Texas Local Government Code - Section 43.056. Provision Of Services To Annexed Area
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§ 43.056. PROVISION OF SERVICES TO ANNEXED AREA. (a)
Before the first day of the 10th month after the month in which the
inventory is prepared as provided by Section 43.053, the
municipality proposing the annexation shall complete a service plan
that provides for the extension of full municipal services to the
area to be annexed. The municipality shall provide the services by
any of the methods by which it extends the services to any other
area of the municipality.
(b) The service plan must include a program under which the
municipality will provide full municipal services in the annexed
area no later than 2-1/2 years after the effective date of the
annexation, in accordance with Subsection (e), unless certain
services cannot reasonably be provided within that period and the
municipality proposes a schedule for providing those services. If
the municipality proposes a schedule to extend the period for
providing certain services, the schedule must provide for the
provision of full municipal services no later than 4-1/2 years
after the effective date of the annexation. If the area was annexed
after December 1, 1998, and before September 1, 1999, the
municipality shall provide sewer services in the annexed area as
provided by this subsection, except that, no later than five years
after the effective date of the annexation, the municipality may
not provide sewer services in the annexed area by means of a package
wastewater treatment plant. However, under the program if the
municipality provides any of the following services within the
corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation, the
municipality must provide those services in the area proposed for
annexation on the effective date of the annexation of the area:
(1) police protection;
(2) fire protection;
(3) emergency medical services;
(4) solid waste collection, except as provided by
Subsection (o);
(5) operation and maintenance of water and wastewater
facilities in the annexed area that are not within the service area
of another water or wastewater utility;
(6) operation and maintenance of roads and streets,
including road and street lighting;
(7) operation and maintenance of parks, playgrounds,
and swimming pools; and
(8) operation and maintenance of any other publicly
owned facility, building, or service.
(c) For purposes of this section, "full municipal services"
means services provided by the annexing municipality within its
full-purpose boundaries, including water and wastewater services
and excluding gas or electrical service.
(d) A municipality with a population of 1.5 million or more
may provide all or part of the municipal services required under the
service plan by contracting with service providers. If the
municipality owns a water and wastewater utility, the municipality
shall, subject to this section, extend water and wastewater service
to any annexed area not within the service area of another water or
wastewater utility. If the municipality annexes territory included
within the boundaries of a municipal utility district or a water
control and improvement district, the municipality shall comply
with applicable state law relating to annexation of territory
within a municipal utility district or a water control and
improvement district. The service plan shall summarize the service
extension policies of the municipal water and wastewater utility.
(e) The service plan must also include a program under which
the municipality will initiate after the effective date of the
annexation the acquisition or construction of capital improvements
necessary for providing municipal services adequate to serve the
area. The construction shall be substantially completed within the
period provided in the service plan. The service plan may be
amended to extend the period for construction if the construction
is proceeding with all deliberate speed. The acquisition or
construction of the facilities shall be accomplished by purchase,
lease, or other contract or by the municipality succeeding to the
powers, duties, assets, and obligations of a conservation and
reclamation district as authorized or required by law. The
construction of the facilities shall be accomplished in a
continuous process and shall be completed as soon as reasonably
possible, consistent with generally accepted local engineering and
architectural standards and practices. However, the municipality
does not violate this subsection if the construction process is
interrupted for any reason by circumstances beyond the direct
control of the municipality. The requirement that construction of
capital improvements must be substantially completed within the
period provided in the service plan does not apply to a development
project or proposed development project within an annexed area if
the annexation of the area was initiated by petition or request of
the owners of land in the annexed area and the municipality and the
landowners have subsequently agreed in writing that the development
project within that area, because of its size or projected manner of
development by the developer, is not reasonably expected to be
completed within that period.
(f) A service plan may not:
(1) require the creation of another political
subdivision;
(2) require a landowner in the area to fund the capital
improvements necessary to provide municipal services in a manner
inconsistent with Chapter 395 unless otherwise agreed to by the
landowner; or
(3) provide services in the area in a manner that would
have the effect of reducing by more than a negligible amount the
level of fire and police protection and emergency medical services
provided within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before
annexation.
(g) If the annexed area had a lower level of services,
infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance than the level of
services, infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance provided
within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before
annexation, a service plan must provide the annexed area with a
level of services, infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance
that is comparable to the level of services, infrastructure, and
infrastructure maintenance available in other parts of the
municipality with topography, land use, and population density
similar to those reasonably contemplated or projected in the area.
If the annexed area had a level of services, infrastructure, and
infrastructure maintenance equal to the level of services,
infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance provided within the
corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation, a
service plan must maintain that same level of services,
infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance. Except as
provided by this subsection, if the annexed area had a level of
services superior to the level of services provided within the
corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation, a
service plan must provide the annexed area with a level of services
that is comparable to the level of services available in other parts
of the municipality with topography, land use, and population
density similar to those reasonably contemplated or projected in
the area. If the annexed area had a level of services for operating
and maintaining the infrastructure of the area, including the
facilities described by Subsections (b)(5)-(8), superior to the
level of services provided within the corporate boundaries of the
municipality before annexation, a service plan must provide for the
operation and maintenance of the infrastructure of the annexed area
at a level of services that is equal or superior to that level of
services.
(h) A municipality with a population of 1.6 million or more
may not impose a fee in the annexed area, over and above ad valorem
taxes and fees imposed within the corporate boundaries of the
municipality before annexation, to maintain the level of services
that existed in the area before annexation. This subsection does
not prohibit the municipality from imposing a fee for a service in
the area annexed if the same fee is imposed within the corporate
boundaries of the municipality before annexation.
(i) If only a part of the area to be annexed is actually
annexed, the governing body shall direct the department to prepare
a revised service plan for that part.
(j) The proposed service plan must be made available for
public inspection and explained to the inhabitants of the area at
the public hearings held under Section 43.0561. The plan may be
amended through negotiation at the hearings, but the provision of
any service may not be deleted. On completion of the public
hearings, the service plan shall be attached to the ordinance
annexing the area and approved as part of the ordinance.
(k) On approval by the governing body, the service plan is a
contractual obligation that is not subject to amendment or repeal
except that if the governing body determines at the public hearings
required by this subsection that changed conditions or subsequent
occurrences make the service plan unworkable or obsolete, the
governing body may amend the service plan to conform to the changed
conditions or subsequent occurrences. An amended service plan must
provide for services that are comparable to or better than those
established in the service plan before amendment. Before any
amendment is adopted, the governing body must provide an
opportunity for interested persons to be heard at public hearings
called and held in the manner provided by Section 43.0561.
(l) A service plan is valid for 10 years. Renewal of the
service plan is at the discretion of the municipality. A person
residing or owning land in an annexed area in a municipality with a
population of 1.6 million or more may enforce a service plan by
petitioning the municipality for a change in policy or procedures
to ensure compliance with the service plan. If the municipality
fails to take action with regard to the petition, the petitioner may
request arbitration of the dispute under Section 43.0565. A person
residing or owning land in an annexed area in a municipality with a
population of less than 1.6 million may enforce a service plan by
applying for a writ of mandamus not later than the second
anniversary of the date the person knew or should have known that
the municipality was not complying with the service plan. If a writ
of mandamus is applied for, the municipality has the burden of
proving that the services have been provided in accordance with the
service plan in question. If a court issues a writ under this
subsection, the court:
(1) must provide the municipality the option of
disannexing the area within a reasonable period specified by the
court;
(2) may require the municipality to comply with the
service plan in question before a reasonable date specified by the
court if the municipality does not disannex the area within the
period prescribed by the court under Subdivision (1);
(3) may require the municipality to refund to the
landowners of the annexed area money collected by the municipality
from those landowners for services to the area that were not
provided;
(4) may assess a civil penalty against the
municipality, to be paid to the state in an amount as justice may
require, for the period in which the municipality is not in
compliance with the service plan;
(5) may require the parties to participate in
mediation; and
(6) may require the municipality to pay the person's
costs and reasonable attorney's fees in bringing the action for the
writ.
(m) This section does not require that a uniform level of
full municipal services be provided to each area of the
municipality if different characteristics of topography, land use,
and population density constitute a sufficient basis for providing
different levels of service. Any disputes regarding the level of
services provided under this subsection are resolved in the same
manner provided by Subsection (l). Nothing in this subsection
modifies the requirement under Subsection (g) for a service plan to
provide a level of services in an annexed area that is equal or
superior to the level of services provided within the corporate
boundaries of the municipality before annexation. To the extent of
any conflict between this subsection and Subsection (g), Subsection
(g) prevails.
(n) Before the second anniversary of the date an area is
included within the corporate boundaries of a municipality by
annexation, the municipality may not:
(1) prohibit the collection of solid waste in the area
by a privately owned solid waste management service provider; or
(2) impose a fee for solid waste management services
on a person who continues to use the services of a privately owned
solid waste management service provider.
(o) A municipality is not required to provide solid waste
collection services under Subsection (b) to a person who continues
to use the services of a privately owned solid waste management
service provider as provided by Subsection (n).
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Amended
by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, § 3(f), eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts
1989, 71st Leg., ch. 822, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991,
72nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 3, § 4.011, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts
1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 969, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1995,
74th Leg., ch. 1062, § 1, eff. June 17, 1995; Acts 1999, 76th
Leg., ch. 1167, § 7 eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Section: 43.051 43.052 43.053 43.054 43.0545 43.0546 43.055 43.056 43.0561 43.0562 43.0563 43.0564 43.0565 43.0567 43.057
Last modified: August 10, 2007
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