TRANSPORTATION CODE
CHAPTER 314. PURCHASE OR CONDEMNATION OF PROPERTY FOR HIGHWAYS BY
CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 314.001. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
a municipality with a population of more than 1,000.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
SUBCHAPTER B. AUTHORITY TO PURCHASE OR CONDEMN PROPERTY
§ 314.011. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY FOR HIGHWAY
IMPROVEMENTS BY MUNICIPALITY. (a) The governing body of a
municipality may purchase or condemn property to lay out,
construct, improve, or extend any highway within its boundaries.
(b) Costs incurred in making improvements, including the
costs of purchase or condemnation of or damage to property and the
costs of making assessments or issuing certificates under this
chapter, may be paid from any municipal fund available for that
purpose.
(c) A municipality may sell property originally purchased
for improvements but not used for the improvements on the terms it
considers appropriate. The proceeds from the sale shall be
deposited in a fund that may be used only to pay for costs described
by Subsection (b).
(d) In this section, "highway" includes any street, alley,
public place, or square dedicated to public use.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.012. RESOLUTION. (a) A governing body that
determines to proceed under this chapter shall declare its
determination by resolution that may:
(1) state the nature, extent, and limits of the
improvement to be made; and
(2) describe the real property proposed to be
condemned by:
(A) the lot or block number;
(B) the number of front feet;
(C) the name of the owner; or
(D) any other description that substantially
identifies the property.
(b) A mistake or omission in the resolution does not
invalidate it.
(c) Passage of the resolution is conclusive evidence of the
public use and necessity of the proposed improvement.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.013. SURVEY. (a) On passage of the resolution,
the municipal engineer or engineer designated by the governing body
shall prepare and submit to the governing body:
(1) a plat showing:
(A) the nature and limits of the proposed
improvements;
(B) the location of the proposed improvements;
and
(C) the property through which the improvements
are to be extended and that is to be condemned for the improvements;
and
(2) a written estimate of the total cost of:
(A) the improvements; and
(B) each parcel of property to be condemned.
(b) The governing body shall examine the plat and report and
correct any errors. An error or omission does not invalidate the
plat or report or a subsequent proceeding held under the plat or
report.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
SUBCHAPTER C. PROCEDURE
§ 314.021. APPOINTMENT OF CONDEMNATION
COMMISSION. (a) In addition to qualifying under Section
21.014(a), Property Code, a member of a condemnation commission
must be a qualified voter.
(b) If a commissioner dies, becomes disabled, refuses to
act, becomes incapacitated, or is absent for more than 30 days from
the county, the judge shall promptly, in term time or vacation,
appoint a new commissioner having the qualifications prescribed by
Subsection (a). An action of the commission taken before the
vacancy is valid. After the vacancy is filled, the commission shall
proceed and take all actions provided by this chapter as if a
vacancy had not occurred.
(c) A commissioner is entitled to receive as compensation
not more than $10 for each day the commissioner is employed in the
performance of the commissioner's duties.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.022. NOTICE OF CONDEMNATION. (a) The commission
or the clerk, secretary, or recording officer of a municipality
shall give written notice of a hearing before the commission to:
(1) each owner of property proposed to be condemned or
damaged; and
(2) each person with an interest in or lien on the
property.
(b) In addition to the requirements of Section 21.016(a),
Property Code, the notice may contain:
(1) a brief statement of the nature and extent of the
proposed improvement; and
(2) a description of the property proposed to be
condemned.
(c) The description provided by Subsection (b)(2) may be by:
(1) lot and block number;
(2) front feet;
(3) the name of each owner; or
(4) any other description that substantially
identifies the property.
(d) Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication for
not less than three days in a newspaper of general circulation in
the county in which the property is located beginning not later than
the 10th day before the date of the hearing.
(e) Notice by publication is valid and binding on each owner
or other person with an interest in or lien on the property if it
generally notifies the person to appear and be heard without
specifically designating the person by name. An error in the name
of a person to whom the notice is directed does not invalidate the
notice.
(f) A copy of the notice shall be delivered to:
(1) each owner, lienholder, or interested party who is
a resident of the county where the property is located;
(2) the agent or attorney of a person described by
Paragraph (1); or
(3) the guardian of the owner if the owner is a minor.
(g) The person serving the notice shall make a written
return on the notice stating when and how the person served the
notice.
(h) The governing body may provide for additional notice,
but notice by publication is valid and binding regardless of
whether any other notice is given.
(i) The governing body may provide for as many hearings in
the course of condemnation proceedings as it determines necessary
for whatever purposes it determines necessary.
(j) A notice and a return of a notice shall be filed with the
municipality.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.023. HEARING ON CONDEMNATION. (a) Each owner,
lienholder, or other interested party is entitled to appear at the
hearing in person or by agent and be heard regarding:
(1) the value of the property proposed to be
condemned;
(2) the damages to property not condemned resulting
from the improvement;
(3) the legality of the proceedings; or
(4) any right of the owner or other party.
(b) An objection must be in writing and filed with the
commission.
(c) The commission may not close the hearing until all
interested parties appearing have been heard. At the conclusion of
the hearing, the commission shall:
(1) determine the damages due the owners, lienholders,
or other interested parties for property taken or damaged;
(2) apportion the damages determined under
Subdivision (1) among the owners, lienholders, or other interested
parties;
(3) date and sign two copies of a written report; and
(4) file one copy of the report with the clerk,
secretary, or recording officer of the municipality and the second
copy with the clerk of the court that appointed the commission.
(d) The governing body may record in its minutes the
following items relating to a condemnation proceeding:
(1) proceedings of the governing body;
(2) notices issued and returns of the notices;
(3) orders, reports, and other proceedings of the
commission; and
(4) certified copies of all orders or proceedings of a
court.
(e) A record made under Subsection (d) or a certified copy
of the record is prima facie evidence of the facts in the record.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.024. OBJECTIONS. (a) Not later than the 10th day
after the date the commission files a report under Section 314.023
with the court, a party affected by the decision of the commission
may file with the court an objection to the decision.
(b) If an objection is not timely filed:
(1) the determinations of the commission become final
and binding on the parties and their heirs, successors, and assigns
and may not subsequently be questioned in any proceeding; and
(2) the judge shall enter the report in the records of
the court and adopt the report as the court's.
(c) The judge may issue process as necessary to enforce a
judgment under Subsection (b)(2).
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.025. LAW APPLICABLE. Except as otherwise
provided by this chapter, Chapter 21, Property Code, applies to
proceedings under this chapter.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.026. ERRORS. The governing body, the
condemnation commission, and the judge before whom a condemnation
proceeding is pending shall take all appropriate actions to correct
any error or invalidity in the proceeding. An error or omission in
a proceeding does not invalidate the proceeding, but a proceeding
may be corrected, repeated, or adjourned until the correction is
made or omission supplied.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
SUBCHAPTER D. ASSESSMENTS
§ 314.041. ASSESSMENTS. (a) Except as provided by
this section, the governing body may by resolution order an
assessment to pay all or part of the costs of making an improvement
as described by Section 314.011(b), with reasonable attorney's fees
and the costs incurred in making the assessment, against the owner
and property if the property is:
(1) adjacent to or in the vicinity of an improvement;
and
(2) specially benefited by the improvement.
(b) In its resolution, the governing body may designate:
(1) the property to be assessed; or
(2) a district containing property to be assessed.
(c) The governing body may apportion the costs of the
assessment among the owners of the property assessed.
(d) In making an assessment, the governing body may not
include the cost of property purchased but not actually used for
making the improvement.
(e) An assessment may not be made against:
(1) property or its owner in excess of the special
benefit to the property in the enhanced value of the property
resulting from the improvement; or
(2) property that is exempt from execution.
(f) The owner of property exempt from assessment under
Subsection (e)(2):
(1) shall be assessed an amount equal to the amount the
assessment would have been if the property were not exempt; and
(2) is personally liable for the assessment.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.042. NOTICE TO OWNER OF ASSESSMENT. (a) An
assessment may not be made against the property benefited or the
owners of the property until after the owners, lienholders, and
other interested parties are given a reasonable opportunity to be
heard before the governing body or before the commission as
provided by Section 314.047.
(b) The governing body or commission shall publish three
times before the hearing reasonable notice of the hearing in a
newspaper of general circulation in the municipality beginning not
later than the 10th day before the date of the hearing.
(c) If an owner is a railway or street railway, the
governing body or commission shall also give, not later than the
10th day before the date of the hearing, written notice:
(1) in person to the owner's local agent; or
(2) by mailing the notice through the post office in
the municipality to the address of the office of the railway or
street railway as it appears on the most recent tax roll of the
municipality.
(d) The name of an owner, lienholder, or other interested
party need not be specifically set out in the notice required by
Subsection (b) or (c), but the real property proposed to be assessed
shall be briefly described in the notice by:
(1) lot and block;
(2) number;
(3) front feet;
(4) reference to a plat, report, or record filed in
connection with the proceedings; or
(5) any other description reasonably identifying the
property.
(e) The governing body or commission may give notice in
addition to the notice required by Subsections (b) and (c), but the
notice required by those subsections is sufficient.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.043. NOTICE TO COUNTY CLERK OF ASSESSMENT. (a) A
governing body that proposes to assess property abutting an
improvement shall file notice with the county clerk of each county
in which the property is located. The notice must be signed in the
name of the municipality by its clerk, secretary, or mayor or the
officer performing the duties of the clerk, secretary, or mayor.
(b) The notice required by Subsection (a) must:
(1) show substantially that the governing body has
determined it necessary that the street be improved;
(2) give the name of:
(A) the street and the names of the two cross
streets or other approximate lengthwise limits between which the
street is to be or has been improved or otherwise identify or
designate the street and the portion of the street to be improved;
and
(B) the subdivision and affected blocks if the
street abuts a subdivision for which a plat has been recorded in the
county clerk's office; and
(3) state that a portion of the cost of the improvement
is to be or has been specifically assessed as a lien on property
abutting the street.
(c) A notice filed under Subsection (a) may include one or
more streets or improvements.
(d) A governing body that proposes to assess property not
abutting the improvement shall file a notice signed as required by
Subsection (a) with the clerk of each county where the property is
located.
(e) The notice required by Subsection (d) must:
(1) designate the property proposed to be assessed or
the district within which assessments have been or may be made; or
(2) otherwise identify the property against which a
lien is proposed to be assessed.
(f) A notice required by Subsection (a) or (d) need not give
details or be sworn to or acknowledged. The notice may be filed at
any time, and the county clerk with whom the notice is filed shall:
(1) record the notice in the same class of records as a
mortgage or deed of trust; and
(2) index the notice in the name of the municipality
and in the name or other designation of the street to which the
notice relates.
(g) Substantial compliance with this section is sufficient.
(h) In this section, "street" includes any part of a street,
alley, highway, public place, or square.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended
by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 827, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
§ 314.044. HEARING ON ASSESSMENT. (a) At a hearing
under Section 314.042(a), an owner, lienholder, or other interested
party may:
(1) object in writing to an assessment, special
benefit to the property, invalidity of the assessment, or any
prerequisite to the assessment; and
(2) present testimony in support of the objection.
(b) The governing body or the commission shall determine the
amounts, if any, to be assessed.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.045. LIEN. (a) An assessment creates a lien on
property prior to all other liens except a lien for ad valorem
taxes.
(b) The lien takes effect on the filing of the notice
provided by Section 314.043(a) or (d).
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.046. ASSESSMENTS LEVIED. (a) The governing body
may make an assessment only by ordinance.
(b) An assessment may:
(1) be made payable in not more than 16 installments
maturing within 15 years; and
(2) bear interest at not more than eight percent a
year.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.047. HEARING ON ASSESSMENT BEFORE CONDEMNATION
COMMISSION. (a) The governing body may provide that the
condemnation commissioners hold the hearing required under Section
314.042(a).
(b) The commission that holds the hearing:
(1) shall give notice as required by Section 314.042;
and
(2) has the powers and duties conferred by this
chapter on the governing body except as otherwise provided by this
chapter.
(c) At the conclusion of the hearing, the commission shall
report in writing its findings to the governing body. The governing
body shall:
(1) examine the report and, if it finds the report to
be correct, approve the report; and
(2) make an assessment in the proper amount against
property and the owner of property found to be benefited by the
improvement.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.048. CERTIFICATES. The municipality may:
(1) issue assignable certificates payable to the
municipality or the purchaser of the certificates stating the
liability of the property and the owner of the property for the
payment of assessments; and
(2) set the terms of the certificates, including the
time of payment, conditions of default, and date of maturity.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.049. ENFORCEMENT OF ASSESSMENT. An assessment
may be enforced by:
(1) suit brought by the municipality for the benefit
of a holder and owner of an assessment or a certificate issued on
the assessment;
(2) suit brought by a holder and owner of an assessment
or a certificate issued on the assessment; or
(3) sale of the assessed property in the same manner as
nearly as possible as the sale of real property for municipal taxes.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.050. SUIT ON CERTIFICATE. In a suit to enforce a
certificate issued under Section 314.048, the recitals of the
certificate are sufficient to allege the proceedings of the
governing body in making the improvements, the assessment for the
improvements, and all prerequisites to the assessment. The
allegations contained in the recitals need not be stated in the
pleadings.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.051. REASSESSMENTS. (a) An error in a
proceeding under this chapter, the description of property, or the
name of the owner does not invalidate an assessment, and an
assessment is in effect against the property and the owner of the
property.
(b) A governing body that is advised of an error shall
correct the error.
(c) At the request of an interested party, the governing
body shall, after notice and hearing that comply with this chapter,
reassess an owner or property erroneously assessed in accordance
with special benefits as provided by this chapter as to original
assessments. The governing body may set the terms of payment of a
reassessment and may issue assignable certificates evidencing the
reassessment in the same manner as for an original assessment.
(d) The governing body may not make a reassessment later
than six years after the date of the ordinance making the original
assessment. If the reassessment is contested in an action at law,
the time consumed in the action is not included in computing the six
years.
(e) In making a reassessment, the governing body is not
required to repeat an action relating to the original assessment,
except as required by Subsection (c).
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.052. DEFICIENCY ASSESSMENTS. (a) If, after an
assessment is made under this chapter, the amount assessed and
apportioned is insufficient to defray all the costs of an
improvement:
(1) the governing body may assess the deficiency
against property specially benefited and the owners of the property
and apportion the deficiency among them, after notice and hearing
as provided by this chapter and after complying with each provision
of this chapter applicable to original assessments; or
(2) a deficiency assessment may be made after notice
and hearing before the commission in the manner provided by Section
314.047.
(b) A municipality may issue assignable certificates
evidencing the deficiency assessment.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.053. SUIT TO SET ASIDE OR CORRECT ASSESSMENT OR
REASSESSMENT. (a) A suit to set aside or correct an assessment or
reassessment or a proceeding relating to the assessment or
reassessment because of an error or invalidity in the assessment or
reassessment must be brought by a property owner against whom or
whose property an assessment or reassessment has been made not
later than the 10th day after the date of the assessment or
reassessment.
(b) After the deadline prescribed by Subsection (a), the
owner and the owner's heirs, successors, and assigns are barred
from bringing an action described by that subsection or objecting
to the validity of an assessment, reassessment, or proceeding.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 314.054. VALIDITY OF ASSESSMENT. An assessment or
reassessment is valid and binding without regard to:
(1) an error, omission, or invalidity in a proceeding
of the municipality under this chapter with reference to:
(A) the making of an improvement provided by this
chapter;
(B) the taking or condemnation of property for an
improvement; or
(C) the determination and payment of damages for
property taken or damaged; or
(2) whether as of the date of the assessments the
improvement was completed.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
