CAN THE CITY SELL LINCOLN PARK WITHOUT AN ELECTION?

By Juan Montoya
When the State of Texas extended US 77-83 Expressway east of International Boulevard to what became Los Tomates (Veterans Memorial), it promised to mitigate the loss of the island park with a new one along the new levee near the river.
That it did.
Now, as the city considers transferring (selling?) ownership of the park land that was used to mitigate the loss of the other park, we wonder how the loss of that new park will be mitigated for the residents and visitors of the city.
One of our three readers sent us the section of the Texas Local Government Code that specifies how the sale or lease of the park has to be done to comply with the law. From our reading of it, it appears that the city must hold a popular referendum to see whether the citizens agree with the lease or sale (never mind donation) of Lincoln Park.
Does anyone know whether the law in the code applies to Lincoln Park. The meeting to determine the park's fate will be held in a 15 minute executive session at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, February 4.
The part of the code in question is below.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 8. ACQUISITION, SALE, OR LEASE OF PROPERTY
SUBTITLE A. MUNICIPAL ACQUISITION, SALE, OR LEASE OF PROPERTY
CHAPTER 253. SALE OR LEASE OF PROPERTY BY MUNICIPALITIES
Sec. 253.001. SALE OF PARK LAND, MUNICIPAL BUILDING SITE, OR
ABANDONED ROADWAY. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the governing body of a municipality may sell and convey land or an interest in land that the municipality owns, holds, or claims as a public square, park, or site for the city hall or other municipal building or that is an abandoned part of a street or alley. A sale under this section may include the improvements on the property.
(b) Land owned, held, or claimed as a public square or park may not be sold unless the issue of the sale is submitted to the qualified voters of the municipality at an election and is approved by a majority of the votes received at the election; provided, however, this provision shall not apply to the sale of land or right-of-way for drainage purposes to a district, county, or corporation acting on behalf of a county or district.
(c) To effect the sale, the governing body shall adopt an ordinance directing the municipality's mayor or city manager to execute the conveyance.
(d) The proceeds of the sale may be used only to acquire and improve property for the purposes for which the sold property was used. Failure to so use the proceeds, however, does not impair the title to the sold property acquired by a purchaser for a valuable consideration.
(e) Subsection (b) does not apply to a conveyance of park land that:
(1) is owned by a home-rule municipality with a population of less than 80,000 and that is located in a county bordering the Gulf of Mexico;
(2) is one acre or less;
(3) is part of a park that is 100 acres or less;
(4) is sold or is conveyed as a sale to the owner of adjoining property; and
(5) is conveyed pursuant to a resolution or an ordinance that:
(A) is adopted under this section;
(B) requires the sale to be with an owner of adjoining property for fair market value as determined by an independent appraisal obtained by the municipality; and
(C) has an effective date before December 31, 1995.
(f) The election requirements of Subsection (b) do not apply to a conveyance of a park if:
(1) the park is owned by a home-rule municipality with a population of more than one million;
(2) it is a park of two acres or less;
(3) the park is no longer usable and functional as a park;
(4) the proceeds of the sale will be used to acquire land for park purposes;
(5) a public hearing on the proposed conveyance is held by the governing body of the home-rule municipality and that body finds that the property is no longer usable and functional as a park; and
(6) the park is conveyed pursuant to an ordinance adopted by the governing body of the home-rule municipality, unless within 60 days from the date of the public hearing the governing body of the home-rule
municipality is presented with a petition opposing the conveyance which contains the name, address, and date of signature of no less than 1,500 registered voters residing within the municipal limits of the municipality; then, the governing body of the home-rule municipality shall either deny the conveyance or shall approve the conveyance subject to the election required in Subsection (b); or
(7) the conveyance involves an exchange of two existing parks, situated within a home-rule municipality with a population of more than one million, that together total 1.5 acres or less in size, that are located within 1,000 feet of each other, that are located in an industrial area, that have been found in a public hearing to no longer be usable and functional as parks, and that are conveyed pursuant to an ordinance, adopted by the governing body of that municipality, that has an effective date before December 1, 1993.
(g) A sale made under Subsection (e) or (j) is exempt from the notice and bidding requirements in Chapter 272.
(h) Expired.
(i) Subsection (b) does not apply to a conveyance of park land that (1) owned by a home-rule municipality with a population of more than 625,000;
(2) less than three acres and part of a larger park that is located in a flood plain or floodway;
(3) not actively used for recreational purposes;
(4) sold or conveyed as an interest in land to the owner of an interest in the adjoining property; and
(5) conveyed pursuant to a resolution or an ordinance that has an effective date before December 31, 2004.
(j) Subsection (b) does not apply to a conveyance of park land that
(1) owned by a home-rule municipality with a population of less than 100,000;
(2) one-third acre or less;
(3) part of a park that is five acres or less; and
(4) sold or conveyed as a sale to the owner of adjoining property as provided by a resolution or ordinance that has an effective date before December 31, 2007.
(k) A petition for the judicial review of the sale of park land under Subsection (j) must be filed on or before the 30th day after the date the ordinance or resolution is adopted. A petition filed after the period prescribed by this subsection is barred.
(l) Subsection (b) does not apply to a conveyance of park land owned by a home-rule municipality that:
(1) is located in a county with a population of more than three million; and
(2) has a population of more than 25,000 and less than 33,000.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 328, Sec. 14, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 597, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 179, Sec. 1, eff. May 17, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 344, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 33, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 13.18, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 754, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 633, Sec. 1, eff. June 15, 2007. Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 577, Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2011.