Walle Bill’s New Park Fee Can Fund Similar Projects, Too

The text as introduced · 793 words

By: Walle
H.B. No. 5380

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to park land dedication requirements for subdivisions by

counties; authorizing a fee.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 232.003, Subchapter A, Local Government

Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 232.003. SUBDIVISION REQUIREMENTS. By an order

adopted and entered in the minutes of the commissioners court, and

after a notice is published in a newspaper of general circulation in

the county, the commissioners court may:

(1) require a right-of-way on a street or road that

functions as a main artery in a subdivision, of a width of not less

than 50 feet or more than 100 feet;

(2) require a right-of-way on any other street or road

in a subdivision of not less than 40 feet or more than 70 feet;

(3) require that the shoulder-to-shoulder width on

collectors or main arteries within the right-of-way be not less

than 32 feet or more than 56 feet, and that the shoulder-to-shoulder

width on any other street or road be not less than 25 feet or more

than 35 feet;

(4) adopt, based on the amount and kind of travel over

each street or road in a subdivision, reasonable specifications

relating to the construction of each street or road;

(5) adopt reasonable specifications to provide

adequate drainage for each street or road in a subdivision in

accordance with standard engineering practices;

(6) require that each purchase contract made between a

subdivider and a purchaser of land in the subdivision contain a

statement describing the extent to which water will be made

available to the subdivision and, if it will be made available, how

and when;

(7) require that the owner of the tract to be

subdivided execute a good and sufficient bond in the manner

provided by Section 232.004;

(8) adopt reasonable specifications that provide for

drainage in the subdivision to:

(A) efficiently manage the flow of stormwater

runoff in the subdivision; and

(B) coordinate subdivision drainage with the

general storm drainage pattern for the area; and

(9) require lot and block monumentation to be set by a

registered professional surveyor before recordation of the plat . ;

and

(10) either, based on the size and number of lots

within a subdivision and at the discretion of the commissioners

court:

(A) adopt reasonable specifications for a

parkland dedication to provide parks, trails, or similar open-air

recreational facilities for the residents of the subdivision; or

(B) impose a single fee of equivalent value to a

parkland dedication on the subdivider that the county must use for

parks or similar projects.

SECTION 2. Section 232.025, Subchapter B, Local Government

Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 232.025. SUBDIVISION REQUIREMENTS. By an order

adopted and entered in the minutes of the commissioners court, and

after a notice is published in English and Spanish in a newspaper of

general circulation in the county, the commissioners court shall

for each subdivision:

(1) require a right-of-way on a street or road that

functions as a main artery in a subdivision, of a width of not less

than 50 feet or more than 100 feet;

(2) require a right-of-way on any other street or road

in a subdivision of not less than 40 feet or more than 70 feet;

(3) require that the shoulder-to-shoulder width on

collectors or main arteries within the right-of-way be not less

than 32 feet or more than 56 feet, and that the shoulder-to-shoulder

width on any other street or road be not less than 25 feet or more

than 35 feet;

(4) adopt, based on the amount and kind of travel over

each street or road in a subdivision, reasonable specifications

relating to the construction of each street or road;

(5) adopt reasonable specifications to provide

adequate drainage for each street or road in a subdivision in

accordance with standard engineering practices;

(6) require that each purchase contract made between a

subdivider and a purchaser of land in the subdivision contain a

statement describing how and when water, sewer, electricity, and

and gas services will be made available to the subdivision; and

(7) require that the subdivider of the tract execute a

bond in the manner provided by Section 232.027 . ; and

(8) either, based on the size and number of lots within

a subdivision and at the discretion of the commissioners court:

(A) adopt reasonable specifications for a

parkland dedication to provide parks, trails, or similar open-air

recreational facilities for the residents of the subdivision; or

(B) impose a single fee of equivalent value to a

parkland dedication on the subdivider that must be used by the

county for parks or similar projects.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.