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 general zoning authority, and cities face restrictions on annexing or imposing land use rules on established farms.
Texas counties generally lack zoning authority outside narrow statutory grants such as floodplain or subdivision regulation under Local Government Code Chapter 232. Municipal zoning under Local Government Code Chapter 211 is limited near agricultural land. Agriculture Code 251.006 and SB 1421 (2023) restrict cities from enforcing ordinances that effectively prohibit generally accepted agricultural practices on protected farms. Land qualified under Tax Code 23.51 for agricultural appraisal receives additional protections. HB 347 (2019) repealed unilateral annexation in many areas, requiring landowner consent or election before bringing rural ag land into city limits and zoning jurisdiction.
Municipal ordinances violating Chapter 251 protections are subject to declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, with attorney fees awarded to prevailing agricultural operators.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Richmond, TX
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Richmond, TX
Richmond requires durable fence materials and bans scrap lumber, plywood, sheet metal, plastic, fiberglass, barbed wire, welded wire, agricultural fencing, a...
Richmond, TX
Richmond requires the finished side of any fence to face outward toward neighbors and the right-of-way, and forbids placing a fence outside surveyed lot line...
Richmond, TX
Richmond requires a fence permit for new construction, replacement with different materials, height changes, reconfiguration, driveway gates, and any fence e...
Richmond, TX
Richmond limits residential fences to 42 inches in front yards and six feet in side and rear yards, with narrow exceptions for steel tubular and wrought iron...
Richmond, TX
Richmond, as an incorporated city in Fort Bend County, bars outdoor burning of brush, debris, and trash inside the city limits regardless of state burn-ban s...
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