Council Approves Ordinance on the Regulation of Building Materials

Texas House Bill 2439, effective on September 1, 2019, preempts municipal regulation of building materials. The Town can no longer require property owners and developers to meet the masonry requirements established by the Town's zoning regulations. This will be impactful aesthetically to Addison as most of the Town's zoning districts require a significant amount of masonry materials on building elevations. The Town will now be required to permit any material that is allowed by a national model code. These codes are written based on safety, not aesthetic considerations, and allow most building materials.

At the September 10 meeting, Council approved an ordinance that does not repeal the Town's requirements related to building materials, but instructs staff to limit enforcement of these requirements in compliance with the new State law. This was done so that if the Legislature allows cities to resume regulating building materials in the future, the regulations will still be still in place and the Town will not have to go through a process to readopt them. 

The ordinance also allows the Town to regulate building materials based on the exceptions allowed by HB 2439. These exceptions are listed individually in the ordinance and generally relate to compliance with State and Federal programs or the regulation of building materials in areas of historical, cultural or architectural importance. Addison currently only has one building that would be eligible for such exceptions. The law requires that any newly designated areas can only be established with the property owner's consent.

Lastly, the ordinance establishes an appeals process through the Board of Zoning Adjustment in accordance with the provisions of HB 2439.
You can watch the Council's discussion on HB 2439 here.