Lago Vista council receives legal briefing on new Texas laws; asks staff to vet ordinances

City Attorney Bullock briefed the Lago Vista City Council on a package of recently enacted Texas laws and recommended staff and the city attorney's office review local ordinances for compliance.

At a July meeting, Bullock outlined about 10 bills that are effective immediately or soon, including House Bill 2464, which defines a "no-impact" home-based business as one in which the owner-occupant does not create on-street parking, excess traffic, visible commercial activity from the street, or substantial noise. "If a home-based business meets the criteria that is considered a non-impact or no-impact home based business, cities are prohibited from requiring permits," Bullock said, adding that cities retain authority to enforce building, fire, health and sanitation codes.

Bullock also flagged a provision added late in session addressing short-term rentals and warned it creates ambiguity with HB 2464. "It's not clear the scope of a city's authority to regulate under that scenario where you have the owner who lives in the house and they rent out a room," Bullock said, advising the council that short-term-rental regulation is an evolving area of litigation and offering to provide sample ordinances his office believes would withstand judicial review.

The attorney reviewed other items that may affect city policy, including a severance-pay cap and posting requirement (House Bill 762), which limits severance to the equivalent of 20 weeks' salary for contracts entered or amended on or after Sept. 1 and requires severance agreements be posted prominently on a city website. Bullock also summarized bills on electronic notice for zoning, annexation nuances, municipal limits on childcare rules, and changes to municipal authority over metal recycling and certificate-of-occupancy replacement.

Councilmembers asked how the list should be handled administratively. Some asked staff to forward items to Planning & Zoning; others recommended creating a council discussion-board thread to prioritize which bills staff should research. "The starting point is these 10 items coupled with what you brought to council," one councilmember said, urging staff and legal to return with suggested ordinance amendments or personnel-policy updates where required.

Bullock said some items will require only policy or website changes, while others will likely need ordinance amendments. He recommended that staff identify ordinances that need amendment and return to council with drafts or suggested changes.

Next steps: Council directed staff to analyze which local ordinances and policies need revision, asked for sample ordinances for short-term-rental regulation, and agreed to use a discussion-board thread to collect council requests for follow-up. The city attorney will return with recommended language and an assessment of items that require formal ordinance changes or administrative updates.