2026 HOT TOPICS IN TEXAS LAND USE LAW
20-Aug-2026
The beauty of “Hot Topics in Texas Land Use Law” is that the topics generally change—but not always—from year to year. For 2026, I have selected four controversial land use issues for review: municipal regulation of and zoning for data centers; the East Plano Islamic Center’s development of a reputedly Islamic subdivision in Collin County and Hunt County; a brief overview of Austin’s foray into (or at least studying) Green Social Housing Policy and how it might work in Austin; and a short review of the response of several of Texas’ largest cities to Senate Bill 840, approved in the 2025 legislative session. A few stalwart land use topics, such as short-term rentals, 1 will not be addressed, much to my delight, since I have addressed STRs virtually every year as a hot topic since at least 2020. Now, let’s go forward with the 2026 edition of Hot Topics in Texas Land Use Law.