bill letting landowners plant in the highway right-of-way

The text as introduced · 385 words

90R2175 AJZ-D

By: Canales
H.B. No. 899

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation of a program by the Texas Department of

Transportation to allow a real property owner to plant or replace

vegetation in a right-of-way.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 202, Transportation Code,

is amended by adding Section 202.0585 to read as follows:

Sec. 202.0585. VEGETATION IN RIGHT-OF-WAY. (a) Subject to

Subsections (b) and (c), the department by rule shall develop and

implement a program to allow an owner of real property abutting or

adjoining property acquired by the department for the right-of-way

of a road in the state highway system to:

(1) plant vegetation or replace existing vegetation in

the right-of-way if the owner determines that the new vegetation

will enhance the aesthetic appeal of the property; or

(2) replace existing vegetation in the right-of-way if

the vegetation to be replaced reduces the visibility of the

property.

(b) The program may authorize an owner of real property

described by Subsection (a) to plant or replace existing vegetation

only in the right-of-way, including the outer separation, located

within 500 feet of the property.

(c) An owner of real property who plants or replaces

vegetation in the right-of-way in accordance with this section:

(1) is responsible for all costs associated with the

planting or replacement of vegetation;

(2) may use only vegetation adapted to local

conditions;

(3) must contract with a landscaping professional

approved by the department to plant or replace the vegetation; and

(4) may not interfere with any public utility

infrastructure located in the right-of-way.

(d) The rules adopted by the department under Subsection (a)

may not impair or relinquish the state's right to use the

right-of-way when needed to construct or reconstruct the road for

which it was acquired.

(e) Use by the owner of adjoining or abutting real property

under this section is not abandonment of the right-of-way by the

department.

(f) This section does not require a utility, as defined by

Section 203.091, that performs work in the right-of-way to replace

vegetation or provide compensation to an owner of real property for

replacing vegetation if the removal of vegetation is necessary to

perform the work.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2027.