Texas Bill Would Immunize Property Rights From Zoning Code Changes

Philip Jankowski reports for the American-Statesman on proposed legislation in Texas that critics are calling a "hyper-grandfathering" bill for land use regulations.

A bill aimed at protecting property owners’ rights from changing local government regulations could undo years of safety and land use rules and create a building environment in Texas with the potential for bars to pop up in residential neighborhoods, critics say.

Supporting the bill, however, is Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who wrote an op-ed supporting the bill in the America-Statesmen. "Proponents say the bills protect individual rights against cities and counties that would seek to unduly restrict what property owners can do with their land," writes Jankowski to summarize the position of Gov. Abbott and others.

According to Jankowski, the bill could also "drastically undermine the city’s ongoing efforts to rewrite its entire land use code, known as CodeNext."