HBA-DMH H.B. 450 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 450 By: Yarbrough Land and Resource Management 4/19/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires a municipality to issue a building permit if the application process is properly fulfilled. In most areas, applicable zoning laws are in place to provide members of the community with legal remedy should they desire to oppose a certain project. However, in an area where zoning laws have not been enacted citizens have no such recourse. House Bill 450 authorizes a municipal agency that is authorized to issue commercial building permits in a municipality with a population of more than one million to deny an application for a commercial building permit if the denial is in the best interests of the public. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 450 amends the Local Government Code to authorize a municipal agency that is authorized to issue commercial building permits (department) in a municipality with a population of more than one million to deny an application for a commercial building permit if the denial is in the best interests of the public, as determined by either the department or the governing body of the municipality after a public hearing. The bill requires the department and the applicant to each provide written notice, within a specified time period, to each owner of real property within 1,500 feet of the property on which the proposed construction or repair will take place. The bill requires the governing body of the municipality to hold a public hearing and publish notice of the hearing according to the requirements set forth in the bill if the governing body is presented with a written petition protesting the issuance of the commercial building permit, the petition is signed by at least 20 percent of the owners of the land within 1,500 feet of the property, and it is presented before the 30th day after the date the notice is given by the municipality. If the governing body of the municipality conducts a hearing and decides that denial of the commercial building permit is in the best interests of the public, the bill prohibits the department from issuing the permit. The bill prohibits a commercial building permit from taking effect before the required notice is given and any required hearing is concluded. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.