There are two charts you can use to better understand the implications of SB 1867, which gives many counties their first opportunity to use "urban authority."

Chart No. 1 – really more of a matrix than a chart – will help you understand what types of regulations you might enact under this new law. Since the underlying language in the law was based on language that historically was reserved for city governments within their ETJ boundaries, this matrix focuses on city precedents as a clue to what counties might do.

Running down the left hand column you will see different issues – subdivision, utilities, signs, impact fees, and so on. This refers to types of regulation.

Across the top, running left to right, you will notice a list of cities, of different sizes and political climates, from different regions of the state.

What we did at Doucet & Associates is to review the subdivision and development regulations for each of these cities. Specifically, we looked at what these cities do and don't regulate in within their extra-territorial jurisdictions.Since this type of authority in county government is too for their to be any case history or many established regulations, we thought this review of what cities have done using similar legislative language would be a good start for figuring out what the law really means.

Remember, we haven't updated this review since SB 1867 passed. This chart was prepared after a previous session gave three dozen urban counties similar authority, under SB 873 (later Subchapter E, Texas Local Government Code). While some of these cities may have changed their codes here and there since then, we think this matrix is still a good indicator of where there is consensus about what can be regulated under the legislature's mandate.

The way to read the chart is this: look down the left hand column. You see "Subdivision." Reading to the right you'll see that every city code we reviewed requires basic subdivision platting and regulation. But as you go down the chart to, say, landscaping, you'll see that very few cities regulate landscaping in their ETJ. Again, what cities do in their ETJ is noteworthy because city authority within the ETJ is based on very similar language to that now granted to counties under SB 1867.

At the bottom of the left hand column are a few categories, such as "building height" and "density" where no city regulates. This is because this type of regulation is explicitly denied in the law, to both cities in the ETJ and to counties.