Sands Against Texas Cities

The fight in Irving over a proposed zoning for the world's largest casino impacts -- and is impacted by -- a fight in the Texas legislature this session.

See below for more information.

Can't Neighboring Land Owners Object To A Zoning Change?

Yes. Currently in Texas law, if 20% of property owners to protest a rezoning adjacent to their land, it then requires a three-fourths supermajority vote of a city council (7 out of 9 votes) to approve the change. Before City Council voted on the zoning change, the University of Dallas (UD) released a letter objecting to it. However, Irving's city management had crafted the rezoning in such a way that UD was technically not adjacent to the section of PUD 6 that was going to have gambling.

Is Sands Trying To Get This Requirement Changed Too?

Yes. the same day that Irving residents spoke at the Planning and Zoning public comment meeting, a bill was filed in the Texas House of Representatives (HB 24) to change the trigger for the supermajority requirement to 60% of the neighbors objecting. As the threshold of 60% opposition is very difficult to meet, the bill essentially removes any influence from neighboring properties on the vote of a zoning change for increased residential density. Opposition in Irving typically has not exceeded 30% opposition, so a threshold of 60% would effectively nullify the supermajority vote requirement, with a simple majority vote of five votes in favor required for approval. Many of the authors and co-authors of HB 24 have received campaign contributions from the Texas Sands PAC.