Section 3: TxDOT Policy

Commission Minute Orders

Minute Order No.
78183
, passed February 18, 1981, and Minute Order No.
65168
, passed August 5, 1971, contain policy related to relocation payments and assistance. Relocation program costs are financed with State funds, except for funds expended on the Interstate or on other Federal projects for which Federal participation in the cost of ROW is programmed.
The Commission directed the TxDOT Executive Director to formulate operational procedures to implement policy of the Commission. Specifically, the Commission directed that procedures provide for:
  • methods of establishing eligibility of displacees to receive one or more types of financial assistance payments; and,
  • methods for examining and
    promptly
     acting on relocation review requests from displacees.

Replacement Housing Policy

A displacee shall not be required to move permanently from his/her residence
unless at least one comparable replacement dwelling has been made available to the person. Information on comparable replacement dwellings that were used in the determination process must be provided to permanently displaced persons.
 When computing the replacement housing supplement, the standard number of comparables required under this policy is three. However, if local market conditions are such that three comparable replacement dwellings cannot be identified, fewer than three referrals may be used. The justification shall be recorded on form
ROW-R-107 Supplemental Payment Estimate, Replacement Housing
.
A comparable dwelling is considered to be made available to a displacee, if the displacee:
  • is informed
    in writing
     of its location;
  • has sufficient time to negotiate and enter into a
    purchase or lease agreement
     for the property; and
  • is assured of receiving the relocation assistance and acquisition compensation (subject to reasonable safeguards) to which the displacee is entitled in sufficient time to purchase or rent the replacement property.
When possible, displacees must be given reasonable opportunities to relocate to DSS replacement dwellings in the neighborhood of their choice within their financial means. However, this policy does not require TxDOT to provide a displacee with a larger payment than necessary for a displacee to relocate to a comparable replacement dwelling.

Emergency Relocation

When a displacee is required to
move
 because of a “disaster or emergency,” as described below, the following apply:
  • take action to assure that the displacee
    who is required to move from their dwelling is relocated
     to a DSS dwelling;
  • the displacee must be entitled to compensation for reasonable moving expenses and reasonable increases in monthly housing costs incurred due to the
    emergency move
    ; and
  • promptly offer the displacee at least one comparable replacement dwelling. The date of displacement is the date the displacee moves from
    their dwelling due to the emergency.
    This date is used for the purpose of filing a claim and meeting eligibility requirements for a relocation payment.
A temporary displacement “disaster or emergency” is:
  • a presidentially declared national emergency as defined in
    Section 102(c) of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (42 USC Section 5121 & 5122 (1))
    ;
  • a major disaster as defined in
    Section 102(c)
     of the
    Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (42 USC Sections 5121 and 5122 (2))
    ;
  • an emergency requiring immediate vacation of the real property, (e.g., when continued occupancy of a displacement dwelling constitutes a danger to the health or safety of the occupants or the public)