Texas Housing Laws Face a Local-Control Test as Cities Seek Changes and Advocates Push More Homes

Texas city leaders expect a less combative relationship with state government after Democrats won statewide races and a Texas House majority, The Texas Tribune reported Saturday. But those expectations do not settle a bipartisan disagreement: how much control cities should have over new housing. Republicans will still hold a Senate majority.

The Texas Tribune reported Saturday that city and county leaders are drawing up wish lists for the session that begins in January, from transportation money to indigent care. One test concerns two housing laws passed last year with bipartisan support, according to that report. This analysis relies on the Tribune's reporting, not an independent review of the laws' full eligibility conditions and exceptions.

The two laws

According to the Tribune, Senate Bill 840 made it easier to build apartments in commercial areas, and Senate Bill 15 made it easier to build homes on smaller lots in new subdivisions, both in the state's largest cities. The Tribune describes the laws as bypassing some local rules that would otherwise require a longer and less certain city approval process; this does not mean every project is exempt from local review. The Tribune reported that the laws have already helped move along thousands of new housing units.

Some of the people now taking power voted for them. The Tribune reported that Gina Hinojosa and Vikki Goodwin both voted for the bills as House members. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson of Houston, described by the Tribune as the favorite for House speaker, voted for SB 840 but against SB 15.

Cities push back

Not every city likes them. Several Dallas-Fort Worth cities, including Frisco and Grand Prairie, have adopted local rules meant to hinder development under SB 840, the Tribune reported.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, a Republican, told the Tribune she would like the law somewhat curtailed. She said it is not because Fort Worth does not want housing, but because the city lost leverage to win concessions from developers on design and ground-floor retail. "When you take away a lot of that authority, it strips local communities of having a say," Parker said.

Housing advocates see it differently. Nicole Nosek, who founded Texans for Reasonable Solutions, which pushed many of last year's housing bills, told the Tribune she expects the new leadership to keep going. "All in all, it is the same push: more housing, more affordability, until our young people, until teachers, until firefighters actually have a shot at the American dream of homeownership," she said.

Alex Horowitz, who directs the Pew Charitable Trusts' housing policy project, put it bluntly: "We're not going to dig out of this housing shortage if we have every single apartment building become a saga."

What else is on the table

The Tribune laid out other local-control fights headed for the new Legislature:

• City officials may seek changes to or repeal of the broad state preemption law known as the "Death Star" law, the Tribune reported. Passage through a Republican-majority Senate remains uncertain.

• Limits on how much new property tax revenue cities and counties can collect without voter approval will likely stand for now, the Tribune reported, because Democrats do not want to be accused of raising property taxes.

• Local leaders want more state help with transportation, policing and indigent health care.

State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the Houston Republican who chairs the Senate Local Government Committee, summed up the outlook: "There could be a lot of stalemates. And there could be agreement."

A conservative case for housing

This is one issue where conservatives should not need a party label to know where they stand. A family that wants to buy a modest house on a small lot, or a young couple that wants to rent an apartment near work, should not have to wait on a years-long zoning saga. Property owners ought to be able to build on their own land within reasonable limits. Texas grew by welcoming builders, and construction helped lead October's sales tax gains, as our report on Texas Sales Tax Revenue Jumped 13% in October to $4.8 Billion. Construction and Manufacturing Led the Way showed.

At the same time, local leaders like Parker raise a fair point. Neighbors deserve a voice in what goes up on their street. Good government is not a choice between Austin ordering every city around and every city council blocking every project. It is clear rules, applied evenly, that let homes get built.

Micah 4:4 pictures people dwelling under their own vine and fig tree without fear. A home of one's own is a blessing worth protecting. Whoever holds the gavel in January, Texans should judge the next session by a simple test: did it make it easier or harder for working families to put a roof over their heads?