2009 Texas Code
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 10. PARKS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
CHAPTER 331. MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE AND MAINTAIN PARKS, MUSEUMS, AND HISTORIC SITES  

LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE

TITLE 10. PARKS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES

SUBTITLE C. PARKS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES

PROVISIONS APPLYING TO MORE THAN ONE TYPE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER 331. MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE AND

MAINTAIN PARKS, MUSEUMS, AND HISTORIC SITES

Sec. 331.001. GENERAL AUTHORITY. (a) A municipality or county

may improve land for park purposes and may operate and maintain

parks. The authority to improve the land includes the authority

to construct buildings, lay out and pave driveways and walks,

construct ditches or lakes, and set out trees and shrubs.

(b) A municipality or county may by gift, devise, purchase, or

eminent domain proceeding acquire:

(1) land and buildings to be used for public parks, playgrounds,

or historical museums; or

(2) land on which are located:

(A) historic buildings, sites, or landmarks of statewide

historical significance associated with historic events or

personalities;

(B) prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, or archaeological or

vertebrate paleontological sites; or

(C) sites including fossilized footprints, inscriptions made by

human agency, or any other archaeological, paleontological, or

historic buildings, markers, monuments, or historical features.

(c) Land acquired by a municipality under Subsection (b) may be

situated inside or outside the municipality but must be within

the county in which the municipality is situated, and land

acquired by a county under Subsection (b) must be within the

limits of the county. The land may be acquired in any size tract

considered suitable by the governing body of the municipality or

county.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, Sec. 87(s), eff. Aug. 28,

1989.

Sec. 331.002. ACQUISITION OF HISTORIC OBJECTS. A municipality

or county may acquire by gift or purchase, individually or in a

collection, any historic book, painting, sculpture, coin, or

other object or collection of historical significance to the

municipality or county.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 331.003. EMINENT DOMAIN. A municipality or county may

exercise eminent domain under Section 331.001(b) for the

acquisition of a historic site, building, or structure only on a

showing that it is necessary to prevent the destruction or

deterioration of the site, building, or structure.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 331.004. BONDS AND TAXES. (a) A municipality or county

may issue negotiable bonds for the purpose of acquiring or

improving land, buildings, or historically significant objects

for park purposes or for historic or prehistoric preservation

purposes, and may assess, levy, and collect ad valorem taxes to

pay the principal of and interest on those bonds and to provide a

sinking fund.

(b) The issuance of the bonds and the levy of the taxes shall be

in accordance with Subtitles A and C, Title 9, Government Code.

(c) There is no limit on the amount of taxes that may be levied

for the operation and maintenance expenses of parks or for the

payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds except for

the limits provided by the Texas Constitution.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, Sec. 8.324, eff. Sept.

1, 2001.

Sec. 331.005. MANAGEMENT OF FACILITIES. (a) Parks acquired

under this chapter are under the control and management of the

municipality or county acquiring the park. The commissioners

court or the governing body of the municipality may by agreement

with the Parks and Wildlife Department turn the land over to the

department to be operated as a public park. The expenses of the

improvement and operation of the park shall be paid by the

municipality or county according to the agreement with the

department.

(b) A historic or prehistoric site, historical museum, or

historically significant object acquired under this chapter is

under the control and management of the municipality or county

that acquired it.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 331.006. CONCESSIONS. (a) The management of any park,

historical museum, or historic or prehistoric site acquired under

this chapter may sell or lease concessions or privileges for the

establishment of amusements, stores, gasoline stations, and other

concerns consistent with the operation of a public park and the

preservation of noteworthy features of a historic or prehistoric

site or historical museum.

(b) The proceeds of the sales and leases may be used only for

the improvement and operation of the park, museum, or site.

However, the proceeds of the sales or leases in connection with a

municipal park may also be used for the support, maintenance, and

upkeep of other municipal parks.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 331.007. PUBLIC USE. A park, a playground, a historical

museum and its contents, or a historic or prehistoric site

acquired and maintained under this chapter shall be open for the

use of the public under rules prescribed by the governing body of

the park, playground, museum, or site.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 331.008. MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY COOPERATION. (a) A

municipality and a county may act in cooperation with each other

in the exercise of authority under this chapter. A park,

playground, museum, or site acquired jointly by a municipality

and county acting in cooperation is under joint management and

control.

(b) If a municipality owns land outside its limits that is

devoted to use as a playground or park and is adjacent to land

that is owned by the county in which the municipality is situated

and that is devoted to use as a public park, the municipality or

county may purchase the adjacent land from the other on terms

agreed to by each. The purchased land must be used in connection

with the adjacent lands and devoted to use as a playground or

park. The consideration for the purchase must be sufficient to

provide for the payment of any outstanding bonded indebtedness

incurred by the seller in acquiring the land. All sums credited

to the sinking fund for the indebtedness shall be subtracted from

the face value of the unpaid bonds in determining the outstanding

indebtedness.

(c) A municipality and the county in which the municipality is

located that separately own adjacent land that is outside the

municipal limits and is dedicated to use as a park or playground

may by lease or other arrangement provide for the single

management and control of the land. The agreement may be for any

period and on any terms agreed to by the municipality and county.

The agreement must vest exclusive management and control of the

entirety of the lands for the benefit of the public as a

recreational park or playground in the governing body of the

municipality or the commissioners court of the county. Such an

agreement does not affect the power of either the municipality or

the county to contribute funds to the maintenance and improvement

of the park or playground or the facilities of the park or

playground.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 331.009. ROAD CLOSINGS. A roadway on land acquired by a

municipality for park purposes outside the municipal limits, or a

roadway that abuts on both sides land that the municipality or

county may dedicate to the management and control of the other

under Section 331.008, may be closed by order of the

commissioners court of the county in which the roadway is

located. All rights that the state may have in the roadway as a

result of a previous dedication are canceled and surrendered to

the county or municipality, as appropriate.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 331.010. COOPERATION OF STATE AGENCIES. (a) The Parks and

Wildlife Department may cooperate with a municipality or county

in the acquisition and establishment of parks and playgrounds,

and may adopt rules for the acquisition, establishment, and

operation of the parks and playgrounds with the municipality or

county as the department and the municipality or county consider

advisable.

(b) The governor and the Texas Board of Criminal Justice may

permit the use of state inmates and defendants confined in state

jail felony facilities for the improvement and maintenance of

parks acquired under this chapter under agreements made by the

Parks and Wildlife Department and the municipality or county.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

87, Sec. 25.130, eff. September 1, 2009.