Abilene, TX

Abilene relies on the Texas Penal Code, not a local noise-curfew ordinance, to police unreasonable nighttime noise. Section 42.01(a)(5) makes it a crime to make unreasonable noise in a…

Abilene has no leaf blower-specific restrictions. General noise ordinance limits apply. DFW area is EPA ozone nonattainment but no equipment bans.

Abilene regulates amplified music under the general noise ordinance. Sound amplification permits available for events. TX Penal Code §42.01 applies.

Abilene's Code of Ordinances makes it unlawful to own or control any animal that causes unreasonably loud or unnecessary noise disturbing neighbors, and separately lists 'animal…

Abilene sets no decibel level and no audible-at-a-distance standard for car stereos or vehicle sound equipment. Loud vehicle audio is policed only under the general prohibition on…

Abilene caps sound at the property line by octave band, from 86 decibels in the lowest band down to 65 on the A scale, measured at the boundary nearest the noise source. Nighttime…

Abilene's own code exempts construction and maintenance noise between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. from its decibel table, but noise outside that window, or any unreasonable noise near a…

Abilene limits the number of guests allowed in short-term rental properties. Occupancy caps are typically based on bedroom count or square footage to protect neighborhood quality of…

Abilene regulates short-term rentals. Requirements vary - check local ordinance. TX legislature has considered but not passed STR preemption bills.

Abilene STRs must comply with general noise ordinance. Many cities impose stricter quiet hours for rentals. Complaints can trigger permit review.

Abilene may require designated parking for STR guests. Parking plan may be part of STR permit. No statewide parking time limit in Texas.

Abilene may require hosts to carry liability insurance for short-term rental properties. Minimum coverage amounts vary by jurisdiction.

Texas imposes a 6 percent state hotel occupancy tax on short-term rentals, including houses, condos, and Airbnb or VRBO stays, whenever a room costs 15 dollars or more per day.

Abilene may encourage or require native and drought-tolerant landscaping. Some areas restrict traditional grass lawns in favor of water-efficient alternatives.

Abilene bans grasses, weeds, or brush taller than twelve inches on any lot of five acres or less, including the adjacent parkway and alleys. Code Enforcement gives ten days' notice…

Abilene requires no permit to remove a tree. Preservation is a voluntary development credit: nonresidential and multifamily builders earn credit for two required landscape trees for…

Abilene allows residential rainwater harvesting. Texas has no significant state-level restrictions on rainwater collection for personal use.

Abilene's water conservation plan bans outdoor irrigation except during overnight hours and assigns every water customer a designated watering day tied to the last digit of their…

Abilene generally permits artificial turf installation with some requirements for drainage, appearance, and base preparation.

Abilene households may keep up to four dogs, four cats, or four combined without becoming a regulated 'kennel.' Cross that four-animal threshold and the property meets the Code of…

Abilene has no breed-specific ban, but its Code of Ordinances lets Abilene Animal Outreach seize and formally classify a dog as 'dangerous' or 'aggressive' after an attack, then…

Abilene prohibits harboring high-risk rabies carriers, venomous reptiles and amphibians, any wild animal over 40 pounds at maturity, or any state-defined 'dangerous wild animal' inside…

Abilene's Code of Ordinances requires every dog owner to keep the animal restrained at all times, not just when off the owner's property, and defines exactly what counts as restraint…

Abilene's animal code doesn't single out backyard chickens, but it flatly bars keeping swine anywhere in the city except in an agricultural open-space zoning district, and even there a…

Abilene doesn't mandate spay/neuter for every pet, but Sec. 6-94 requires it before a dog or cat over six months old can be reclaimed a second time from the Abilene Pet Adoption and…

Texas keeps beekeeping light-touch: registration with the Texas Apiary Inspection Service is voluntary, not required to own hives. Beekeepers may register annually with the chief…

Texas lets hunters bait and feed game animals, including deer, on private property statewide. Baiting is unlawful on most public land, for wild turkey in the East Zone, and for all…

Abilene declares it a nuisance to park a vehicle in a residential yard unless the spot sits on an improved surface, concrete, asphalt, or another accepted all-weather base, or is…

Boats, boat trailers, RVs, and other mobile recreation equipment cannot sit on an Abilene public street, alley, sidewalk, or public property for more than 48 continuous hours. Once…

Abilene marks curb loading zones for two distinct uses under Code of Ordinances §§ 18-215 through 18-217. A vehicle in a signed passenger zone gets three minutes to load or unload…

Abilene enforces the state definition of an abandoned motor vehicle: inoperable, over five years old, and left on public property more than 48 hours, illegally parked on public…

Abilene makes it unlawful to park any vehicle rated over one ton on a public street, alley, parkway, boulevard, or public place, with exceptions for utility, construction, and transit…

Texas Transportation Code section 545.302 bars parking on sidewalks, in intersections, on crosswalks, on bridges, and within set distances of fire hydrants, crosswalks, and fire…

Abilene has no blanket overnight-parking ban; instead, Texas Transportation Code § 683.002 sets the trigger the City uses to act on vehicles left standing on public streets. A vehicle…

Texas Occupations Code chapter 2308 sets the statewide rules for nonconsent towing and vehicle booting. A vehicle owner has 14 business days to demand a hearing in the justice court…

Abilene's Fire Prevention Code bans burning trash in the city's streets and alleys outright, and a companion section forbids disposing of waste combustible matter, such as cotton waste…

Abilene may have wildfire hazard zones requiring defensible space around structures, fire-resistant building materials, and vegetation management.

Inside licensed Recreational Vehicle Parks and Multi-Unit Housing Developments in unincorporated Taylor County, open fires are banned outright. The only fire allowed is charcoal…

Texas Occupations Code Chapter 2154 governs fireworks sales and use, while Local Government Code Chapter 352 limits how counties can restrict consumer fireworks during drought. The…

Selling, transporting, dispensing, or storing propane (LP-gas) in Texas requires a license from the Railroad Commission of Texas under Natural Resources Code Chapter 113. Only the…

Abilene bans razor wire, barbed wire and similar fencing materials in every residential zoning district, except for agricultural or related uses, under Land Development Code Section…

Abilene's Land Development Code sets a sliding height scale for residential front-yard fences: an opaque fence, wall or hedge cannot exceed 2.5 feet at the front property line, rising…

Under Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 143, Subchapter F, you cannot tear out a fence you jointly own with a neighbor, or one attached to a neighbor's fence, without mutual consent. To…

Abilene lets homeowners build a shed without a building permit only if it stays at 200 square feet or less, though it must still meet every other Land Development Code standard. Larger…

Abilene's Land Development Code lets homeowners add a second, smaller dwelling on the same lot under Sec. 2.4.4.1(a)(4), but caps its size at half the primary home's floor area, limits…

Texas has no tiny-home-specific statute. Any transportable, chassis-mounted dwelling that reaches 320 square feet is manufactured housing under Occupations Code Chapter 1201, built to…

Abilene caps how much traffic a home-based business can send down a residential street: no more volume than a neighborhood would normally see. Any customer or delivery parking…

Abilene allows home-based businesses only where zoned for it and only under strict limits. The business must stay clearly secondary to the home, use no more than 25 percent of the…

Abilene allows licensed home daycare operations with limits on the number of children. State licensing and local zoning approval typically required.

Abilene permits certain homemade food products to be sold directly to consumers under cottage food laws. Products must be non-potentially hazardous and properly labeled.

A home-based business in Abilene can post exactly one identification sign per street frontage, capped at 2 square feet, and it cannot light up or move. The sign has to sit flat against…

Abilene requires a building permit for pool construction under the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2021 edition, adopted by Sec. 8-620. The Building Official will not issue…

Abilene's Land Development Code regulates private swimming pools as an accessory use with its own setback and fencing standards, separate from the general Building Code. Section…

Abilene generally permits holiday decorations and displays on residential property with minimal restrictions. Displays should not create traffic hazards, excessive noise, or fire…

Electronic message signs in Abilene must hold each message for at least eight seconds, transition in two seconds with no flashing, and cap brightness at 7,000 nits by day and 1,000…

Abilene allows political signs on private property with size limits. Signs in public rights-of-way are typically prohibited. First Amendment protections apply. Removal required within…

Abilene allows temporary garage sale signs with restrictions on size, placement, and duration. Signs in public rights-of-way may be prohibited. Signs must be removed immediately after…

Abilene does not require a sign permit for a non-illuminated, temporary sign placed in or on a window, under Land Development Code Section 4.2.8.6(4). The exemption has a hard deadline…

Abilene recreational drone use is governed by FAA rules and local ordinances. Drones under 55 lbs must be registered with the FAA. No flying near airports.

Abilene's Special Events Permit article classifies any event using drones as a "fireworks/pyrotechnics/specialized equipment event," the same hazard category as fireworks. That…

As of July 1, 2026, mobile food vendors in Abilene must hold a statewide license from the Texas Department of State Health Services under Health and Safety Code Chapter 437B, which…

Abilene treats a food truck, trailer, or cart the same as any other food establishment: it needs an inspected permit from the city's Administrator, running through December 31 each…

Abilene's Land Development Code has no zoning category for marijuana dispensaries because dispensing marihuana remains a felony-eligible crime under Texas law. Tex. Health & Safety…

Abilene prohibits home cannabis cultivation. State law does not permit recreational or medical marijuana growing. Possession of cannabis plants may result in criminal charges.

Abilene bans dumping anything but stormwater into its municipal storm drains, and empowers the City to inspect, fine, or shut off water and sewer service to violators. The rule funds a…

Construction sites in Abilene that need a state TPDES stormwater permit must file a stormwater pollution prevention plan and notify the City's Stormwater Utility Division before…

In Abilene's FEMA special flood hazard areas, new and substantially improved homes must set the lowest floor at least one foot above the base flood elevation, or eighteen inches above…

Abilene requires a Floodway Development Permit from the Floodplain Administrator before any building construction or earth change on property inside a mapped floodway. The Land…

Texas prohibits damaging, destroying, or removing a sand dune or its vegetation seaward of a dune protection line or within a critical dune area unless a permit authorizes the work…

Abilene bans awnings under eight feet, tree limbs below seven feet over the ground or eight feet over a sidewalk, and any bush or vegetation that blocks a traffic-control device from…

Abilene puts the cost and duty of sidewalk repair on the abutting property owner, not the City. Owners must fix a defective or dangerous sidewalk, driveway, curb or landscaping strip…

Anyone who wants to place a private encroachment in an Abilene street, alley or sidewalk, or put that public right-of-way to private use, needs a street use license from the City…

Abilene's smoke-free ordinance doesn't stop at building doors: smoking is banned at every public outdoor event, including spectator seating, and within twenty feet of any entrance…

Between signalized intersections, Abilene pedestrians must use a marked crosswalk to cross the street, and anywhere in a business district they cannot cross outside a crosswalk at all…

Abilene prohibits roller skates, rollerblades, skateboards, and similar coasting devices on public roadways, sidewalks, and walkways inside the downtown Reinvestment Zone #1 TIF…

Abilene's Code of Ordinances § 20-5 flatly bans urinating on any street, alley, or public place, allowing it only inside a restroom equipped with a urinal or toilet. The rule traces…

Abilene Code of Ordinances Sec. 20-85 makes it unlawful to consume or possess an alcoholic beverage in any public place inside the City's extended hours area during set overnight and…

Abilene Code of Ordinances Sec. 20-9 makes it a Class C misdemeanor for anyone twenty years old or younger to congregate, gather, linger or assemble within 1,000 feet of any secondary…

Abilene levies a 7 percent hotel occupancy tax on any room costing $2.00 or more a night, collected by the hotel or motel operator and remitted monthly to the City. The tax is imposed…

Abilene doesn't issue a separate vape or e-cigarette retail license, but its Code of Ordinances still tightly controls how those products reach the shelf: self-service displays are…

Abilene requires anyone operating a massage establishment to hold a license from the City Secretary before opening. The Chief of Police and the Health Officer must both approve the…

Anyone in Abilene who buys secondhand goods, furniture, clothing, auto parts, or other personal property to resell must keep a permanent written register of every purchase under Code…

Abilene's pawn shop ordinance does not license pawnbrokers directly, since that comes from the state Pawn Shop Act, but it does force every item a shop purchases to sit on the shelf…

Abilene does not run a separate tattoo-parlor license; the Land Use Matrix controls where a tattoo parlor can open. It is permitted by right in the General Commercial, Heavy…

An adult entertainment enterprise in Abilene must sit at least 600 feet from any home, church, park, hospital, or the College-University district, 1,000 feet from another such…

Abilene flatly bans automobile repair as a home occupation, no matter the property's zoning district or floor-area math. The Land Development Code lists it among 15 uses that can never…

Abilene Code of Ordinances § 27-13 tells residents exactly where and when to put out a solid waste cart: within four feet of the curb line so the sidewalk stays clear, no earlier than…

Abilene Code of Ordinances §§ 27-23 and 27-26 keep yard waste, defined as trimmings, cuttings, leaves and branches, out of the regular cart unless it is bagged. Loose leaves, grass…

Abilene has no separate homegrown illegal-dumping ordinance; instead, Code of Ordinances § 19-45 adopts the entire Texas Litter Abatement Act, Health and Safety Code Chapter 365, word…

Abilene's Solid Waste Services Division sets residential pickup routes and schedules itself, delivering service by curbside roll-out, alley pickup, or manual collection depending on…

Abilene requires commercial properties to place roll-off containers and dumpsters on an approved concrete slab for new construction, screen them from view when zoning demands it, and…

Abilene offers scheduled bulk item pickup for large items like furniture and appliances. Advance scheduling typically required. Some items may need special handling.

Abilene provides weekly curbside trash and recycling collection on designated days. Missed pickups can be reported to Texas waste haulers or municipal services.

Texas Health and Safety Code Section 361.425 orders every county, municipality, school district, university, and state agency to run a recycling program that separates and collects at…

Abilene's Land Development Code caps residential building height at 35 feet in most single-family and townhome districts and 40 feet, three stories, in the Multiple-Family district…

Abilene's Land Development Code caps how much of a lot a building can cover, from just 15 percent in the Agricultural Open Space and RR-5 districts up to 90 percent for Multiple-Family…

Table 2-2 of Abilene's Land Development Code fixes minimum building line setbacks for every residential zoning district, how far a house must sit from the street, side and rear…

A street fair, festival or carnival in Abilene counts as a "commercial event" once it's expected to draw 1,000 or more people, and that classification triggers the city's Special…

Abilene exempts neighborhood parades and processions held on residential streets from its Special Events Permit article, so a typical block party needs no city permit. Any other street…

Abilene Code of Ordinances Sec. 22-2 bans possessing intoxicating beverages in any public park, but the City Manager can issue an event permit letting a licensed caterer serve alcohol…

Abilene requires a special event permit for any parade of 25 or more people or five or more floats. Permits cap parades at 90 minutes, floats at 12 feet high, and route them along the…

Abilene runs a nonpotable reuse program and an indirect potable reuse system for its water supply, and treated wastewater delivered under a reclaimed-water contract can only irrigate…

Abilene's water conservation plan treats an unrepaired sprinkler head, valve, pipe, or faucet leak as "waste of water," a standing violation that applies every day of the year, not…

Abilene's landscaping code requires every required landscape area, including single-family and two-family yards, to follow xeriscaping principles: low-water, drought-tolerant design…

Every food handler and food manager working in an Abilene food establishment must carry the certification the state requires, because the city has adopted the Texas food-handler and…

Abilene's nuisance code makes it unlawful to maintain any condition on public or private property that provides harborage for rats, mice, snakes or other vermin. Code Enforcement can…

Abilene's Agricultural Open Space (AO) District, Land Development Code Sec. 2.3.2.1, preserves vacant and working farmland inside city limits by capping density at one dwelling per…

The Texas Right to Farm Act, Agriculture Code Chapter 251, protects established agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits and local regulations after one year of operation. HB…

Abilene bans glare that reaches beyond the property line: Land Development Code Section 4.2.7.2(a) states no direct or reflected glare may be visible at the lot line in any zoning…

Abilene requires all new outdoor lighting fixtures to be fully shielded so no light or glare spills onto adjacent property, preserving the area's dark sky under Land Development Code…

Abilene's Building Official can condemn any structure that is dilapidated, structurally hazardous, or infested with vermin under the City's minimum-standards ordinance. The Board of…

Texas Health and Safety Code § 342.004 lets Abilene require every property owner to keep vacant and occupied lots free of weeds, brush, and public-nuisance conditions, and Abilene has…

Abilene requires door-to-door solicitors and peddlers to obtain a permit. Background checks and identification badges are commonly required.

Abilene maintains a no-knock or no-soliciting registry that residents can join. Solicitors who ignore posted signs or registry listings face fines.

Abilene may require landlords to register rental properties with the city and maintain compliance with housing codes. Registration helps ensure rental units meet safety and…

Abilene follows state landlord-tenant law for evictions. Landlords must follow proper notice procedures but may not need to state cause for non-renewal of month-to-month tenancies in…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, a Texas landlord must give a defaulting or holdover tenant at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing a forcible detainer (eviction)…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052 a landlord must make a diligent effort to repair conditions that materially affect an ordinary tenant's health or safety after proper notice. Section…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019 a residential late fee must be reasonable and may be charged only if written in the lease and the rent stays unpaid two full days after due. A fee is…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by giving notice, and the tenancy ends on the later of the date in the notice or one month after notice is…

Texas law forbids cities from adopting rent control. A municipality may not establish rent control unless its governing body finds a housing emergency caused by a disaster and the…

Texas places no statutory limit on how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit. However, the landlord must refund the deposit within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the…

In Texas a squatter can claim title only through adverse possession, with periods that shorten as the claim strengthens: 3 years under title or color of title (§ 16.024), 5 years with…

Abilene Code of Ordinances Ch. 23 requires any dockless or docked scooter or bicycle sharing vendor to hold a City permit before placing devices in the right-of-way. Vendors may…

Abilene cannot operate red-light cameras. Texas Transportation Code Section 707.020 bars every local authority from running a photographic traffic signal enforcement system, and House…

Texas lets golf carts onto public roads in four defined situations rather than by general permission: inside a platted master planned community, on a beach open to vehicular traffic…

Abilene requires building permits for solar panel installations. Permit processes vary but most jurisdictions have streamlined solar permitting. Roof-mounted systems must meet…

Texas Property Code Section 202.010 voids any HOA covenant that prohibits or restricts installing a solar energy device on a home in an Abilene subdivision. Property owners'…

Abilene's Land Development Code treats garage sales as a regulated accessory use in residential zoning districts, not an unrestricted activity. Section 2.4.3.3(27) limits every lot to…

Abilene Code of Ordinances Sec. 22-4 closes every City park to the public between 12:01 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. daily. Exceptions cover on-duty officials, through-traffic on dedicated park…

Texas HB 1819 (88th Legislature, 2023), codified at Local Government Code 370.008 (originally 370.007), prohibits all Texas municipalities and counties from adopting or enforcing…

Abilene requires a building permit before you construct, enlarge, alter, or repair a structure. The City adopted the 2021 International Building Code as its building code under City…

Abilene enforces the 2020 National Electrical Code citywide under Sec. 8-496, administered through the Building Official with a local amending pamphlet. Violations default to the…

Abilene enforces the International Plumbing Code, 2021 edition, as its plumbing code, and the Building Official will not issue a permit for plumbing work unless the contractor holds a…

Before the Commissioners Court will approve a subdivision plat in unincorporated Taylor County, the developer must file an approved list of deed restrictions naming who enforces them…

Under the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act, unpaid assessments become a lien (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0094), but a Texas HOA may not foreclose that lien without first…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs residential subdivision homeowners associations, not condominium associations and not associations that are themselves subject to the Public…

Property Code Section 202.007 voids any homeowners association rule that bans drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf, and Section 202.008 bars fines for a brown…

Texas Property Code section 202.012 stops homeowners associations from banning display of the U.S. flag, the Texas flag, or an official U.S. armed forces flag. An association can…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs HOA fines, but only for mandatory-membership subdivisions; condos fall under Chapter 82 instead. State law sets no dollar cap on a fine, only a…

A Texas property owners' association cannot sell your home at a trustee's sale the way a mortgage lender can. Tex. Prop. Code Section 209.0092 requires the association to obtain a…

Texas Property Code Section 209.016 sets no cap on how much of a subdivision an association can rent out, no minimum lease term, and no grandfather clause: a declaration can still ban…

In licensed RV parks and multi-unit housing developments across unincorporated Taylor County, bottled gas for cooking cannot be used in an individual space unless it runs through…

Texas Labor Code Section 62.0515 expressly preempts municipal and county minimum wage ordinances. The state minimum wage equals the federal floor of $7.25 per hour, and political…

Texas appellate courts have struck down municipal paid sick leave ordinances in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio as preempted under the Texas Minimum Wage Act. HB 2127 (2023) further…

Texas authorizes License to Carry (LTC) holders to carry concealed handguns statewide under Government Code Chapter 411. Since 2021, permitless constitutional carry under HB 1927 also…

Texas Local Government Code Section 229.001 broadly preempts municipal regulation of firearms, ammunition, knives, and related accessories. Cities cannot adopt or enforce ordinances…

Texas authorizes open carry of holstered handguns statewide for adults 21 and older under Penal Code 46.02 and HB 910 (2015). Long guns may be openly carried subject to disorderly…

Texas Penal Code 46.02(a-1) lets any non-prohibited adult carry a handgun inside a personally-owned or leased motor vehicle or watercraft without a License to Carry. Since HB 1927…

Texas nonprofits can conduct bingo only under a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which absorbed the Texas Lottery Commission's charitable bingo program on…

Texas Local Government Code Chapter 234, Subchapter E lets any county's commissioners court license, zone, and inspect "game rooms": for-profit businesses with six or more skill or…

Texas Penal Code § 47.02(a) makes betting at cards, dice, or any game of chance a Class C misdemeanor. Section 47.02(b) supplies a defense: gambling that happens in a private place…

Texas licenses no retail sportsbook and no betting app. Placing a wager on the outcome of a game, contest, or a player's performance is a criminal offense under Penal Code §…

The Texas Legislature has authorized exactly one vehicle checkpoint program, and it has nothing to do with alcohol. Government Code Section 411.0095 lets the Department of Public…

Texas has never enacted an express statutory right to film police, so the legal boundary for a bystander with a phone is set by the offense of Interference with Public Duties, Texas…

Texas Penal Code Section 38.02 makes it a crime to refuse your name, residence address, or date of birth only after a peace officer has already lawfully arrested you. Being detained on…

No Texas statute obliges a driver to consent to a vehicle search, and none requires an officer to warn you that you may refuse. What Texas law does require is a paper trail: Article…

The Texas Supreme Court in City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association (2018) held that Health and Safety Code Section 361.0961 preempts municipal plastic bag bans. Cities and…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 161 sets the minimum age for purchasing or possessing tobacco and e-cigarette products at 21 statewide, aligned with federal Tobacco 21. Active…

Texas regulates extra lighting by color, count, height and aim rather than by naming underglow. Transportation Code Section 547.305 bars any lamp showing red from directly in front of…

Texas grants no square inches of windshield to a camera. Transportation Code Section 547.613(a)(1) makes it a misdemeanor to operate a vehicle with an object or material placed on or…

Texas banned motorcycle lane splitting in plain words on September 1, 2023. Transportation Code Section 545.0605(a)(3)(B), added by House Bill 4122 of the 88th Legislature, says the…

Texas outlaws license plate covers in Transportation Code Section 504.945(a)(7), which makes it an offense to display a plate carrying a coating, covering, protective substance or…

Texas does not prohibit owning, mounting or using a radar detector in a private passenger vehicle. The one radar offense in the vehicle equipment chapter, Transportation Code Section…

Texas is one of the states that never wrote a studded tire calendar. Transportation Code Section 547.612(c) is the whole of the law: a tire on a moving vehicle may not carry a block…

Texas allows film down to 25 percent light transmission on both front side windows and on the windshield strip, with a matching ceiling of 25 percent luminous reflectance, and it sets…