COURT OF APPEALS
SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH
NO. 2-08-433-CV
MAGDALENA S. MARTINEZ, AS TRUSTEE
OF THE CHARLIE S. MARTINEZ, JR., TRUST APPELLANT
V.
CITY OF FORT WORTH HISTORIC AND
CULTURAL LANDMARKS COMMISSION APPELLEE
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FROM THE 17TH DISTRICT COURT OF TARRANT COUNTY
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MEMORANDUM OPINION 1
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Appellant Magdalena S. Martinez, as trustee of the Charlie S. Martinez,
Jr., Trust, appeals a trial court order granting a plea to the jurisdiction filed by
1
… See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.
appellee City of Fort Worth Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission
(Historic Commission). We affirm.
Appellant owns property located at 1900 5th Avenue in Fort Worth,
Texas (the Property). For over two decades, the Property has been in violation
of various provisions of the Fort Worth City Code. Chapter 54 of the Texas
Local Government Code authorizes municipalities to enforce city codes through
civil actions. 2 In 2006, the City of Fort W orth (City) sued appellant under
chapter 54 and obtained a judgment for civil penalties and injunctive relief,
including an order allowing the City to demolish the Property. Appellant did not
appeal this order.
Because the Property is located within a historic zoning overlay that
prevents demolition unless the Historic Commission issues a certificate of
appropriateness (COA), the City had to apply to the Historic Commission for a
COA.3 After a public hearing during which the Historic Commission heard from
appellant, city staff, and neighbors, the Historic Commission determined that
2
… See Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code Ann. §§ 54.012–.019 (Vernon 2008);
Jamestown Partners, L.P. v. City of Fort Worth, 83 S.W.3d 376, 380 (Tex.
App.—Fort Worth 2002, pet. denied).
3
… Fort Worth, Tex., Rev. Ordinances app. A, ch. 4, art. V, § 4.504
(2007).
2
demolition was appropriate and granted a COA allowing the City to proceed
with the demolition pursuant to the judgment in the prior civil action.
By City ordinance, Historic Commission decisions may be appealed to the
City’s Appeals Board, which appellant did.4 The Appeals Board upheld the
Historic Commission’s decision. Appellant then filed a lawsuit seeking judicial
review of the Historic Commission decision. The City filed a plea to the
jurisdiction asserting that there is no right of judicial review of the Historic
Commission decision. The trial court granted the plea, and this appeal
followed.
We review de novo a trial court’s ruling on a plea to the jurisdiction.5
Whether the trial court has subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law.6
In a single issue, appellant asserts that the COA allowing the City to
proceed with demolition of the Property is an order subject to judicial review
4
… Id. § 4.512.
5
… See Tex. Dep’t of Parks & Wildlife v. Miranda, 133 S.W.3d 217,
225–26 (Tex. 2004); City of Carrollton v. Singer, 232 S.W.3d 790, 794 (Tex.
App.—Fort Worth 2007, pet. denied).
6
… See Miranda, 133 S.W.3d at 226; Singer, 232 S.W.3d at 794.
3
under section 214.0012 of the Texas Local Government Code (Local
Government Code or Code).7 We disagree.
The Local Government Code provides two distinct procedural avenues by
which a municipality may secure the demolition of substandard property: (1)
the municipality may bring a civil action to compel demolition under chapter 54
of the Local Government Code; or (2) it may seek a demolition order through
administrative proceedings under chapter 214 of the Code. 8 The City
proceeded under chapter 54, not chapter 214. Appellate review is available for
a chapter 54 judgment just as it is for any civil judgment.9 Appellant could
have appealed the district court judgment authorizing demolition of the Property
but chose not to. Instead, appellant sought judicial review of the COA issued
7
… See Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code Ann. § 214.0012(a) (Vernon 2008). Under
Texas law, there is no right to judicial review of an administrative order unless
a statute or ordinance creates such a right, or the order violates a constitutional
right or adversely affects a vested property right. Firemen’s & Policemen’s Civil
Serv. Comm’n v. Kennedy, 514 S.W.2d 237, 239–40 (Tex. 1974); Stone v.
Tex. Liquor Control Bd., 417 S.W.2d 385, 385–86 (Tex. 1967); City of
Amarillo v. Hancock, 239 S.W.2d 788, 790–91 (Tex. 1951).
8
… See Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code Ann. §§ 54.017–.019 (Vernon 2008); Tex.
Loc. Gov’t Code Ann. § 214.001 (Vernon 2008); see also Jamestown Partners,
83 S.W.3d at 380-381. The City code authorizes the City Building Standards
Commission to enforce City code provisions regarding minimum building
standards, including authority to order demolition. Fort Worth, Tex., Rev.
Ordinances ch. 7, art. IV, §§ 7-102, 7-112 (1999).
9
… See Jamestown Partners, 83 S.W.3d at 380–81.
4
by the Historic Commission. The issue, then, is whether the COA is a type of
order for which chapter 214 provides the right of judicial review.
The Historic Commission is a creature of chapter 211 of the Local
Government Code, which authorizes municipalities to take appropriate actions
to protect and preserve historical properties.10 A COA reflects the Historic
Commission’s approval of proposed modifications to local landmarks or
properties in historic districts based on consistency with applicable design
guidelines and standards.11 Unlike the City Building Standards Commission, the
Historic Commission is not provided with authority under section 214.001 to
promote general health and safety by enforcing the City’s minimum building
standards code. While a COA is required for demolition of a historic property,
the Historic Commission has no authority to order demolition.12 Accordingly,
10
… See Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code Ann. §§ 211.001 (Vernon 2008) (allowing
local governments to protect and preserve places and areas of historical,
cultural, and architectural importance and significance), 211.003(b) (“In the
case of designated places and areas of historical, cultural, or architectural
importance and significance, the governing body of a municipality may regulate
the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or razing of buildings and other
structures.”); see also Fort Worth, Tex., Rev. Ordinances app. A, ch. 2,
§ 2.103 (2007).
11
… See Fort Worth, Tex., Rev. Ordinances app. A, ch. 4, art. V, § 4.504
(2007).
12
… See Fort Worth, Tex., Rev. Ordinances app. A, ch. 2, § 2.103, ch.
4, art. V, § 4.504(H).
5
a COA from the Historic Commission allowing the City to proceed with
demolition is not an order issued under section 214.001 subject to judicial
review.
6
Because appellant had no right under section 214.0012 to judicial review
of the COA, we affirm the trial court’s order granting the City’s plea to the
jurisdiction.
PER CURIAM
PANEL: CAYCE, C.J.; MCCOY and MEIER, JJ.
DELIVERED: May 14, 2009
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