Enabling statute

Texas

Texas Local Government Code, Title 7 (Regulation of Land Use, Structures, Businesses, and Related Activities), Subtitle A (Municipal Regulatory Authority), Chapter 211 — Municipal Zoning Authority

Verified against the sourceAll states →

Summary

Texas delegates zoning authority primarily to municipalities under Chapter 211 of the Local Government Code, a Standard State Zoning Enabling Act-lineage statute (note the classic SZEA "promote health, safety, morals, and general welfare" purpose and "comprehensive plan" requirements in §§ 211.001 and 211.004). Section 211.003 grants the governing body of any municipality broad power to regulate building height/bulk, lot coverage, yards, population density, and the location and use of land, with home-rule municipalities additionally authorized to regulate building bulk. Texas counties generally have NO zoning power; county zoning authority exists only where the Legislature has specifically granted it for limited areas under Chapter 231 (e.g., Padre Island portions of Cameron and Willacy Counties, areas near certain lakes, military zones, and similar designated areas). Authority is thus chiefly municipal (with the home-rule/general-law distinction), supplemented by narrow, area-specific county delegations.

The delegation

Sec. 211.001. PURPOSE. The powers granted under this subchapter are for the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, morals, or general welfare and protecting and preserving places and areas of historical, cultural, or architectural importance and significance. Sec. 211.003. ZONING REGULATIONS GENERALLY. (a) The governing body of a municipality may regulate: (1) the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures; (2) the percentage of a lot that may be occupied; (3) the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces; (4) population density; (5) the location and use of buildings, other structures, and land for business, industrial, residential, or other purposes; and (6) the pumping, extraction, and use of groundwater by persons other than retail public utilities, as defined by Section 13.002, Water Code, for the purpose of preventing the use or contact with groundwater that presents an actual or potential threat to human health. (b) In the case of designated places and areas of historical, cultural, or architectural importance and significance, the governing body of a municipality may regulate the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or razing of buildings and other structures. (c) The governing body of a home-rule municipality may also regulate the bulk of buildings. Sec. 211.004. COMPLIANCE WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. (a) Zoning regulations must be adopted in accordance with a comprehensive plan and must be designed to: (1) lessen congestion in the streets; (2) secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers; (3) promote health and the general welfare; (4) provide adequate light and air; (5) prevent the overcrowding of land; (6) avoid undue concentration of population; or (7) facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewers, schools, parks, and other public requirements.

Verification

Read the verification audit

Verified against official Texas statutes (statutes.capitol.texas.gov) and secondary sources (Justia, texas.public.law). (a) Citation is real and current: Tex. Loc. Gov't Code Ch. 211 (Title 7, Subtitle A — Municipal Regulatory Authority) is titled "Municipal Zoning Authority." Section 211.003 ("Zoning Regulations Generally") grants municipalities power to regulate height/number of stories/size of buildings, lot coverage, density of population, location and use of buildings/land, etc., with home-rule municipalities additionally authorized to regulate the bulk of buildings. Confirmed current (enacted 1987, last amended 2003; § 211.001 verified current as of 2025). (b) It is genuinely the state's zoning enabling authority. SZEA lineage confirmed: § 211.001 states powers are "for the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, morals, or general welfare" (classic SZEA purpose language), and § 211.004 requires that "Zoning regulations must be adopted in accordance with a comprehensive plan" — both hallmark Standard State Zoning Enabling Act provisions. The "et seq." framing is appropriate as Chapter 211 spans the full municipal zoning scheme. (c) Authority model is accurate. Texas delegates zoning chiefly to municipalities (Ch. 211), with the general-law vs. home-rule distinction correctly noted (home-rule municipalities get the added bulk-regulation power per § 211.003). Texas counties generally lack zoning power; county zoning exists only via specific legislative grants for limited areas under Chapter 231 (Subtitle B — County Regulatory Authority), including the Padre Island portions of Cameron and Willacy Counties (Ch. 231, Subchapter B confirmed), plus other narrowly designated areas (lakes, military zones, etc.). The claimed example (Padre Island in Cameron/Willacy Counties) is confirmed verbatim in Ch. 231. All citation details, section numbers, titles, and the authority model are correct.