CHAPTER 331. MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE AND MAINTAIN PARKS, MUSEUMS, AND HISTORIC SITES
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 10. PARKS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
SUBTITLE C. PARKS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
PROVISIONS APPLYING TO MORE THAN ONE TYPE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER 331. MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE AND
MAINTAIN PARKS, MUSEUMS, AND HISTORIC SITES
Sec. 331.001. GENERAL AUTHORITY. (a) A municipality or county
may improve land for park purposes and may operate and maintain
parks. The authority to improve the land includes the authority
to construct buildings, lay out and pave driveways and walks,
construct ditches or lakes, and set out trees and shrubs.
(b) A municipality or county may by gift, devise, purchase, or
eminent domain proceeding acquire:
(1) land and buildings to be used for public parks, playgrounds,
or historical museums; or
(2) land on which are located:
(A) historic buildings, sites, or landmarks of statewide
historical significance associated with historic events or
personalities;
(B) prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, or archaeological or
vertebrate paleontological sites; or
(C) sites including fossilized footprints, inscriptions made by
human agency, or any other archaeological, paleontological, or
historic buildings, markers, monuments, or historical features.
(c) Land acquired by a municipality under Subsection (b) may be
situated inside or outside the municipality but must be within
the county in which the municipality is situated, and land
acquired by a county under Subsection (b) must be within the
limits of the county. The land may be acquired in any size tract
considered suitable by the governing body of the municipality or
county.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, Sec. 87(s), eff. Aug. 28,
1989.
Sec. 331.002. ACQUISITION OF HISTORIC OBJECTS. A municipality
or county may acquire by gift or purchase, individually or in a
collection, any historic book, painting, sculpture, coin, or
other object or collection of historical significance to the
municipality or county.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 331.003. EMINENT DOMAIN. A municipality or county may
exercise eminent domain under Section 331.001(b) for the
acquisition of a historic site, building, or structure only on a
showing that it is necessary to prevent the destruction or
deterioration of the site, building, or structure.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 331.004. BONDS AND TAXES. (a) A municipality or county
may issue negotiable bonds for the purpose of acquiring or
improving land, buildings, or historically significant objects
for park purposes or for historic or prehistoric preservation
purposes, and may assess, levy, and collect ad valorem taxes to
pay the principal of and interest on those bonds and to provide a
sinking fund.
(b) The issuance of the bonds and the levy of the taxes shall be
in accordance with Subtitles A and C, Title 9, Government Code.
(c) There is no limit on the amount of taxes that may be levied
for the operation and maintenance expenses of parks or for the
payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds except for
the limits provided by the Texas Constitution.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, Sec. 8.324, eff. Sept.
1, 2001.
Sec. 331.005. MANAGEMENT OF FACILITIES. (a) Parks acquired
under this chapter are under the control and management of the
municipality or county acquiring the park. The commissioners
court or the governing body of the municipality may by agreement
with the Parks and Wildlife Department turn the land over to the
department to be operated as a public park. The expenses of the
improvement and operation of the park shall be paid by the
municipality or county according to the agreement with the
department.
(b) A historic or prehistoric site, historical museum, or
historically significant object acquired under this chapter is
under the control and management of the municipality or county
that acquired it.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 331.006. CONCESSIONS. (a) The management of any park,
historical museum, or historic or prehistoric site acquired under
this chapter may sell or lease concessions or privileges for the
establishment of amusements, stores, gasoline stations, and other
concerns consistent with the operation of a public park and the
preservation of noteworthy features of a historic or prehistoric
site or historical museum.
(b) The proceeds of the sales and leases may be used only for
the improvement and operation of the park, museum, or site.
However, the proceeds of the sales or leases in connection with a
municipal park may also be used for the support, maintenance, and
upkeep of other municipal parks.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 331.007. PUBLIC USE. A park, a playground, a historical
museum and its contents, or a historic or prehistoric site
acquired and maintained under this chapter shall be open for the
use of the public under rules prescribed by the governing body of
the park, playground, museum, or site.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 331.008. MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY COOPERATION. (a) A
municipality and a county may act in cooperation with each other
in the exercise of authority under this chapter. A park,
playground, museum, or site acquired jointly by a municipality
and county acting in cooperation is under joint management and
control.
(b) If a municipality owns land outside its limits that is
devoted to use as a playground or park and is adjacent to land
that is owned by the county in which the municipality is situated
and that is devoted to use as a public park, the municipality or
county may purchase the adjacent land from the other on terms
agreed to by each. The purchased land must be used in connection
with the adjacent lands and devoted to use as a playground or
park. The consideration for the purchase must be sufficient to
provide for the payment of any outstanding bonded indebtedness
incurred by the seller in acquiring the land. All sums credited
to the sinking fund for the indebtedness shall be subtracted from
the face value of the unpaid bonds in determining the outstanding
indebtedness.
(c) A municipality and the county in which the municipality is
located that separately own adjacent land that is outside the
municipal limits and is dedicated to use as a park or playground
may by lease or other arrangement provide for the single
management and control of the land. The agreement may be for any
period and on any terms agreed to by the municipality and county.
The agreement must vest exclusive management and control of the
entirety of the lands for the benefit of the public as a
recreational park or playground in the governing body of the
municipality or the commissioners court of the county. Such an
agreement does not affect the power of either the municipality or
the county to contribute funds to the maintenance and improvement
of the park or playground or the facilities of the park or
playground.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 331.009. ROAD CLOSINGS. A roadway on land acquired by a
municipality for park purposes outside the municipal limits, or a
roadway that abuts on both sides land that the municipality or
county may dedicate to the management and control of the other
under Section 331.008, may be closed by order of the
commissioners court of the county in which the roadway is
located. All rights that the state may have in the roadway as a
result of a previous dedication are canceled and surrendered to
the county or municipality, as appropriate.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 331.010. COOPERATION OF STATE AGENCIES. (a) The Parks and
Wildlife Department may cooperate with a municipality or county
in the acquisition and establishment of parks and playgrounds,
and may adopt rules for the acquisition, establishment, and
operation of the parks and playgrounds with the municipality or
county as the department and the municipality or county consider
advisable.
(b) The governor and the Texas Board of Criminal Justice may
permit the use of state inmates and defendants confined in state
jail felony facilities for the improvement and maintenance of
parks acquired under this chapter under agreements made by the
Parks and Wildlife Department and the municipality or county.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
87, Sec. 25.130, eff. September 1, 2009.