accordance with Section
  212.210(b) or 212.211(b), as applicable; or
               (2)  dedicating a portion up to the maximum size
  authorized under Section 212.208 and paying a reduced fee set in
  accordance with Section 212.210(d) or 212.211(c), as applicable.
         (b)  A municipality may allow a landowner to elect a parkland
  dedication, a parkland dedication fee, or a dedication and fee
  under Subsection (a).
         Sec. 212.206.  REQUEST FOR PARKLAND DEDICATION
  DETERMINATION. (a) A landowner may, at the landowner's sole
  discretion, 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 that is:
               (1)  publicly and readily available; and
               (2)  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 a
  determination made under this section.
         Sec. 212.207.  PARKLAND DEDICATION AUTHORITY. (a) A
  municipality may not require a parkland dedication, impose a
  parkland dedication fee, or both require the dedication and impose
  the fee for any commercial use. For the purpose of this section, a
  commercial use does not include a multifamily, hotel, or motel use.
         (b)  If a plan application submitted to a municipality
  proposes development of the land subject to the application that
  includes both multifamily, hotel, or motel and commercial uses, the
  municipality shall determine the amount of a parkland dedication
  based only on the pro rata portion of the land proposed for
  multifamily, hotel, or motel use.
         Sec. 212.208.  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. 212.209.  INITIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINING 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 one plus the average consumer
  price index for each month 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)  .005 for multifamily units; and
               (2)  .004 for rooms in a hotel or motel ordinarily used
  for sleeping.
         (g)  A municipality shall set the municipality's density
  factor, which reflects the diminishing expectation of parkland
  acres per dwelling unit in increasingly dense urban environments,
  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.
         Sec. 212.210.  GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CALCULATION OF FEES.  
  (a)  This section applies only to a municipality to which Section
  212.211 does not apply.
         (b)  A municipality shall determine the amount of a fee
  imposed under Section 212.205(a)(1) for land subject to a plan
  application by:
               (1)  adding, as appropriate:
                     (A)  the product of the number of multifamily
  units proposed by the plan by the dwelling unit factor prescribed by
  Section 212.209(f)(1); and
                     (B)  the product of the number of hotel and motel
  rooms ordinarily used for sleeping proposed by the plan by the
  dwelling unit factor prescribed by Section 212.209(f)(2);
               (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.
         (c)  For purposes of Subsection (b)(1), a municipality shall
  exclude from a plan application the number of affordable dwelling
  units proposed by the plan.
         (d)  A municipality shall determine the amount of a fee
  imposed under Section 212.205(a)(2) for land subject to a plan
  application by:
               (1)  calculating the amount of the fee for the land
  under Subsection (b); 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.
         (e)  If a calculation made under Subsection (d) 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. 212.211.  REQUIREMENTS CALCULATION OF FEES FOR
  MUNICIPALITIES WITH LOW FEES.  (a)  This section applies only to a
  municipality that after August 31, 2023, requires a parkland
  dedication fee for a multifamily, hotel, or motel development in an
  amount, calculated on a per dwelling unit basis, not greater than
  two percent of the median family income.
         (b)  A municipality to which this section applies may set a
  parkland dedication fee.  If the municipality elects to set the fee
  in an amount greater than two percent of the municipality's median
  family income:
               (1)  this section no longer applies to the
  municipality; and
               (2)  the municipality must set the fee in accordance
  with Section 212.210.
         (c)  A municipality shall determine the amount of a fee
  imposed under Section 212.205(a)(2) for land subject to a plan
  application by subtracting from the amount of the fee set under
  Subsection (b) the product of the land value applicable to the land
  and the number of acres dedicated.
         (d)  If a calculation made under Subsection (c) 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. 212.212.  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. 212.213.  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.  The appeal must include a
  requested adjudication of the issue in controversy.
         (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 resolved in favor of the landowner's
  requested adjudication.
         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 212.209(a), Local Government Code, as added by
  this Act; and
                     (B)  set the municipality's dwelling unit and
  density factors, as required by Sections 212.209(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
  212.209(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.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1526 was passed by the House on April
  13, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 119, Nays 24, 1 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1526 was passed by the Senate on May
  21, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 22, Nays 9.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor