TEXAS HILL COUNTRY — In the wake of devastating floods that recently ravaged parts of the Texas Hill Country, local officials are once again grappling with a long-standing gap in the state’s development laws: counties have little power to stop new homes, camps, or businesses from being built in flood-prone areas.

As a new Grist report highlights, Texas cities have broad authority to shape where and how development happens within city limits — but once you cross into the unincorporated parts of a county, that authority largely vanishes.

That’s exactly what happened in Kerr County, where the worst flood damage occurred along the Guadalupe River. Dozens of river camps sat far outside the reach of the Kerrville City Council, which has zoning rules that could have restricted building so close to the river’s edge.

“Decisions on what can be built on flood plains are largely left to local officials,” an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Architecture told Grist. “How strictly local officials regulate development in flood plains comes down to political will.”

Counties Face Legal Limits

‍Unlike cities, Texas counties are legally barred from implementing comprehensive zoning rules. Instead, they rely on narrower tools to influence how and where property owners build in flood-prone areas.

One of the main levers counties can use is tied to federal flood insurance. To be eligible for National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage, local jurisdictions must adopt minimum building standards, such as elevating homes or restricting basement construction in high-risk zones. Property owners who ignore these standards risk losing access to federal flood insurance — a significant financial risk for homes built near rivers and streams.

Counties can also tap certain federal funds to help relocate entire neighborhoods out of dangerous flood plains, although these buyouts require funding, political consensus, and the willingness of property owners to leave.

Political Will Remains a Barrier

‍Despite these limited tools, the ultimate question often comes down to whether local leaders will use them at all. In rural counties where landowners prize property rights and economic development, many officials are reluctant to impose tougher restrictions that could curb private building decisions.

That tension leaves many Texas communities exposed when storms hit — especially as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of floods. Without the power to create broader zoning maps, counties must rely on patchwork measures, voluntary buyouts, and the hope that property owners will weigh the risks before building near vulnerable rivers and creeks.

In the meantime, experts warn, the cycle of flood damage and rebuilding is likely to repeat — unless the state revisits its county zoning rules or invests more heavily in large-scale relocation and resilience measures.

Originally reported by Peter Fabris in BDC Network.