Texas Transportation Code 316.002 – Permitted Improvements or Facilities On Municipal Street
(a) The governing body of a municipality may permit a person described by Subsection (b) to use property in the municipality on which a municipal street is located for the establishment or maintenance of:
(1) trees or decorative landscaping, including landscaping lighting, watering systems, or other accessories for the maintenance of the trees or landscaping;
(2) a sidewalk cafe that is:
(A) contiguous to a restaurant in which food preparation, sanitation, and related services for the cafe are performed; and
(B) open to the air, except for any canopy, and not enclosed by fixed walls;
(3) an ornamental gate, column, or other ornamental work denoting the entrance to a neighborhood or platted and recorded subdivision;
(4) a supportive or decorative column, arch, or other structural or decorative feature of a building that is:
(A) of historical value or of unusual architectural design, character, or significance; and
(B) 50 or more years old at the time of application for a permit for the establishment or maintenance of the feature; or
(5) an amenity for the convenience of the public in the use of the municipal streets for pedestrian or vehicular travel, including a transit bus shelter, drinking fountain, or bench.
(b) The governing body may grant permission under Subsection (a) only to:
(1) a person who owns the underlying fee title to the real property; or
(2) an entity that holds a lease of the property from or has written permission to use the property from a person who owns the underlying fee title to the real property.
Terms Used In Texas Transportation Code 316.002
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) An ornamental work described by Subsection (a)(3) may display the name of the neighborhood or subdivision, but may not contain commercial advertising or other signs.