Certain municipalities may treat qualifying municipal real property as surplus of negligible or negative value and donate it to an adjacent private owner, but they must first make written findings and conclusions.
Sec. 253.013. DONATION OF REAL PROPERTY OF NEGLIGIBLE OR NEGATIVE VALUE TO CERTAIN PRIVATE PERSONS. (a) This section applies only to: (1) a municipality with a population greater than 150,000 and less than 200,000 that is located in three counties; and (2) a municipality with a population greater than 78,000 and less than 88,000 that is located in a county in which part but not all of a military installation is located. (b) The governing body of a municipality to which this section applies may determine that real property located inside the boundaries of the municipality and owned by the municipality is surplus real property of negligible or negative value if: (1) the property is not improved, including by having a structure on it or by being paved; (2) ownership of the property does not provide any identifiable positive benefit to the municipality in relation to the municipality's current needs; (3) ownership of the property is not likely to provide any identifiable positive benefit to the municipality in relation to the municipality's future needs; and (4) the cost of maintaining the property is a substantial burden to the municipality. (c) The governing body of a municipality that makes a determination under Subsection (b) shall adopt written findings and conclusions regarding the determination made. (d) The governing body of a municipality that makes a determination under Subsection (b) that certain real property is surplus real property of negligible or negative value may donate that property to a private person who owns property adjacent to the surplus real property of negligible or negative value. (e) Section 272.001 does not apply to a conveyance of property authorized by this section. Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 816 (H.B. 2584), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2011. Amended by: Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 303 (H.B. 1427), Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 2013. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 644 (H.B. 4559), Sec. 154, eff. September 1, 2023.