20-Aug-2026
by victor@cixxfive.com
Terrence S. Welch
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.
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24-Jun-2025
by victor@cixxfive.com
Terrence S. Welch
Partner
As usual, when considering hot topics in Texas land use law, there are a few topics we cannot seem to avoid—short-term rentals, for example —as well as some new ones. The topic of neighborhood displacement has become a hot topic in Dallas (and in other large cities around the country), with a group named Builders of Hope tackling the issue in coordination with the City of Dallas. Will it work? On a similar note, last year we discussed the concept of “gentle density” and the negative reaction that it received in Dallas.
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09-Oct-2023
by victor@cixxfive.com
Terrence S. Welch
The history of municipal regulation of short-term rentals is well known. The current case law and a brief review of recent proposed legislation is addressed in this paper; however, this review goes further. I assume, rightly or wrongly, that both the state courts and the Texas Legislature will not be sympathetic to a high degree of municipal regulation, and in fact may only leave municipalities the option of enforcing traditional nuisance ordinances (loud noise, trash on public property, public intoxication, etc.) when property is offered for short-term rental. With that premise, the purpose of this paper is to consider an alternative that may be available to private property owners to address STRs in the event municipalities are stripped of most of their regulatory authority. While this proposal is not ideal, in areas where STRs are not welcome, this may provide private property owners with some recourse—assuming their neighbors agree with them!
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21-Apr-2023
by victor@cixxfive.com
Terrence S. Welch
Both the curse and beauty of practicing local government law in Texas is that local governments often find themselves on the cutting edge of innovation, whether for good or for bad. This is particularly true in addressing land use matters. Ten or fifteen years ago, most cities did not anticipate that single-family homeowners would offer for rent to strangers a room or a portion of their homes for weekends, or that those same homeowners would ever consider renting their backyard pools or their gourmet kitchens and dining rooms to strangers on an hourly basis.
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20-Apr-2023
by victor@cixxfive.com
Robert F. Brown
As will be explored in this paper, there are uses of the government’s police powers that take,damage or destroy property that are not compensable under the doctrine of eminent domain. Such uses may be compensable under tort law or other legal theories, but not as an exercise of the power of eminent domain.
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03-Nov-2022
by victor@cixxfive.com
Robert F. Brown
As an attorney who represents condemning authorities, primarily municipalities, I have observed over the years numerous issues that arose during condemnation proceedings that, in hindsight and with slightly better planning, could have been avoided, or at least the resulting negative impacts of same minimized.
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21-Apr-2022
by victor@cixxfive.com
Terrence S. Welch
Even if you are “that close,” or “living with all my sisters and me,” or are “giving love in a family dose,” does your local zoning ordinance consider you a “family” nonetheless? Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, the answer may be a resounding “no.”
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21-Apr-2021
by victor@cixxfive.com
Terrence S. Welch
Robert F. Brown
In June, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 6-3 decision in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, 141 S. Ct. 2063 (2021), wherein it held that a California law that provided union organizers limited access to agricultural worksites was a per se taking based upon the proposition that any governmental grant of physical access, no matter how time-limited or functionally constrained, constitutes a per se taking unless one of the Court’s articulated exceptions applies.
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06-Apr-2017
by victor@cixxfive.com
By Terry S. Welch
Municipal Law Theories
“Sharing economy” is an umbrella term with a wide range of meanings, often used to describe economic and social activity involving online transactions. As the Federal Government writes, a variety of new business models have emerged in the past few years and are dramatically reshaping how services and products are provided in an expanding number of sectors. Fundamentally, sharing economy platforms use internet, smartphone and software technologies to create marketplaces that facilitate transactions between numerous peers—decentralized buyers and sellers who are frequently individuals or small entities.
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23-Apr-2020
by victor@cixxfive.com
By Terry S. Welch
Municipal Law Theories
Local governments are often an incubator for novel land use practices— sometimes not because local governments themselves are necessarily innovative, but because local governments must respond to proposed innovative land uses. For example, most local governments did not adopt short-term rental ordinances in advance of the Airbnb or VRBO phenomenon; rather, short-term rental ordinances usually were adopted in response to the burgeoning short-term rental business already occurring in the community.
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16-Apr-2021
by victor@cixxfive.com
By Terry S. Welch
Municipal Law Theories
In day-to-day municipal land use practice, attorneys and planning staff often are required to address and evaluate whether a city’s land use regulations apply to other governmental entities. While we generally assume municipal zoning powers do not apply to the United States, state or county governments, and there is limited authority relative to public schools, is that actually correct?
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23-Mar-2018
by victor@cixxfive.com
By Terry S. Welch
Municipal Law Theories
As attorneys, we often encounter hot land use issues at local levels of government. While those issues may include the zoning application du jour or some other topic that results in droves of constituents descending on city council hambers or a county commissioners court meeting, there are a few issues out there that recently have become the subject of intense public debate.
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25-Apr-2019
by victor@cixxfive.com
By Terry S. Welch
Municipal Law Theories
As attorneys who regularly confront land use issues, we often encounter certain areas where local governmental regulatory authority is either completely or significantly circumscribed by state or federal statutory authority. As a result, local governments are not free to undertake regulation without facing the potential that they may have just acted contrary to state or federal law.
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