Property owners in Texas hoping to stop or stall new housing next door will soon find it harder to do so.
Texas lawmakers finalized a bill last week that loosens a little-known state law guaranteeing homeowners the right to protest zoning changes in their neighborhoods. A zoning change is when a landowner asks for the right to build something other than what current rules allow.
House Bill 24 has been sent to the governor's desk. The bill, which received support from both Republicans and Democrats at the state Capitol, takes aim at a century-old law opponents dubbed the "tyrant's veto" and one that has had an outsized impact in Austin.
The statute deals with the rights homeowners have to object to development near them. Current law states that if owners of at least 20% of land nearby the proposed build site oppose amending rules about what can be built, the city council needs more than a majority vote to pass the measure.
Supporters of the law say it ensures homeowners get a say on what is built in their neighborhood. But critics argue it amplifies the concerns of a small group of people and can result in blocking new housing amidst a recognized shortage of homes.
Republican state Rep. Angelia Orr, who authored the bill, told her colleagues as much at a March committee hearing.
"The current system supermajority requirements have historically blocked needed housing projects and worsen[ed] the housing shortages and affordability issues we have," Orr, who represents a rural district north of Waco, said.
The bill lawmakers passed raises the threshold to formally protest a zoning change. It requires owners of at least 60% of nearby property, up from 20%, to sign off against land use changes — but only when their neighbor plans to build housing.
But the bill goes even further, essentially neutering the power of these protests. If homeowners meet this new threshold, it wouldn't require three-fourths of elected officials voting in favor to move the change forward like current law — instead, it would be a simple majority.
The bill, which will become law unless Gov. Abbott vetoes it in the coming weeks, also makes clear that the right to protest what is being built next door does not apply when a city is rewriting rules for every piece of land. Cities would also no longer be required to mail notice about these changes to every property owner.
These amendments appear to be ripped straight from Austin history books.
In 2019, Austin capped a nearly decade-long process to revise its land development rules citywide. The goal was to make it possible to build more apartments and duplexes, and to allow shops and offices closer to homes. The process was dubbed, in one iteration, CodeNEXT.
But the changes were swiftly upended by a group of homeowners. They argued the city violated state law by failing to let property owners formally protest the changes. A judge agreed and ruled against the city, nullifying the votes council members had taken.
Years later, the same group of homeowners used this ruling to block several housing policies.
Some of the plaintiffs in Acuña vs. The City of Austin testified against HB 24 during the legislative session. They sounded the alarm about what they say could keep landowners in the dark about revisions to their own property.
"This convoluted and hard-to-understand bill changes state law to allow cities to disregard residents…" said Barbara McArthur at that same hearing in March. "Wanting to be able to pass things that impact everyday people … and not telling them unless they read the newspaper everyday and find a little notice in the classifieds? That's tough."
Gov. Abbott has until June 22 to sign any bills into law. If he does not sign or veto bills, they automatically become law.
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