HBA-KDB H.B. 2634 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2634
By: Farrar
Land & Resource Management
3/23/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Deed restrictions are a tool used to stop the encroachment of incompatible
land uses and inappropriate development.  Currently, a municipality with a
population of 1.5 million or more can enforce three different types of deed
restrictions: use, setbacks, and the lot size and number of structures on a
lot.  When petitioning the city of Houston to enforce deed restrictions in
the city, some citizens have been told by the legal department that the
deed restrictions are too vague and ambiguous to enforce.  House Bill 2634
grants a municipality of 1.5 million or more the authority to sue to
enforce a broader array of deed restrictions. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2634 amends the Local Government Code to add to the definition
of "restriction," as it relates to the miscellaneous regulatory authority
of municipalities, a land-use regulation, rather than limitation, that:
regulates or restricts the type of activities that may take place on the
property, including commercial activities, keeping of animals, use of fire,
nuisance activities, vehicle storage, and parking; regulates architectural
features of a structure, construction of fences, landscaping, garbage
disposal, or noise levels; or specifies the type of maintenance that must
be performed on a lot or structure, including maintenance of a yard or
fence. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.