CHAPTER 244. LOCATION OF CERTAIN FACILITIES AND SHELTERS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 7. REGULATION OF LAND USE, STRUCTURES, BUSINESSES, AND
RELATED ACTIVITIES
SUBTITLE C. REGULATORY AUTHORITY APPLYING TO MORE THAN ONE TYPE
OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER 244. LOCATION OF CERTAIN FACILITIES AND SHELTERS
SUBCHAPTER A. CORRECTIONAL OR REHABILITATION FACILITY
Sec. 244.001. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Correctional or rehabilitation facility" means a probation
or parole office or a residential facility that:
(A) is operated by an agency of the state, a political
subdivision of the state, or a private vendor operating under a
contract with an agency of the state or a political subdivision
of the state; and
(B) houses persons convicted of misdemeanors or felonies or
children found to have engaged in delinquent conduct, regardless
of whether the persons are housed in the residential facility:
(i) while serving a sentence of confinement following conviction
of an offense;
(ii) as a condition of probation, parole, or mandatory
supervision; or
(iii) under a court order for out-of-home placement under Title
3, Family Code, other than in a foster home operated under a
contract with the juvenile board of the county in which the
foster home is located or under a contract with the Texas Youth
Commission.
(2) "Residential area" means:
(A) an area designated as a residential zoning district by a
governing ordinance or code or an area in which the principal
permitted land use is for private residences;
(B) a subdivision for which a plat is recorded in the real
property records of the county and that contains or is bounded by
public streets or parts of public streets that are abutted by
residential property occupying at least 75 percent of the front
footage along the block face; or
(C) a subdivision for which a plat is recorded in the real
property records of the county and a majority of the lots of
which are subject to deed restrictions limiting the lots to
residential use.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1086, Sec. 46, eff. Sept. 1,
1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1253, Sec. 4, eff.
Sept. 1, 1999.
Sec. 244.002. NOTICE OF PROPOSED LOCATION. (a) An agency of
the state, a political subdivision of the state, or a private
vendor operating under a contract with an agency or political
subdivision of the state that proposes to construct or operate a
correctional or rehabilitation facility within 1,000 feet of a
residential area, a primary or secondary school, property
designated as a public park or public recreation area by the
state or a political subdivision of the state, or a church,
synagogue, or other place of worship shall:
(1) provide written notice to:
(A) the commissioners court of any county with an unincorporated
area that includes all or part of the land within 1,000 feet of
the proposed correctional or rehabilitation facility; and
(B) the governing body of any municipality that includes within
its boundaries all or part of the land within 1,000 feet of the
proposed correctional or rehabilitation facility; and
(2) post the notice required by Subsection (d).
(b) An entity required to give notice under Subsection (a) shall
give notice not later than the 60th day before the date the
entity begins construction or operation of the correctional or
rehabilitation facility, whichever date is earlier. The entity
shall include in the notice:
(1) a statement of the entity's intent to construct or operate a
correctional or rehabilitation facility in an area described by
Subsection (a);
(2) a description of the proposed location of the facility; and
(3) a statement that this subchapter governs the procedure for
notice of and consent to the facility.
(c) For purposes of this subchapter, distance is measured along
the shortest straight line between the nearest property line of
the correctional or rehabilitation facility and the nearest
property line of the residential area, school, park, recreation
area, or place of worship, as appropriate.
(d) An entity described by Subsection (a) shall prominently post
an outdoor sign at the proposed location of the correctional or
rehabilitation facility stating that a correctional or
rehabilitation facility is intended to be located on the premises
and providing the name and business address of the entity. The
sign must be at least 24 by 36 inches in size and must be written
in lettering at least two inches in size. The municipality or
county in which the correctional or rehabilitation facility is to
be located may require the sign to be both in English and a
language other than English if it is likely that a substantial
number of the residents in the area speak a language other than
English as their familiar language.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1086, Sec. 46, eff. Sept. 1,
1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1109, Sec. 4, eff.
Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1253, Sec. 5, eff. Sept.
1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 119, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
2003.
Sec. 244.003. PROXIMITY OF CORRECTIONAL OR REHABILITATION
FACILITY. (a) Unless local consent is denied under Section
244.004, an agency of the state, a political subdivision of the
state, or a private vendor operating under a contract with an
agency or political subdivision of the state may operate a
correctional or rehabilitation facility within 1,000 feet of a
residential area, a primary or secondary school, property
designated as a public park or public recreation area by the
state or a political subdivision of the state, or a church,
synagogue, or other place of worship.
(b) The governing body of a church, synagogue, or other place of
worship may waive the distance requirements of Section 244.002
between a correctional or rehabilitation facility and the place
of worship by filing an acknowledged written statement of the
waiver in the deed records of the county in which the facility is
located.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1086, Sec. 46, eff. Sept. 1,
1997.
Sec. 244.004. LOCAL CONSENT. (a) Local consent to the
operation of a correctional or rehabilitation facility at a
location within 1,000 feet of a residential area, a primary or
secondary school, property designated as a park or public
recreation area by the state or a political subdivision of the
state, or a church, synagogue, or other place of worship is
granted unless, not later than the 60th day after the date on
which notice is received by a commissioners court or governing
body of a municipality under Section 244.002(a), the
commissioners court or governing body, as appropriate, determines
by resolution after a public hearing that the operation of a
correctional or rehabilitation facility at the proposed location
is not in the best interest of the county or municipality, as
appropriate.
(b) The public hearing requirement established under Subsection
(a) may be met by a public meeting held under Section 508.119 or
509.010, Government Code, if:
(1) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice receives written
approval from the commissioners court of a county or governing
body of a municipality allowing the public meeting to satisfy the
public hearing requirement of this section; and
(2) during the public meeting, a determination is made as to
whether operating the facility in the proposed location would be
in the best interest of the county or municipality.
(c) If the public hearing requirement established under
Subsection (a) is met in the manner described by Subsection (b),
the commissioners court of a county or governing body of a
municipality may adopt a resolution under Subsection (a) without
holding a public hearing under that subsection. The commissioners
court or governing body, as appropriate, retains the discretion
to hold a separate public hearing under Subsection (a) as the
commissioners court or governing body considers necessary or
appropriate.
(d) A commissioners court or governing body of a municipality
may rescind a resolution adopted under Subsection (a).
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1086, Sec. 46, eff. Sept. 1,
1997. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 119, Sec. 2, eff.
Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 244.006. EXEMPTIONS. This subchapter does not apply to the
operation of a correctional or rehabilitation facility at a
location subject to this subchapter if:
(1) on September 1, 1997, the correctional or rehabilitation
facility was in operation, under construction, under contract for
operation or construction, or planned for construction at the
location on land owned or leased by an agency or political
subdivision of the state and designated for use as a correctional
or rehabilitation facility;
(2) the correctional or rehabilitation facility was in operation
or under construction before the establishment of a residential
area the location of which makes the facility subject to this
subchapter;
(3) the correctional or rehabilitation facility is a temporary
correctional or rehabilitation facility that will be operated at
the location for less than one year;
(4) the correctional or rehabilitation facility is required to
obtain a special use permit or a conditional use permit from the
municipality in which the facility is located before beginning
operation;
(5) the correctional or rehabilitation facility is an expansion
of a facility operated by the correctional institutions division
of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the imprisonment
of individuals convicted of felonies other than state jail
felonies or by the Texas Youth Commission;
(6) the correctional or rehabilitation facility is a county jail
or a pre-adjudication or post-adjudication juvenile detention
facility operated by a county or county juvenile board;
(7) the facility is:
(A) a juvenile probation office located at, and operated in
conjunction with, a juvenile justice alternative education
center; and
(B) used exclusively by students attending the juvenile justice
alternative education center;
(8) the facility is a public or private institution of higher
education or vocational training to which admission is open to
the general public;
(9) the facility is operated primarily as a treatment facility
for juveniles under contract with the Department of Aging and
Disability Services or the Department of State Health Services or
a local mental health or mental retardation authority;
(10) the facility is operated as a juvenile justice alternative
education program;
(11) the facility:
(A) is not operated primarily as a correctional or
rehabilitation facility; and
(B) only houses persons or children described by Section
244.001(1)(B) for a purpose related to treatment or education; or
(12) the facility is a probation or parole office located in a
commercial use area.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1086, Sec. 46, eff. Sept. 1,
1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1253, Sec. 6, eff.
Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
87, Sec. 25.129, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 244.007. CONFLICT WITH OTHER LAW. To the extent of any
conflict between this subchapter and Sections 508.119 and
509.010, Government Code, this subchapter prevails.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1086, Sec. 46, eff. Sept. 1,
1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1253, Sec. 6, eff.
Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 119, Sec. 3, eff. Sept.
1, 2003.
SUBCHAPTER B. SHELTER FOR HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS
Sec. 244.021. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "shelter for
homeless individuals" means a supervised private facility that
provides temporary living accommodations for homeless
individuals.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1253, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
Sec. 244.022. APPLICATION OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
applies only to construction or operation of a shelter for
homeless individuals that is located or proposed to be located
within the boundaries of a municipality with a population of 1.6
million or more.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1253, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
Sec. 244.023. RESTRICTION. Unless municipal consent is granted
under Section 244.025, a person may not construct or operate a
shelter for homeless individuals within 1,000 feet of another
shelter for homeless individuals or a primary or secondary
school.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1253, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
Sec. 244.024. NOTICE. (a) A person who intends to construct or
operate a shelter for homeless individuals subject to Section
244.023 shall:
(1) post notice of the proposed location of the shelter at that
location; and
(2) provide notice of the proposed location of the shelter to
the governing body of the municipality within the boundaries of
which the shelter is proposed to be located.
(b) The person shall post and provide the notice required by
Subsection (a) before the 61st day before the date the person
begins construction or operation of the shelter for homeless
individuals, whichever date is earlier.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1253, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
Sec. 244.025. MUNICIPAL CONSENT. (a) Municipal consent to the
construction or operation of a shelter for homeless individuals
subject to Section 244.023 is considered granted unless, before
the 61st day after the date notice is received by the governing
body of the municipality under Section 244.024(a)(2), the
governing body determines by resolution after a public hearing
that the construction or operation of a shelter at the proposed
location is not in the best interest of the municipality.
(b) The governing body of the municipality may rescind a
resolution adopted under Subsection (a).
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1253, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
Sec. 244.026. DISTANCE MEASUREMENT. For purposes of this
subchapter, distance is measured along the shortest straight line
between the nearest property line of the shelter for homeless
individuals and the nearest property line of another shelter for
homeless individuals or a primary or secondary school, as
appropriate.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1253, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.