A county must hold a public hearing and try to notify owners and lienholders before deciding a platted lot is abandoned, unoccupied, and undeveloped.
Sec. 232.153. PUBLIC HEARING. (a) Before a county may make an administrative determination that a platted lot is abandoned, unoccupied, and undeveloped, the county must: (1) hold a public hearing on the matter; and (2) make reasonable efforts to notify each owner and lienholder of the lot of the time and place of the hearing as provided by Section 232.154. (b) The hearing may be held by the commissioners court of the county or an appropriate county commission or board appointed by the commissioners court. The Texas Rules of Evidence do not apply to a hearing conducted under this section. (c) At the hearing, an owner or lienholder may provide testimony and present evidence to refute any of the five required elements for a determination under Section 232.152. It is an affirmative defense to a determination under Section 232.152 that a lot's ad valorem taxes have been paid in full for each year that the taxing authority issued a tax invoice. (d) The county may conduct a single hearing for multiple lots and make a determination that multiple lots are abandoned, unoccupied, and undeveloped based on the same evidence. (e) Not later than the 14th day after the date of the hearing, if a lot is determined to be abandoned, unoccupied, and undeveloped, the county shall issue an order of its determination. (f) Not later than the 14th day after the date of the order, the county shall: (1) post notice of the order at the county courthouse; and (2) publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the lot is located a notice of the determination containing: (A) a description of the lot; (B) the date of the hearing; (C) a brief statement of the results of the order; (D) instructions stating where a complete copy of the order may be obtained; and (E) notice that the order is appealable to a district court in the county within 60 calendar days of the order. (g) In lieu of the notice required by Subsection (f), the county may: (1) post the information required by Subsection (f)(2) on the county's Internet website; and (2) publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the lot is located stating that: (A) the commissioners court has adopted an order under this subchapter; and (B) the information required by Subsection (f)(2) may be found on the county's Internet website. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1010 (H.B. 1564), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2021.