WACO, Texas (KXXV) — A Texas law taking effect September 1 changes how property owners can protest zoning changes, potentially bringing more development to communities across the state.

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Texas House Bill 24 will make it harder to block residential property development

House Bill 24 streamlines the zoning process and reduces barriers to development by limiting when or how zoning protests can delay new projects.

Cameron Gomez, a local realtor who has served on Bellmead’s Board of Adjustments for nearly three years, believes the new law will benefit the community.

“It kind of talks about zoning, like if somebody wants to come in and change the zoning of their property or they want, like a variance,” Gomez said.

Under current law, a small group of landowners can block development plans through what some call a “tyrant’s veto.” The new legislation targets protests against property owners who want to develop their own land and makes it harder to block city efforts to relax restrictive zoning rules.

When asked about community opposition to development, Gomez acknowledged it happens regularly.

“Definitely, I mean I’ve seen it from time to time, you know. Not everybody likes change, unfortunately, but with change, you know you kind of adapt to it, and it’s things that are gonna ultimately make the city better and make it more profitable,” Gomez said.

Real estate expert Eric Bramlett says House Bill 24 could help address the national housing shortage.

“One of the obstacles we run into is, uh, you know, it, it’s zoning, right? How do you get, how do you get more built, more easily?” Bramlett said.

The new law will shift the balance of power in development decisions, according to Bramlett.

“So right now, a very small minority can affect the majority to a large degree and they can impede, you know, additional development, and what this bill will do is give more people a voice in the process, and more than likely, it will mean more building, it’ll mean easier construction,” Bramlett said.

The measure still allows protests if at least 20% of the area directly affected or 60% of the surrounding landowners within 200 feet file a protest. In those cases, the proposed zoning change must receive a supermajority vote from the city or governing body.

The City of Waco has already voted to amend its zoning ordinance to comply with the state law, which goes into effect on September 1.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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