Texas counties have limited power to stop construction in flood-prone zones

After the recent devastating floods in Texas hill country, a Grist report points out that Texas counties are quite limited in their ability to prevent construction in even the most flood-prone areas.

Cities have great authority to decide what is built within their limits, counties do not have the ability to implement comprehensive zoning rules that could limit homes and structures from being built close to the water’s edge. The camps along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, where the disaster’s wreckage was concentrated, were far outside city limits and the authority of the Kerrville City Council.

There are some options that counties can use to  influence construction on flood plains. Local jurisdictions must enact minimum building standards set by the federal government for property owners in flood-prone areas to tap federal flood insurance. Counties can also use some federal funds to relocate residents from flood zones.

How strictly local officials regulate development in flood plains comes down to political will, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Architecture told Grist. Decisions on what can be built on flood plains are largely left to local officials, though, and many are reluctant to limit what property owners do with their land.