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January 25, 2014 I Volume 8 I Issue 2 <br />Zoning Bulletin <br />Validity of rdinance/ <br />Preemption City ordinance <br />requires all development project <br />permit seekers to complete fair <br />notice form before rights vest <br />Local entities argue ordinance conflicts with <br />state law providing that rights vest upon filing <br />of original permit application <br />Citation: City of San Antonio v. Greater San Antonio Builders Ass'n, <br />2013 WL 6086930 (Tex. App. San Antonio 2013) <br />TEXAS (11/20/13)—This case addressed the issue of whether a city's <br />"fair notice ordinance," which required all development project peiinit <br />seekers to complete the city's fair notice foiiu in addition to an original <br />application for the project, in order for rights to vest, conflicted with and <br />was preempted by provisions of Texas' Local Government Code. <br />The Background/Facts: Under Chapter 245 of Texas Local Govern- <br />ment Code (Tex. Loc. Gov't Code Ann. §§ 245.001-.007), a develop- <br />ment project is governed by the regulations in effect at the time of the <br />application for the project's first permit, rather than by any intervening <br />regulations passed by the regulatory agency. <br />In February 2006, the City of San Antonio (the "City") passed its <br />"fair notice ordinance." Section 35-410 of the ordinance required permit <br />applicants to complete a form —the fair notice foiui—with all permit <br />applications. The express purpose of § 35-410 was "to provide standard <br />procedures for an applicant to accrue rights under Chapter 245 of the <br />Texas Local Government Code.".Thus, the City's fair notice ordinance <br />provided that the City would not recognize vested rights unless and until <br />the owner completed and submitted the fair notice form. (See San <br />Antonio, Tex., Unified Development Code § 35-712(a)(1)-(b)(2) <br />(2006).) Among other things, the fair notice foiin required an owner to <br />identify any existing vested rights permit numbers if such peiniits had <br />already been approved for the proposed project. The fouls also required <br />a site plan for most types of development projects. The fair notice foun <br />further provided that all fields on the fad," had to be completed in order <br />for the form to be valid. <br />In July 2006, the Greater San Antonio Builders Association <br />("GSABA") and Indian Springs, Ltd., filed a declaratory judgment <br />action. In that action, they alleged that the City's fair notice ordinance <br />10 ©2014 Thomson Reuters <br />