The Attorney General of Texas 

April 11, 1984 

JIM MATTOX 

Attorney General 

Supreme Court Building 

P. 0. BOX 12548 

Austin, TX. 78711. 2548 

512/475-2501 

Telex 910/874-1367 

Telecopier 5121475.0266 

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Dallas, TX. 75202-4506 

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01 Texas. Suite 700 

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51212254191 

An Equal Opportunity/ 

Affirmative Action Employer 

Honorable Charles Evans 

Chairman 

Opinion No..JM-145 

Committee on House Administration 

Texas House of Representatives 

P. 0. Box 2910 

Austin, Texas 78769 

Re: Acquisition of land for 

Gateway State Park 

Dear Representative Evans: 

You ask whether certain property, established as Gateway State 

Park, may be deeded to the state in parcels at various times or only 

in whole in a single conveyance. Additionally, you ask whether the 

state may accept only land that is connected to described land. We 

conclude that the state may acquire described land in more than one 

conveyance, but that only connected lands may be so acquired. 

House Bill No. 2061, Acts 1983, Sixty-eighth Legislature, chapter 

983, at 5354, established Gateway State Park to consist of all land 

described in House Bill No. 63, Acts 1979, Sixty-sixth Legislature, 

chapter 542, at 1131. House Bill No. 2061 repealed section l(c) of 

House Bill No. 63 but left the remainder of the act intact. House 

Bill No. 63 contains the authorization for and the method of acquiring 

land for the park: 

Section 1. (a) The Parks and Wildlife 

Department shall accept and may record ss and when 

offered any conveyance to the State of Texas of 

land and improvements on land: 

(1) described in Subdivision (1). Section 2 of 

this Act; 

(2) having a boundary that is contiguous with 

or adjacent to a boundary of the land described in 

Subdivision (l), Section 2 of this Act; 

(3) having a boundary that is contiguous with 

or adjacent to the boundary of land accepted under 

Subdivision (2) of thins section or under this 

subdivision; and 

p. 623 
Honorable Charles Evans - Page 2 (JM-145) 

-., 

(4) described in Subdivision (2). Section 2 of 

this Act. 

(b) Acceptance under this Act may be 

accomplished without regard to whether the 

conveyance of land that may be accepted is made in 

one or more instruments executed at different 

times. 

. . . . 

Sec. 2. Section 1 of this Act refers to the 

following property: 

(1) [land described by metes and bounds, 

‘tract 1’1 

(2) [land described by metes and bounds, 

qtr&i 2’1 

sec. 3. The Parks 

acquire and record 

contig”o”s with or 

described or provided 

for park purposes . . 

and Wildlife Department s 

other property which is 

adjacent to the property 

for in this Act, to be used 

. . (Emphasis added). 

Sections l(a) and l(b) of House Bill No. 63 read together 

specifically authorize acceptance of land described therein “as and 

when offered . . . without regard to whether the conveyance of land 

that may be accepted is made in one or more instruments executed at 

different times.” Thus, the state may acquire authorized land in 

parcels. However, House Bill No. 63 limits the particular parcels 

that may be so acquired. 

House Bill No. 63 mandates acceptance of land described by metes 

and bounds in subdivisions (1) and (2) of section 2 (tracts 1 and 2), 

land with a boundary that is “contiguous with or adjacent to” tract 1. 

and land with a boundary that is contiguous with land which is 

connected to tract 1 and which is “accepted.” Additionally, section 3 

of House Bill No. 63 authorizes acceptance of land contiguous to land 

descrl~bed as tract 2. 

Although “adjacent” does not always mean actual contact, 

“Contig”o”s” means more than near; it means touching at a point or 

along a boundary. City of Safford V. Town of Thatcher, 495 P.2d 150. 

153 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1972); Black’s Law Dictionary (5th ed. 1979). 

Texas courts also use “adjacent” to describe land that is touching. 

See Carlton V. Marshall, 208 S.W.2d 661 (Tex. Civ. App. - Austin 1948, 

writ ref’d n.r.e.); Smith V. Linton, 130 S.W.2d 1108 (Tex. Civ. App. - 

? 

p. 624 
Il~u~-;~hle Charles Evans - Page 3 (JM-145) 

Galveston 1939). rev'd on other grounds, 154 S.W.2d 643 (1941). House 

Bill No. 63, section l(d), defining "contiguous" and "adjacent" 

together, explains them as follows: 

For the purposes of this Act, boundaries are 

considered to be contiguous or adjacent where each 

follows the right-of-way of a public roadway, 

including the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike, or a 

river channel, or are separated only by the public 

roadway or the river channel. (Emphasis added). 

Section l(d) indicates that the presence of a narrow, intervening 

interest in land such as state ownership of the beds of navigable 

streams, see Coastal Industrial Water Authority v. York, 520 SiW.2d 

494 (Tex.Civ. App. - Houston [lst Dist.] 1975). aff'd, 532 S.W.Zd 949 

(1976), will not prevent land from being "contiguous." If the 

legislature found it necessary to specify that tracts are not 

prevented from being "contiguous" or "adjacent" when separated by a 

river channel or a roadway, it probably intended both "contiguous" snd 

"adjacent" to mean touching. Thus, under House Bill No. 63, the state 

may acquire only property that is physically touching tracts 1 and 2. 

As indicated previously, the state must accept land connected to tract 

1 ;Ind x accept land connected to tract 2. However, House Bj,ll No. 

63 also mandates acceptance of additional contiguous land with regard 

to tract 1. 

Texas courts treat "contiguous" as bordering a specified lot or 

as bordering another lot which borders the specified lot; thus three 

tracts may all be "contiguous" with each other in the sense that one 

tract borders on a middle tract which in turn borders on another 

tract. Railroad Commission V. Lone Star Gas Co., 587 S.W.Zd 110 (Tex. 

1979). Although, under Texas law, "contiguous" embraces the idea of 

numerous tracts being "contiguous" by relation, House Bill No. 63 

specifically authorizes acceptance of an expanding group of contiguous 

parcels only with regard to tract I. Subdivisions (2) :snd (3) of 

section l(a) authorize acceptance of land 

(2) having a boundary that is contiguous with 

or adjacent to a boundary of the land described III 

Subdivision (l), Section 2 of this Act; [and] 

(3) having a boundary that is contiguous witI> 

or adjacent to the boundary of land accepted under 

Subdivision (2) of this section or under this 

subdivision; (Emphasis added). 

In contrast, section 3 provides: 

p. 625 
Honorable Charles Evans - Page 4 (JM-145) 

The Parks and Wildlife Department may acquire 

and record other property which is contiguous with 

or adjacent to the property described or provided 

for in this Act, to be used for park purposes. 

Although section 3 includes the words "or provided for," 

Analysis states that section 3 means that the 

Parks and Wildlife Department may acquire and 

record other property contiguous or adjacent to 

property described in this Act, to be used for 

park puspoes. 

Additionally, the specific mandate for acceptance of 

co"tig"o"s tracts applies only to tract 1; thus, by 

implication, the concept of expanding contiguous tracts does 

to tract 2. 

the Bill 

expanding 

negative 

not apply 

Thus, the state must accept, first, land described herein as 

tracts 1 and 2; second, land that is connected to tract 1; and third, 

land that is contiguous in turn with land which is connected to tract 

1 and which has already been accepted. Additionally the state 9 

accept land that is connected to tract 2. 

If any authorized "expanding" contiguous land is offered in 

multiple conveyances, the state may accept only those portions which 

are connected to middle parcels that are already accepted and are 

connected to tract 1. Sections l(a) and (b) of House Bill No. 63 only 

authorize acceptance of land described therein 

88 and when offered . . . without regard to 

whether the conveyance of land that may be 

accepted is made in one or more instruments 

executed at different times. (Emphasis added). 

Therefore, acceptance of contiguous tracts by parcel is limited to 

acceptance of co"tig"o"s parcels. Without assurance that parcels will 

be physically connected, except as provided for roadways and 

waterways, the state cannot rationally fulfill the purpose of Aouse 

Bill No. 63 and House Bill No. 2061, mandating acceptance and 

development of all specified land as a park. 

SUMMARY 

The property specified in House Bill No. 63. 

Acts 1979, Sixty-sixth Legislature, chapter 542 at 

1131, and established as Gateway State Park by 

House Bill No. 2061, Acts 1983, Sixty-eighth 

Legislature. chapter 983, at 5354, may be deeded 

- 

p. 626 
e . 

Honorable Charles Evans - Page 5 (JM-145) 

to the stats in parcels. HOWeVer, except as 

provided for roadways and waterways, the state 

must accept, first, land described herein as 

Gts 1 and 2; second, land that is connected to 

tract 1; and third, land that is contiguous in 

turn with land which is connected to tract 1 and 

which has already been accepted. Additionally, 

the state a accept land that is connected to 

tract 2. 

JIM MATTOX 

Attorney General of Texas 

TOM GREEN 

First Assistant Attorney General 

DAVID R. RICHARDS 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Rick Gilpin 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Rick Gilpin, Chairman 

David Brooks 

Colin Carl 

Susan Garrison 

Jim Moellinger 

'Nancy Sutton 

p. 627