Overview
Preemption classification
Tier C — Dual preemption
Pro-housing: SB 840 (commercial-to-residential in large/midsize cities), SB 2477 (office conversion), SB 2835 (single-stair), SB 15 (lot-size caps). Restricts locals: bans inclusionary zoning, oil & gas preemption, effective rent control preemption, HB 2127 (2023) 'Death Star' broad field preemption.
Governance
Home rule
Cities set their own zoning and can adopt newer building codes than the state requires.
Adopted building codes
Home rule; major cities on 2024 IBC
City-level IBC adoptions (22)
| City | IBC | Amendment notes |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | 2024 | |
| Houston | 2021 | |
| San Antonio | 2024 | |
| Jurisdiction | 2012 | |
| --- | 2012 | |
| Amarillo | 2021 | |
| Brownsville | 2018 | |
| Cedar Park | 2021 | |
| Corpus Christi | 2021 | |
| El Paso | 2021 | |
| Georgetown | 2021 | |
| Laredo | 2021 | |
| Lubbock | 2021 | |
| McAllen | 2024 | |
| Odessa | 2018 | |
| Pasadena | 2024 | |
| Pearland | 2021 | |
| Tyler | 2021 | |
| Jurisdiction | 2012 | |
| --- | 2012 | |
| Paris | 2012 | |
| The Woodlands | 2012 |
View building-code adoption for Texas →
4 of 5 codes adopted (IBC, IRC, IECC, NEC)
Profiled counties
Dallas County8 citiesCollin County4 citiesTarrant County4 citiesTravis County4 citiesWilliamson County3 citiesDenton County3 citiesHarris County2 citiesPotter County1 cityCameron County1 cityNueces County1 cityEl Paso County1 cityBell County1 cityWebb County1 cityGalveston County1 cityLubbock County1 cityHidalgo County1 cityMidland County1 cityComal County1 cityEctor County1 cityLamar County1 cityBrazoria County1 cityBexar County1 cityHays County1 cityFort Bend County1 cityMontgomery County1 citySmith County1 cityMcLennan County1 city
Cities
Showing 48 of 48
| City | Population | Code | Status | Issues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen | — | Allen Land Development Code · 26 districts | Pending · medium | status:shippedpriority:mediumscope:article-iv-onlyfollowup:fetch-article-v-floodplain |
| Amarillo | — | Amarillo Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4-10 (Zoning) · 18 districts | V2 ✓ | |
| Arlington | — | Unified Development Code (UDC), City of Arlington, Texas · 22 districts | V2 ✓ | data:gaps-present |
| Austin | — | Title 25 — Land Development Code (LDC), Chapter 25-2 Zoning · 40 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:volatiledata:gaps-present |
| Brownsville | — | Brownsville Code of Ordinances, Chapter 348 Zoning · 10 districts | V2 ✓ | data:gaps-present |
| Carrollton | — | City of Carrollton Code of Ordinances, Title XV Land Usage, Chapter 153 — Zoning Ordinance · 13 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:volatileblocker:municodedata:gaps-present |
| Cedar Hill | — | Cedar Hill Code of Ordinances, Chapter 23 (Zoning Ordinance) · 11 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:volatileblocker:municodedata:gaps-present |
| Cedar Park | — | Cedar Park Code of Ordinances, Chapter 11 (Zoning) · 20 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:volatiledata:gaps-presentdimensional-standards:unretrieved (ecode360 gated) |
| Corpus Christi | — | Unified Development Code (UDC) · 21 districts | V2 ✓ | data:gaps-present |
| Dallas | — | — | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:volatileblocker:amlegaldata:gaps-present |
| Denton | — | Denton Development Code (DDC), Ord. 21-1956, adopted 09/14/2021 · 12 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:volatiledata:gaps-present |
| El Paso | — | Title 20 — Zoning, City of El Paso Code of Ordinances (and Title 21 — SmartCode) · 43 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalblocker:municodedata:gaps-present |
| Flower Mound | — | Town of Flower Mound Code of Ordinances, Chapter 98 — Zoning · 13 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:stabledata:gaps-present |
| Fort Worth | — | Appendix A — Zoning Regulations, Fort Worth City Code · 34 districts | V2 ✓ | blocker:amlegal-cloudflarecohort:wayback-fallbackdata:partial-form-based-tables |
| Frisco | — | — | V2 ✓ | freshness:volatiledata:gaps-present |
| Garland | — | Garland Development Code (GDC) · 11 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalblocker:ecode360data:gaps-present |
| Georgetown | — | — | V2 ✓ | freshness:volatile |
| Grand Prairie | — | City of Grand Prairie Unified Development Code, Chapter 26 (Zoning Districts) · 16 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:volatileblocker:municodedata:gaps-present |
| Houston | — | No formal zoning. Chapter 42 — Subdivisions, Developments and Platting (Code of Ordinances, City of Houston) · 3 districts | V2 ✓ | data:gaps-present |
| Irving | — | City of Irving Land Development Code (Unified Development Code) — Chapter UDC-2 Zoning Districts, Uses, and Standards · 24 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalblocker:ecode360blocker:municodedata:gaps-present |
| Killeen | — | Code of Ordinances, Chapter 31 — Zoning · 20 districts | Pending · medium | status:solidpriority:mediumcohort:remaining-dimensional-blockedblocker:municode-spa-elaws-503-for-non-r1-sf2-districts |
| Laredo | — | Laredo Land Development Code (LDC), Ch. 24 + Subdivision Ordinance; ReCode Laredo Unified Development Code (Draft 6) pending 2026 Council consideration · 10 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:volatiledata:gaps-presentkpi:dimensional-standards-pending-municode-text-retrieval |
| League City | — | League City Unified Development Code (Chapter 125) · 17 districts | Pending · medium | status:shippedpriority:mediumcohort:phaseB-coastal-txdata:high-confidence-from-city-pdf |
| Lewisville | — | Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 29 / Code of Ordinances) · 16 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:volatiledata:gaps-present |
| Lubbock | — | Unified Development Code (UDC), City of Lubbock — Chapter 39 · 13 districts | Pending · medium | priority:mediumcohort:needs-dom-retrievalblocker:ecode360data:gaps-present |
| Manor | — | Manor Code of Ordinances, Chapter 14 Zoning · 22 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:standardretrieval:cloudflare-blocked-sections — Chapter 14 article-level details (overlay provisions §14.02.xxx, planned-unit-development §14.05.002, parking standards) not captured beyond the 2023 Zoning Guide summary; live Municode pages return Cloudflare 403data-currency:kmz-pre-recodification — published KMZ Zoning layer uses pre-2023 district codes (R-1/R-2/R-3/R-4/M-1/M-2/DB/GUI); old→new mapping documented in quirks but the published GIS data has not been republished against the post-2023 roster |
| Mansfield | — | Mansfield Code of Ordinances, Chapter 155 — Zoning · 13 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalblocker:municodedata:gaps-present |
| McAllen | — | McAllen Code of Ordinances, Chapter 130 Zoning · 14 districts | V2 ✓ | data:gaps-present |
| McKinney | — | — | Pending · medium | priority:mediumcohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:volatileblocker:municode |
| Mesquite | — | Mesquite Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 20 / Development Code — codified via Ordinances 3438, 3474, 5153, 5187 and amendments) · 10 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:volatiledata:gaps-present |
| Midland | — | City of Midland Code of Ordinances, Title XI Planning and Development, Chapter 1 — Zoning (with Chapter 11 — Airport Height Hazard and Compatible Land Use Zoning) · 29 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:current-code-superseded-legacy-district-rosterdata:airport-overlay-table1-needs-secretary-office |
| New Braunfels | — | New Braunfels Code of Ordinances — Chapter 144 (Zoning) · 14 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:volatiledata:partial-on-mu-and-co-districts |
| Odessa | — | City of Odessa Code of Ordinances — Chapter 14: Zoning · 31 districts | V2 ✓ | |
| Paris | — | — | V2 ✓ | |
| Pasadena | — | — | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalblocker:municodedata:gaps-present |
| Pearland | — | Pearland Unified Development Code, Chapter 2 (Zoning), Article 4 · 24 districts | V2 ✓ | data:gaps-present |
| Pflugerville | — | Pflugerville Unified Development Code (UDC) · 21 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:volatile |
| Plano | — | Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance No. 2015-5-2, City of Plano, Texas (as amended through September 1, 2025) · 31 districts | V2 ✓ | |
| Richardson | — | City of Richardson Code of Ordinances, Appendix A — Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of 1956 (as amended) · 26 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:stableblocker:municodedata:gaps-present |
| Round Rock | — | Round Rock Code of Ordinances, Part III — Zoning and Development Code, Chapter 2 (Zoning Districts and Use Regulations) · 27 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:volatileblocker:municodedata:gaps-present |
| San Antonio | — | Chapter 35 — Unified Development Code (UDC), City of San Antonio · 36 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:volatileblocker:municodedata:gaps-present |
| San Marcos | — | San Marcos Development Code — ORD-2025-01 · 6 districts | V2 ✓ | data:gaps-present |
| Southlake | — | Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance No. 480 · 14 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:stable |
| Sugar Land | — | Sugar Land Land Development Code, Chapter 2 — Zoning Regulations · 16 districts | V2 ✓ | cohort:partial-municode-spadata:partial |
| The Woodlands | — | No municipal zoning. The Woodlands is an unincorporated CDP governed by (a) recorded deed restrictions administered by Covenant Administration / the Woodlands Development Standards Committee (WDSC), (b) The Woodlands Township (special-purpose district created by TX HB 4109, 80th Leg., 2007) standards for signs, noise, parks, and public safety, (c) Montgomery County subdivision and development regulations under Tex. Loc. Gov. Code Ch. 232, and (d) Village-level residential covenants. · 10 districts | V2 ✓ | data:gaps-present |
| Tyler | — | Tyler Unified Development Code (Chapter 10, Code of Ordinances) · 13 districts | V2 ✓ | blocker:amlegal-cloudflarecohort:wayback-fallback-partialdata:district-roster-under-reviewdata:dimensional-values-partial-only |
| Waco | — | Waco Code of Ordinances, Chapter 28 — Zoning · 21 districts | V2 ✓ | data:gaps-present |
| West Lake Hills | — | West Lake Hills Code of Ordinances, Chapter 38 Zoning · 8 districts | V2 ✓ | freshness:standardretrieval:cloudflare-blocked-sections — dimensional standards (§§38.03.001–38.03.031) not retrieved; supplement PDF (Amendment 334) covered §§38.03.032–38.03.034 + §38.04 only |
Research status
Data quality
90%completeness43 confirmed5 partial