This section requires a municipality, when requested by a school district or open-enrollment charter school, to negotiate and enter an agreement covering review fees, review periods, land development standards, and alternative water pollution controls, and it sets an arbitration process if no agreement is reached within 120 days.
Sec. 212.902. SCHOOL DISTRICT AND OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOL LAND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. (a) This section applies to an agreement between a school district or open-enrollment charter school and a municipality which has annexed territory for limited purposes. (b) On request by a school district or open-enrollment charter school, a municipality shall enter an agreement with the board of trustees of the school district or the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school to establish review fees, review periods, and land development standards ordinances and to provide alternative water pollution control methodologies for school buildings constructed by the school district or open-enrollment charter school. The agreement shall include a provision exempting the district or charter school from all land development ordinances in cases where the district or charter school is adding temporary classroom buildings on an existing school campus. (c) If the municipality and the school district or open-enrollment charter school do not reach an agreement on or before the 120th day after the date on which the municipality receives the district's or charter school's request for an agreement, proposed agreements by the district or charter school and the municipality shall be submitted to an independent arbitrator appointed by the presiding district judge whose jurisdiction includes the district or charter school. The arbitrator shall, after a hearing at which both the district or charter school and the municipality make presentations on their proposed agreements, prepare an agreement resolving any differences between the proposals. The agreement prepared by the arbitrator will be final and binding upon both the district or charter school and the municipality. The cost of the arbitration proceeding shall be borne equally by the district or charter school and the municipality. (d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school that requests an agreement under this section, at the time the district or charter school makes the request, shall send a copy of the request to the commissioner of education. At the end of the 120-day period, the requesting district or charter school shall report to the commissioner the status or result of negotiations with the municipality. A municipality may send a separate status report to the commissioner. The district or charter school shall send to the commissioner a copy of each agreement between the district or charter school and a municipality under this section. (e) An agreement between a municipality and an open-enrollment charter school under Subsection (b) may require that: (1) any revised land development standards may apply only while the property is used for purposes of the charter school; and (2) any property in use subject to land development standards established only for an open-enrollment charter school must be brought into compliance with all development regulations applicable to non-school related commercial developments by the property owner after closure or relocation of the charter school. (f) In this section: (1) "Land development standards" includes impervious cover limitations, building setbacks, floor to area ratios, building heights and coverage, water quality controls, landscaping, development setbacks, compatibility standards, traffic analyses, including traffic impact analyses, parking requirements, signage requirements, and driveway cuts, if applicable. (2) "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school granted a charter under Subchapter C, D, or E, Chapter 12, Education Code. (g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the applicability of or waive fees for fire, safety, health, or building code ordinances of the municipality prior to or during construction of school buildings, nor shall any agreement waive any fee or modify any ordinance of a municipality for an administration, service, or athletic facility proposed for construction by a school district or open-enrollment charter school. Added by Acts 1990, 71st Leg., 6th C.S., ch. 1, Sec. 3.18, eff. Sept. 1, 1990. Amended by: Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 699 (H.B. 1707), Sec. 2, eff. June 12, 2023.