Northlake Council Approves Ordinance and Fee in Response to Recent ETJ Legislation
The Town of Northlake on Sept. 14 approved an ordinance and fee related to the process of releasing petitioners from its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). The ordinance is in response to Senate Bill 2038, passed during the 88th Texas Legislature, which became effective on Sept. 1.
The legislation changed laws related to property located in a city’s ETJ. An owner of land can file a petition with the city to have the property released from that ETJ. The law prescribes the petition process for both landowners and municipalities.
Northlake’s ordinance details the process for the petition and includes the requirement of an accompanying fee of $1,000. Northlake claims that the fee is to recover the municipality’s cost related to verifying the property owner and the revision of the city’s maps.
The Dallas Builders Association relayed our opposition to the fee to the town council. In a letter to council members, Dallas BA also urged that assurance be provided that any fee that may result from the ordinance was not calculated to include costs related to the petition election process as that is not allowed by the state statute. The Association’s letter pointed out that such a fee must also be based on the cost of service and cannot generate revenue.
Dallas BA will continue to monitor this issue in Northlake and throughout the Association’s service area.