Crossing the line

Star-Telegram

Texas cities long have had the right to annex territory to expand their tax base and help ensure orderly growth and development.

Preservation of that right is vital to cities and in the best interests of Texas as a whole.

But ill-conceived bills filed in the state House of Representatives would negatively affect municipalities' ability to annex areas and retain them within their city limits.

State Rep. Anna Mowery, R-Fort Worth, is the primary author of House Bill 323, a remarkably shortsighted piece of legislation that should meet a hasty death. As of Friday, it was pending in the House Land and Resource Management Committee that Mowery chairs.

Under the bill, a municipality could annex an area only after a citywide election in which a majority of voters approved the annexation.

In addition, a majority of voters in the area to be annexed would have to approve annexation in an election, or a majority of those registered to vote in the area would have to petition to be brought into the city.

House Bill 1728, filed by state Rep. David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio, would make it easier for an area to disannex from a city.

Under Leibowitz's bill, an area potentially could be disannexed as a result of a very small percentage of residents of the area signing a petition. In some circumstances, the percentage could be less than 5 percent of residents.

A state law passed in 1999 already has put considerably greater restrictions on cities' annexation powers and increased protections afforded to property owners in areas subject to annexation. Adding more constraints could contribute to shoddy development, environmental problems and lower property values in outlying areas.

Mowery's bill could bar needed annexations. That could negatively affect Fort Worth and other North Texas cities that are steadily annexing territory as a result of rapid population growth and the need to ensure that roads, water and sewage treatment systems, fire protection and other services are adequate.

Holding a citywide election in Fort Worth costs at least $250,000. The city has annexed dozens of areas in recent years and expects to annex more in coming years.

If Mowery's bill were to pass, millions of taxpayers' dollars might needlessly be spent on a series of annexation elections. That money instead could be used to repair streets, buy park equipment or hire more police officers.

City Council members, the elected representatives of taxpayers, should continue to determine what areas should be annexed.

Fort Worth has 317.8 square miles of land in its city limits and an almost identical amount, 318.7 square miles, in its extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, that it has the right to fully annex in the future.

Most annexations by Fort Worth and many other Texas cities are voluntary: Developers and residents want to be brought into the city so they can benefit from services and facilities overseen by professionals in municipal government.

Many substandard developments have been built in unincorporated areas outside cities. An extreme example would be poverty-plagued colonias in South Texas, where Third World living conditions resulted from a horrendous lack of effective development regulations.

But if a city annexes outlying areas before large-scale, high-density development occurs, it can put in place quality water, sewer and fire protection systems with adequate capacity to meet the future demands of a mushrooming population.

Through zoning regulations, building standards, code enforcement and professional planning, cities can help ensure quality development that can be sued over time.

Texas cities need their powers of annexation perhaps more than ever today, as development, transportation and environmental issues become increasingly complex amid enormous urban population growth.

The Legislature would be foolish to further restrict cities' annexation powers and thereby handcuff their efforts to promote quality, sustainable development.