One proposed bill would raise the threshold for neighbor opposition to new development.
The Texas State House voted in support of a bill that would roll back a law used to prevent new housing development.
The bill, HB 24, would reverse an existing state law that can delay or kill proposed development if enough neighbors object. As Joshua Fechter explains in The Texas Tribune, under the current law, “If a builder seeks to rezone a property and 20% of neighboring landowners object, the city council needs a supermajority to approve the zoning change.”
According to Fechter, “HB 24 would raise the petition threshold for objecting property owners to 60%. Even then, it would only take a simple majority of city council members to approve the rezoning.”
The bill is just one of several proposed bills, some sponsored or supported by Republicans, that take aim at housing affordability by loosening zoning regulations and reducing development barriers.
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