Comprehensive Plan
A Texas municipality's long-range land use plan, adopted under the Local Government Code to guide zoning and development.
A comprehensive plan is a Texas municipality's long-range blueprint for growth and land use. A home-rule or general-law city may adopt a comprehensive plan, and the Local Government Code authorizes the city to define the plan's relationship to its zoning regulations. Texas zoning is enacted under the city's zoning authority and must follow a comprehensive plan adopted for that purpose.
Texas is a strong private-property-rights state, and many areas, including unincorporated county land and the City of Houston, have little or no traditional zoning. Where a city does zone, it does so under the Local Government Code rather than a statewide consistency mandate.
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- Variance
Permission to deviate from a specific zoning requirement because strict compliance would cause an unnecessary hardship.
- Nonconforming Use
A land use that was lawful before a zoning change and is allowed to continue, though generally not to expand; also called grandfathered.
- Police Power
The government's authority to regulate property to protect public health, safety, and welfare, without paying compensation.
This definition is Texas real estate exam-prep education, not legal, tax, or professional advice. Verify current rules against the official source before relying on them for a real transaction. Back to the full glossary.