GEAA Supports County Authority!

The Texas Hill Country is one of the fastest growing regions of Texas. Ninety percent of the region is in unincorporated areas of the counties and is governed solely by county government. Unfortunately, counties have very limited ability to manage growth in unincorporated areas – the problem HB 3265 seeks to address. HB 3265 gives Hill Country counties new, limited authority to provide for orderly growth, protect property rights, protect natural resources, and keep up with the cost of transportation infrastructure needed to support new growth. This legislation seeks to do this by establishing density rules, setbacks between incompatible land uses, and infrastructure cost recovery fees.

Density Rules: Under HB 3265, counties will be able to establish density averages where water resources are limited and fragile. This would give developers flexibility to condense development or use large lots, depending on what is more feasible and/or appropriate for the land.

Setbacks between Incompatible Uses: In order to protect property values, HB 3265 allows counties to be able to provide some distance between existing neighborhoods or ranches and newly proposed industrial uses.

Infrastructure Cost Recovery Fees: As new development reaches further out into the Hill Country, counties struggle to upgrade state and county roads. HB 3265 gives counties power to collect reasonable fees from new development to help offset the costs of improving roads associated with development.

The bill specifies that before one or more of these new tools becomes available in any county, the county will need to develop a county plan and hold a public election for approval.

A group of county judges, commissioners, and county attorneys who have been working together for two years to build consensus in the Hill Country regarding county authority needs brought HB 3265 to the legislature. Representatives Patrick Rose, Doug Miller, and Pete Gallego are the bill’s co-authors. This bill has been assigned to the House Committee on County Affairs - if your Representative is a member, please ask him or her to support HB 3265!