Bill Text: TX HB893 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to granting certain local governments general zoning authority around certain military facilities; providing a penalty.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-01 - Left pending in committee [HB893 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB893-Introduced.html

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84R3024 SCL-F
By: Miller of Fort Bend H.B. No. 893

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to granting certain local governments general zoning
authority around certain military facilities; providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 7, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 241A to read as follows:
CHAPTER 241A. MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ZONING AUTHORITY AROUND
MILITARY AVIATION FACILITY
Sec. 241A.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Agricultural use" means use or activity involving
agriculture.
(2) "Agriculture" means:
(A) cultivating the soil to produce crops for
human food, animal feed, seed for planting, or the production of
fibers;
(B) practicing floriculture, viticulture,
silviculture, or horticulture;
(C) raising, feeding, or keeping animals for
breeding purposes or for the production of food, fiber, leather,
pelts, or other tangible products having commercial value;
(D) planting cover crops, including cover crops
cultivated for transplantation, or leaving land idle for the
purpose of participating in a governmental program or normal crop
or livestock rotation procedure; or
(E) engaging in wildlife management, including
the management and control of hunting, fishing, bird-watching,
sightseeing, and other outdoor recreational activities.
(3) "Centerline" has the meaning assigned by Section
241.003.
(4) "Military aviation facility" means a base or
station of:
(A) the United States Air Force under the command
of the Air Education and Training Command; or
(B) the United States Army or Navy or the Texas
National Guard at which aviation operations or training is
conducted.
Sec. 241A.002. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; PURPOSE. (a) The
legislature finds that:
(1) the area that surrounds a military aviation
facility will be frequented for military and national security
purposes by residents from many parts of the state and nation;
(2) a military aviation facility is essential to the
economic viability of the surrounding local community, the state,
and the nation;
(3) orderly development and use of the area is of
concern to the entire state;
(4) without adequate development regulations, the
area will tend to become congested and to be used in ways that
interfere with the proper use of the area as a safe and secure
location for the continuation of a military establishment;
(5) a structure or electronic emission that is an
interference negatively impacts the visual, radar, radio,
navigation, or other systems for tracking, acquiring data relating
to, monitoring, or controlling aircraft, tending to diminish safety
of flight operations and destroy or impair the utility of a military
aviation facility and the public investment in the facility; and
(6) it is imperative for the local community to
protect the viability of current and future missions at a military
aviation facility by ensuring compatible land uses are developed
and no interference with flight operations is created within the
regulated area.
(b) The powers granted under this chapter are for the
purposes of:
(1) promoting the public health, safety, peace,
morals, and general welfare;
(2) protecting and preserving places and areas of
military and national security importance and significance; and
(3) encouraging state and national security.
Sec. 241A.003. AREAS SUBJECT TO REGULATION. This chapter
applies only to an area that is located outside a military aviation
facility's boundaries and:
(1) that extends not more than five nautical miles
from the centerline and not more than five nautical miles from each
end of the paved surface of the primary landing strip at a military
aviation facility; and
(2) that extends not more than 25 nautical miles from a
federally owned and operated radar system on a military aviation
facility.
Sec. 241A.004. DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS GENERALLY. (a) The
governing bodies of each municipality and county in an area
described by Section 241A.003 through a joint airport zoning board
established under Section 241A.005 may regulate:
(1) in an area described by Section 241A.003(1):
(A) the height, number of stories, and size of
buildings and other structures;
(B) the percentage of a lot that may be occupied;
(C) the size of yards, courts, and other open
spaces;
(D) population density;
(E) the location and use of buildings, other
structures, and land for business, industrial, residential, or
other purposes; and
(F) the placement of water and sewage facilities,
landfills, parks, retention ponds, and other required public
facilities that may be bird attractants; and
(2) in an area described by Section 241A.003(2):
(A) the frequency range of electronic equipment;
and
(B) the placement of wind turbines.
(b) A regulation adopted under this chapter may not apply to
a structure that existed on September 1, 2015. A regulation adopted
under Subsection (a)(1)(C) may not apply to a tract of land devoted
to agricultural use.
(c) The governing bodies of each municipality and county in
the regulated area shall prepare a written takings impact
assessment in the manner provided by Section 2007.043, Government
Code, of a proposed regulation under this chapter.
Sec. 241A.005. JOINT AIRPORT ZONING BOARD. (a) To exercise
the authority granted under this chapter, the governing bodies of
each municipality and county in the regulated area shall appoint a
joint airport zoning board to assist in the implementation and
enforcement of development regulations adopted under this chapter.
(b) The board is composed of:
(1) two members appointed by the county judge of each
county in the regulated area;
(2) two members appointed by the presiding officer of
the governing body of each municipality in the regulated area;
(3) one member who owns less than 500 acres of land in
the regulated area appointed jointly by the county judge of each
county in the regulated area and the presiding officer of the
governing body of each municipality in the regulated area;
(4) one member who owns at least 500 acres in the
regulated area appointed jointly by the county judge of each county
in the regulated area and the presiding officer of the governing
body of each municipality in the regulated area; and
(5) one member appointed jointly by the members
appointed under Subdivisions (1) through (4), who serves as the
presiding officer of the board.
(c) The board shall perform the duties assigned under this
chapter and other duties as requested by the governing bodies to
implement this chapter.
Sec. 241A.006. PROCEDURE GOVERNING ADOPTION OF REGULATIONS
AND DISTRICT BOUNDARIES. (a) A development regulation adopted
under this chapter is not effective until it is adopted by the
governing bodies of each municipality and county in the regulated
area after a joint public hearing. Before the 15th day before the
date of the hearing, the governing bodies of each municipality and
county must publish notice in English and in Spanish of the hearing
in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.
(b) The governing bodies of each municipality and county in
the regulated area may prohibit or restrict development in the area
based on recommendations issued in a resolution adopted by the
joint airport zoning board. The board's recommendations must be
based on the most recent Air Installation Compatible Use Zone
Study, the most recent Joint Land Use Study, and other available and
relevant military planning data and studies. The governing bodies
of each municipality and county may amend regulations adopted under
this chapter:
(1) based on amended recommendations issued in a
resolution adopted by the joint airport zoning board as the studies
are periodically updated; and
(2) if each governing body makes findings that the
conclusions of the studies on which each governing body is basing
its findings accurately reflect development circumstances in the
subject area.
(c) The governing bodies of each municipality and county in
the regulated area may adopt or amend a development regulation only
by an order passed by a majority vote of the full membership of each
governing body.
Sec. 241A.007. COMPLIANCE WITH STUDIES AND PLANS.
Development regulations must be:
(1) adopted in accordance with the most recent Air
Installation Compatible Use Zone Study, the most recent Joint Land
Use Study, and other available and relevant military planning data
and studies for growth and development surrounding a military
aviation facility;
(2) adopted in accordance with the county plan for
growth and development of the county; and
(3) coordinated with the comprehensive plan of the
municipality.
Sec. 241A.008. DISTRICTS. (a) The joint airport zoning
board may divide the area regulated under this chapter into
districts of a number, shape, and size the board considers best for
carrying out this chapter.
(b) Development regulations may vary from district to
district.
Sec. 241A.009. SPECIAL EXCEPTION. (a) A person aggrieved
by a development regulation adopted under this chapter may petition
the governing bodies of each municipality and county in the
regulated area for a special exception to the development
regulation. The grant of a special exception requires a majority
vote of the full membership of each governing body.
(b) The governing bodies of each municipality and county in
the regulated area shall adopt procedures governing applications,
notice, hearings, and other matters relating to the grant of a
special exception.
(c) On receipt of a petition for a special exception to a
development regulation under Subsection (a), the governing bodies
shall notify the affected military aviation facility of the
petition.
Sec. 241A.010. ENFORCEMENT; PENALTY. (a) The governing
bodies of each municipality and county in the regulated area shall
adopt ordinances, orders, or development regulations, as
applicable, to enforce this chapter.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person violates this
chapter or an ordinance, order, or development regulation adopted
under this chapter. An offense under this subsection is a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $500 or more than
$1,000. Each day that a violation occurs constitutes a separate
offense.
Sec. 241A.011. COOPERATION AMONG LOCAL ENTITIES. The
governing bodies of each municipality and county in the regulated
area and the joint airport zoning board may enter into an agreement
to cooperate in the drafting, implementation, and enforcement of
development regulations adopted under this chapter.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.