Update on Texas legislature gutting local regulation

From the blog named after the Texas capitol building, PinkDome, comes an update on the  proposed bills to gut local water quality regulation that I posted about yesterday.  The bills being considered are even worse than I learned yesterday.

SB 848 and SB 574 expand the current Texas "grandfathering" law that
allows developers to lock in cities' development regulations that will
apply to a project years and decades before the project is designed or
built.

* SB 848 allows developers to submit incomplete or defective development applications by mail and lock in the city ordinances that are in effect on the postmark date of the application even if the project will not be constructed for decades. Also allows ordinances to be locked in when a developer merely acquires a promise that utilities will be provided to the site-a decision that doesn't have anything to do with project density or design.

* SB 574 allows developers to ignore current landscaping, tree preservation and park dedication ordinances; the bill also restricts a city's ability to set expiration dates for projects that sit dormant for years without any progress yet retain their "vested rights."

And it seems they are going to be considered in committee tomorrow. My Senator, Frank Madla is one of the bad guys, despite being in the Democratic minority.

Comments

[michael]

I've been looking for a lot of info on this, and I think I just found it. Thanks for posting! I too have some problems with this. Should be interesting to see how it plays out, to say the least.

[Peter]

You're welcome. At times like these, I am quite glad the legislature only meets for a few months every two years.

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