El Paso, TX

El Paso requires every dog, cat and ferret four months or older to carry an implanted microchip, not just a rabies tag. Section 7.12.040 makes microchipping mandatory citywide, and…

El Paso requires two separate authorizations before anyone can groom a pet commercially: a personal groomer license under Chapter 7.15 and a shop registration for the premises. A…

El Paso requires owned cats to stay on their owner's property or under physical control off it, but Chapter 7.12 carves out a real exception for feral cats processed through…

El Paso lets residents keep chickens and other fowl, but City Code § 7.24.020(B) caps roosters at three per property and requires a Department of Animal Services permit for anyone…

El Paso's zoning code, not just Title 7, controls where a veterinary hospital or animal clinic can operate. City Code section 20.10.080 sets district-by-district conditions: special…

El Paso does not ban retail pet stores from selling dogs and cats, but City Code § 7.14.020 caps what any seller, including a retail establishment, can charge for a dog or cat under…

El Paso Chapter 6 lets Animal Services Center officers act when animal counts at a single residence create unsanitary or cruel conditions, even where each pet is individually licensed…

El Paso does not ban specific dog breeds. Texas Health and Safety Code Section 822.047 preempts city-level breed-specific legislation.

El Paso Chapter 7.04 and Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Chapter 43 prohibit keeping dangerous wild animals such as large cats, bears, primates, and venomous reptiles without state…

El Paso Chapter 7.04 requires dogs to be on a leash no longer than 6 feet whenever off the owner's property. Off-leash dogs are prohibited except in designated dog parks such as…

Beekeeping is permitted in El Paso subject to Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 131 (registration) and city setback rules.

El Paso requires sterilization for most adopted dogs and cats, and charges higher annual license fees for intact animals. The Animal Services Center runs a low-cost spay-neuter clinic…

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…

El Paso lets homeowners widen a residential driveway up to thirty feet to store a recreation vehicle, trailer, or boat off the street under City Code § 13.12.120(B), so long as the…

El Paso bars parking any vehicle or trailer over nine feet tall, twenty-six feet long, or seven feet eight inches wide on public streets, alleys, sidewalks, or medians citywide. City…

El Paso manages downtown curb space through designated 'downtown parking districts' under City Code § 12.44.290, where a vehicle in a metered curbside space must either feed the meter…

El Paso's Fire Code amendments require fire apparatus access roads and hydrant curbs to be painted red and marked "FIRE LANE. TOW AWAY ZONE" in three-inch white letters. City Code §…

El Paso lets homeowners park on gravel or screenings in the front yard, but only if the parking sits at least twenty feet back from the front property line under City Code § 20.14.080…

El Paso lets residents petition to turn a block into a residential parking district once outside vehicles occupy over 60% of curbside spots at the same times each week. City Code §…

Under El Paso Chapter 12, a vehicle parked on a public street more than 72 continuous hours or in a state of disrepair on private property can be declared abandoned.

El Paso permits on-street parking in most residential areas free of charge, with 72-hour maximum continuous parking. Downtown and UTEP-area streets are metered, with permits required…

Overnight parking on El Paso residential streets is generally allowed, but vehicles cannot exceed 72 continuous hours without moving. Downtown parking structures and select permit…

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…

El Paso City Code Chapter 9.40 establishes citywide quiet hours from 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM, when loud or unreasonable noise audible at a property line is prohibited.

El Paso limits ordinary construction, repair, remodeling and grading to Monday through Saturday, 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. under City Code § 18.02.105.20.1. Work outside those hours, on…

El Paso's noise ordinance does not reach aircraft. City Code § 9.40.020(A)(6) exempts any activity 'preempted by state or federal law,' expressly naming sound produced by aircraft in…

El Paso has no leaf blower ban or specific hour restriction beyond the general noise ordinance. Gas and electric blowers are both allowed, subject to the 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM general…

El Paso Chapter 9.40 establishes A-weighted decibel limits by zone and time of day. Residential receiving properties are limited to 55 dB(A) daytime and 50 dB(A) nighttime; commercial…

El Paso Code Chapter 7.04 prohibits any dog from barking, howling, or making noise that disturbs neighbors for more than 15 consecutive minutes or intermittently for 30 minutes.

El Paso Code Chapter 9.40 regulates amplified music with property-line decibel limits and special event permitting.

El Paso caps motor-vehicle and motorcycle noise measured at 50 feet: 70 dB(A) for cars at speed limits of 35 mph or less and 78 dB(A) for motorcycles. Every vehicle must run a working…

El Paso allows residents to compost household kitchen scraps and yard waste in their own backyards, but City Code § 9.84.010(C) sets real limits: composting must happen inside an…

El Paso doesn't mandate rainwater harvesting, but its Grading Code makes it an explicit, code-recognized design option: § 18.44.200(A)(9) lets any grading plan be engineered to capture…

El Paso property owners must keep street trees trimmed to at least eight feet of clearance above the sidewalk and ten feet above the curb at corner-lot sight triangles, under City Code…

El Paso's commercial landscape ordinance forces new development to draw 75% of plant material from the City's Approved Plant List and make at least half of it low-water…

El Paso City Code caps weeds and vegetation at an average height of twelve inches on lots under three acres. Anything taller is declared a public nuisance, and the city's Code…

El Paso City Code § 15.13.020 sets a mandatory odd-even lawn and landscape watering schedule for every customer of El Paso Water: even-numbered addresses irrigate Tuesday, Thursday…

Chapter 9.11 of El Paso's City Code makes it a misdemeanor to damage, cut, carve, poison or otherwise injure any tree on public property, and declares dead or diseased trees on private…

El Paso's Gas Code bars new liquefied petroleum gas systems in R1-R4 residential occupancies whenever a natural gas utility line runs within 1,000 feet, and requires any LP-gas storage…

Fireworks are banned inside El Paso city limits under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 2154 and Municipal Code Chapter 9.36. Possession, sale, or use of consumer fireworks within city…

Backyard recreational fires in El Paso are allowed under IFC rules but restricted to clean wood or manufactured fuels with a 3-foot max pile and 25-foot setback.

El Paso bans all outdoor burning within city limits under City Code § 9.36.060. The only carve-out is a permitted disposal-fire exception for plant debris at Rio Bosque Park, and even…

El Paso's Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) zones include the Franklin Mountains interface, Scenic Drive, and desert-edge neighborhoods on the Westside and Northeast.

El Paso allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot under City Code § 20.10.035, detached or attached, capped at 800 square feet (1,200 on lots of 8,000+ sq ft) and one…

El Paso caps detached residential accessory buildings, sheds, workshops, and freestanding garages, at one story or 15 feet under City Code § 20.10.030(A), and requires at least 60 feet…

El Paso requires the owner of any lot with a detached accessory dwelling unit to live in either the main house or the ADU as a permanent residence under City Code § 20.10.035(A)(1); an…

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…

El Paso allows a home occupation as an accessory use in residential zoning districts under City Code § 20.10.270, but only if it stays secondary to the home's use as a dwelling. It…

El Paso caps home occupation signage at one sign, one square foot, non-illuminated. Under City Code § 20.10.270.A.12, a home-based business run out of a residence may post exactly one…

El Paso caps every licensed home occupation to 'no more than normal household vehicular traffic' under City Code § 20.10.270(A)(7), and bars commercial deliveries or pickups more…

El Paso lets home child care operate as a permitted home occupation under City Code § 20.10.140(A), but requires a state license, a caregiver, 30 square feet of indoor space and 80…

Texas does not license cottage food at all. Health and Safety Code Section 437.0191(a) declares that a cottage food production operation is not a food service establishment, and…

El Paso's Building Code bans broken glass toppings on any fence or wall citywide and bars barbed wire on fences around homes and apartments. Barbed wire topping is allowed only in…

El Paso doesn't require a building permit for a residential fence that stays within set height caps: forty-two inches for a masonry landscape wall and six feet for chain link or…

El Paso requires three staged inspections for permitted retaining walls under City Code § 18.02.107.3: a foundation inspection after trenches and reinforcing steel are in place, a…

El Paso Zoning Chapter 20 limits residential fences to 4 feet in front yards and 7 feet in side and rear yards. Corner lots have additional sight-triangle requirements to preserve…

Texas common law generally treats boundary fences as shared, though Texas has no universal fence statute requiring cost sharing.

Residential swimming pools in El Paso are regulated under Title 18 Chapter 18.08 (Building Code), which adopts the International Residential Code with local amendments and requires…

El Paso exempts a small pool from a building permit only if it holds less than 24 inches of water and less than 5,000 gallons, whether it's in-ground or above ground. A typical framed…

El Paso STRs may host extended-stay bookings of 30 nights or longer, which fall outside Hotel Occupancy Tax and city STR registration. Short stays under 30 nights remain subject to…

Short-term rentals in El Paso are subject to the same Chapter 9.40 noise limits as other residences, including 50 dB(A) nighttime property-line cap and the 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM quiet…

Airbnb, Vrbo, and similar platforms collect Texas state Hotel Occupancy Tax automatically on El Paso bookings, but the city portion of HOT must usually be remitted directly by the host…

El Paso short-term rentals must provide at least one off-street parking space per bedroom, up to the lot's permitted capacity, under Chapter 20 (Zoning).

El Paso does not set a specific STR occupancy cap, but all dwellings must comply with International Residential Code occupancy based on bedroom count and square footage.

El Paso does not impose an annual night cap on short-term rentals. Operators may rent their properties year-round provided they comply with tax, zoning, and noise rules.

The City of El Paso does not currently require a short-term rental permit, license, or registration. STR operators need only register for the Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) and the…

El Paso short-term rentals are subject to a 17.5% combined Hotel Occupancy Tax: 6% Texas state HOT, 9% El Paso city HOT, and 2% county venue tax.

El Paso regulates door-to-door solicitors and peddlers under the Municipal Code. Solicitors conducting commercial door-to-door sales must obtain a permit from the city. The permit…

El Paso requires every tattoo or body art studio to hold both a state license and a separate city registration, and every artist to carry an individual city-issued license. Chapter…

Anyone buying, selling or trading secondhand goods in El Paso, from resale shops to flea-market kiosks, needs a city license under Chapter 5.12, plus detailed daily transaction records…

El Paso bars automotive repair businesses from residential and apartment zoning districts. City Code § 20.10.740(B) forbids dismantling, repairing, or performing work on any vehicle on…

El Paso caps what a tow company can charge for a nonconsent tow under City Code § 12.54.020: $100 for light-duty vehicles up to 10,000 pounds, $350 for medium-duty up to 25,000 pounds…

El Paso pawnbrokers operate under a state license, but Article IV of Chapter 5.12 layers on city recordkeeping duties: every pawn transaction must be logged the same way secondhand…

El Paso makes it unlawful to operate a sexually oriented business without a city license under City Code Chapter 5.09. Applicants must be at least 21, submit to EPPD fingerprinting and…

El Paso massage establishments must obtain a city business license under Chapter 7 and verify therapists hold current Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) credentials…

Vape retailers in El Paso must hold a Texas e-cigarette retailer permit issued by the Texas Comptroller, comply with Tobacco 21, and follow zoning rules under Title 20. Local proximity…

El Paso restaurants and bars that want to seat customers on the public sidewalk need a sidewalk cafe permit under City Code § 15.08.120(N), good for one to ten years, with design…

El Paso doesn't run a generic street-fair permit; its recurring outdoor vendor event is the Union Plaza Artist Market under Section 2.40.100, held Saturdays from 5:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m…

El Paso lets businesses convert on-street parking spaces into outdoor seating through a parking parklet permit under City Code § 15.08.120(O), issued for one year at a time with strict…

Reserving an El Paso city park, athletic field, or identifiable area for an event requires a permit from the Parks and Recreation Department. City Code Section 13.24.030 lets the…

El Paso requires a permit before any parade, demonstration, or public assembly that disrupts traffic on public roadways or uses a city park. Chapter 13.36 caps vehicle-only parades at…

El Paso requires a temporary event permit before residents close a street or alley for a block party, street dance, sidewalk sale, or similar neighborhood gathering. City Code Chapter…

El Paso's Chapter 12.48 lets the traffic engineer designate curbside rideshare zones where TNC and taxi drivers can load and unload passengers 24 hours a day, but caps each stop at…

El Paso bicyclists must use a dedicated bike path or lane instead of the adjacent street whenever the city has built one, under City Code § 12.76.100(B), and can otherwise ride no more…

El Paso has piloted dockless shared electric scooter and bike programs through permitted operators, with rules on rider age, sidewalk use, parking corrals near UTEP and downtown, and…

Red-light camera enforcement is illegal in El Paso. Texas Transportation Code Section 707.020 bars every local authority from operating a photographic traffic signal enforcement…

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…

New billboards facing Interstate Highway 10 face some of El Paso's tightest sign standards: in C-3, C-4, M-1, M-2, and M-3 zones along I-10, a static or digital billboard can rise no…

El Paso's Outdoor Lighting Code exempts seasonal decorations outright: strings of unshielded, low-wattage incandescent bulbs of fifteen watts or less don't count toward the chapter's…

El Paso bans new billboards citywide and across its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Digital billboards, defined as CEVM signs using LED or electronic displays, are allowed only by…

Texas Election Code Chapter 259 broadly protects the right to display political signs on private property. El Paso's sign regulations under Title 20, Chapter 20.18 must conform to…

El Paso regulates temporary signs including garage sale signs under Title 20, Chapter 20.18 of the Municipal Code. Signs placed in the public right-of-way are prohibited and subject to…

Drones flown near El Paso International Airport fall inside a zoning map covering all land within five miles of the runway, where structures and trees are height-capped under FAA Part…

Recreational drone use in El Paso is primarily governed by FAA regulations under 14 CFR Part 107 and the Exception for Limited Recreational Operations. El Paso is home to Fort Bliss…

El Paso outlaws camping in any city park, no tents, shacks, other shelters, or bedrolls, unless city council specifically approves it by resolution. City Code Section 13.24.060 makes…

El Paso restricts sitting, lying, or storing belongings on downtown sidewalks during business hours under public-conduct provisions of the El Paso Municipal Code. Enforcement is paired…

El Paso bans mobile food vendors from stopping to sell anywhere in the downtown area without a special city council privilege, and bars sales within two blocks of a school or on any…

Selling merchandise on El Paso streets or door-to-door as a vendor or solicitor requires a city license under Chapter 5.15, with annual fees that scale by vendor type: from $40 for a…

El Paso regulates mobile food vendors under Title 12, Chapter 12.46 of the Municipal Code. Food trucks must obtain a mobile food vendor permit from the city in addition to a health…

El Paso enforces habitability through Chapter 18.50, which adopts the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code with local amendments as the city's minimum-conditions standard for…

El Paso has NO local just-cause eviction ordinance. Texas is a no-cause termination state under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001: a month-to-month tenancy may be ended by either party on 30…

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 § 92.019 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…

Late-night deliveries get a narrow exemption from El Paso's noise rules. City Code § 9.40.020(A)(14) allows 10:00 p.m.-to-5:00 a.m. deliveries only if they last one hour or less, carry…

El Paso regulates bass and other low-frequency noise separately from ordinary loudness. City Code § 9.40.030(B) makes it unlawful for sound from a non-restaurant property to exceed 75…

Running a portable generator or other power equipment outdoors on residential property in El Paso is barred from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. City Code § 9.40.020(B)(11) sets that curfew…

El Paso exempts normal HVAC operation from noise-nuisance enforcement, but only under a measured cap. City Code § 9.40.020(A)(8) clears air-conditioning units, heat pumps, HVAC systems…

Letting a car horn or vehicle alarm sound continuously or frequently is a noise nuisance in El Paso. City Code § 9.40.020(B)(6) bans the 'continued or frequent sounding of any horn or…

In El Paso's A-O zoning district, single-family attached dwellings, atriums, patios and townhomes, cannot cover more than 50% of the lot under the Title 20 Table of Density and…

In El Paso's R-1 single-family district, the Title 20 Appendix B dimensional table sets a 30-foot minimum front yard, a 30-foot rear yard, and a combined front-and-rear minimum of 100…

El Paso caps most residential zoning districts, including R-1 through R-5, at a maximum building height of 35 feet under the Title 20 Appendix B dimensional table. City Code §…

El Paso bans loitering in streets or public places for the purpose of soliciting prostitution or engaging in drug-related activity, City Code § 10.12.030. The ordinance lists specific…

El Paso bans skateboards, roller skates, coasters and razor scooters from roadways citywide, but allows them on sidewalks and rights-of-way if riders yield to pedestrians. Riding these…

El Paso pedestrians must use a marked or unmarked crosswalk between signalized intersections, downtown, in any business district, or on a designated through street. City Code §…

El Paso restricts smoking and vaping in indoor workplaces, restaurants, and bars under its Smoke-Free Air Ordinance, and bans tobacco use in city parks, on transit, and within…

El Paso's nuisance code declares it unlawful to urinate or defecate on any street, alley or public ground, or anywhere visible from a private residence or by passersby, within city…

El Paso bans possessing an open container or drinking alcohol on any public street, sidewalk, alley, or pedestrian way inside the downtown central business district, or within 1,000…

In El Paso, a party whose sound crosses your property line above 70 dB(A) between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. is illegal, and the resident, owner, or occupant present is the one police cite…

El Paso prohibits aggressive panhandling, which includes intimidating gestures, blocking pedestrians, or following people after a refusal, while protecting passive solicitation as…

Smoking or possessing marijuana in public is illegal everywhere in El Paso. Texas law, not a local ordinance, controls. Possession of two ounces or less is a Class B misdemeanor, and…

El Paso levies a 7% hotel occupancy tax on rooms costing $2 or more a day under Section 3.12.020, plus a separate 2% additional tax for the city's approved venue project under Section…

Anyone using an El Paso street, right-of-way, or city facility for a qualifying film-making event must get a location permit through the El Paso Film Commissioner. City Code Section…

Closing an El Paso street for filming requires a traffic control plan meeting fixed clearances. City Code Section 13.30.040(B)(9)(b) demands at least a twenty-foot unobstructed width…

El Paso will not approve a subdivision built with private streets unless the developer's CCRs impose a mandatory assessment on every lot owner to fund perpetual street maintenance…

In El Paso, HOA deed restrictions are private covenants enforced under Texas Property Code Chapter 202 by the association or a court, not by the City. City zoning (Title 20) is a…

An El Paso HOA can fine you for covenant, bylaw, or rule violations, but only after mailing certified-mail notice describing the violation and giving a reasonable period to cure. Cure…

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…

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…

El Paso requires commercial dumpsters and construction roll-offs to sit on the generator's own property, not the street, unless the environmental services director approves an…

Dumping, throwing, or discarding litter on any public or private property in El Paso is prohibited citywide. Illegal-dumping violations carry a criminal fine of up to $4,000, double…

El Paso Environmental Services provides bulk waste collection for large items that do not fit in standard city bins. Residents can schedule bulk pickups by calling 311 or through the…

El Paso's Environmental Services collects the gray garbage bin weekly and the blue recycling bin every other week on the same day. Find your day and recycling week with the My…

El Paso runs a curbside recycling program for residential properties. City Code § 9.04.060(B) requires program recyclable materials to be stored loose (except shredded paper) in the…

El Paso spells out exactly where a residential trash or recycling cart has to sit at the curb. City Code § 9.04.100(A)(6) requires carts placed lid-toward-the-street, at least three…

Anyone who wants to build, place, or maintain a private structure on El Paso's public sidewalks, parkways, or street right-of-way, from awnings to storage vaults, needs a special…

In El Paso, Texas, the owner of property abutting a public sidewalk, curb, or gutter is legally responsible for keeping it in repair. The city can order repairs after inspection, and…

El Paso's Outdoor Lighting Code caps light spilling onto a neighbor's yard at 0.25 footcandles measured at the residential property line, five feet above grade. If the building…

Digital billboards (CEVM signs) in El Paso can't shine brighter than 0.3 foot-candles above ambient light, measured at set distances that scale with sign size, under City Code §…

El Paso runs a citywide dark-sky-style Outdoor Lighting Code that sorts every property into one of four lighting zones, E1 through E4, based on the zoning district, with the…

El Paso City Code § 15.13.030(B)(2) makes failing to repair a leak within five working days of discovering it a prohibited 'wasting of water' offense under the city's Water…

El Paso Water offers per-square-foot rebates to homeowners and businesses who replace traditional turfgrass with desert-adapted xeriscape plants, gravel, and permeable surfaces under…

El Paso Water blends Rio Grande surface water, fresh and brackish groundwater, the Kay Bailey Hutchison desalination plant, and reclaimed wastewater for non-potable irrigation, with an…

El Paso runs its electrical work under the 2020 NFPA 70 National Electrical Code, adopted wholesale by City Code § 18.16.020 with local amendments, and every electrical permit carries…

El Paso enforces the 2021 International Plumbing Code as its Plumbing Code under City Code § 18.20.020, with local amendments layered on top, and every plumbing permit carries an…

El Paso's building official inspects permitted work as it progresses and can require corrections before releasing it for the next stage, under City Code § 18.02.107.1. Inspections…

El Paso's Fire Code requires carbon monoxide detection in every classroom of Group E school occupancies, not homes generally. City Code § 9.52.080.59 (adopting IFC § 915.2.3.1)…

El Paso requires automatic fire sprinkler systems in many new buildings under the locally adopted International Building Code and International Fire Code. Installers must hold Texas…

A new building in El Paso cannot be occupied, and no occupancy change made, until the building official issues a certificate of occupancy under City Code § 18.02.111.1, which requires…

El Paso's Building Code classifies any child care operation serving six or more children of any age, for stays under 24 hours, as R-3 occupancy, the same category as a permanent…

El Paso enforces energy and water-efficiency rules through the locally adopted International Energy Conservation Code, plus Texas State Energy Conservation Office requirements. Plan El…

El Paso spells out exactly how street trees must be planted in the parkway: spacing no more than thirty feet apart, a minimum two-inch caliper trunk (three inches on arterials), and…

El Paso requires new and substantially improved buildings in a mapped flood hazard area to sit at least one foot above the base flood elevation -- a freeboard buffer above FEMA's…

El Paso participates in the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality voluntary idling reduction program, particularly significant due to long commercial truck queues at international…

El Paso City Code § 15.20.080 bans discharging anything other than stormwater into the city's municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4), and § 15.20.090 lists specific banned…

El Paso requires erosion and sediment control measures on all construction and land disturbance projects. The city's desert environment with steep terrain in the Franklin Mountains…

Any structure or land use inside an El Paso special flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit before work starts. Chapter 18.60 applies FEMA's Flood Insurance Study maps…

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…

El Paso property owners must keep buildings free of rodents, roaches, and bed bugs under Chapter 13 health and sanitation rules. Commercial pesticide applicators must hold licenses…

El Paso requires anyone working as a food handler in a food establishment to obtain a food handler certificate within thirty days of starting work. The certificate must come from the…

Used syringes in El Paso must be discarded in approved sharps containers and never placed in regular trash or recycling. The Department of Public Health and Environmental Services…

El Paso enforces an 11 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew for minors under 17, City Code §§ 10.20.010-10.20.054, most recently readopted with amendments in 2020. The ordinance holds parents liable…

El Paso closes its city parks overnight: 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. from October through April, and 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. from May through September. City Code Section 13.24.040 lets…

El Paso doesn't use the term 'cultural monument': its equivalent is the 'historic landmark' or 'H-overlay' designation under City Code Chapter 20.20, adopted because protecting…

Texas restricts dispensing organizations from operating near schools and churches under the Compassionate Use Program. El Paso cannot legally permit recreational dispensaries because…

El Paso has not adopted commercial cannabis zoning because Texas law does not authorize recreational sales. Any future state-licensed medical dispensary would still need conditional…

Texas Health & Safety Code 481.121 makes it a crime to possess or grow marijuana anywhere in the state. Home cultivation is illegal in every Texas city and county regardless of plant…

Texas Health and Safety Code §161.0815 bans the sale of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and tobacco products to anyone under 21, except active-duty military with proper identification. El…

El Paso has no local flavored tobacco ban. Federal rules prohibit flavored cigarettes other than menthol, and the FDA regulates flavored e-cigarette product authorization. Texas has…

El Paso adopted Plan El Paso in 2012 and overlays a SmartCode-based form-based code in select districts, encouraging walkable transit-supported development around Sun Metro Brio bus…

El Paso cannot set a local minimum wage above the federal floor of $7.25 per hour because Texas Local Government Code Chapter 229 preempts cities and counties from regulating…

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…

El Paso does not register rentals or run a periodic rental-inspection program. The city repealed its housing "Inspections and certificates" chapter in 2009. Ordinary house and…

El Paso allows data centers by right in its two industrial zoning districts (M-1 and M-2) and in high-intensity commercial C-4 zones. There is no special-use permit or discretionary…

El Paso requires building permits for residential and commercial solar panel installations through Title 18 of the Municipal Code. Solar installations must comply with the adopted…

Texas Property Code Section 202.010 strongly protects a homeowner's right to install solar energy devices. HOAs in El Paso cannot prohibit solar panels but may impose reasonable…

El Paso lets people bring metal portable barbecue grills into city parks for picnic-area cooking, but City Code Section 13.24.150 requires an attendant at least eighteen years old, a…

El Paso requires owners of vacant lots to maintain their property free of weeds, rubbish, and debris. Title 9 of the Municipal Code and Code Enforcement regulations require that grass…

El Paso actively enforces property blight and nuisance abatement through Code Enforcement under Title 9 of the Municipal Code. Properties with accumulated junk, debris, abandoned…

El Paso limits residential garage and yard sales to a maximum of three per calendar year on the same lot. Each sale may not exceed two consecutive days. These limits are part of the…

El Paso does not have a specific ordinance banning or restricting bamboo planting. However, the city's landscaping code (EPMC Chapter 18.46) prohibits noxious or invasive species…

Texas is a one-party consent state for recording conversations. Under Texas Penal Code §16.02, only one party to a conversation must consent to recording. This applies to both…

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…

Texas Local Government Code Chapter 212 and Agriculture Code Chapter 251 limit municipal authority to zone or regulate land qualified for agricultural use appraisal. Counties have no…

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…

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 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…