County-Related News

Jefferson County enacts address displays under HB 2665

Jefferson County orders rural addresses displayed
By Kyle Peveto
BEAUMONT ENTERPRISE
October 14, 2009

To ensure firefighters, deputies and ambulance drivers can locate hard-to-find homes at night, rural Jefferson County home addresses must soon be displayed near the roadway, according to a new county order.

By Nov. 15, residents outside of the county's incorporated areas must place a sign made of reflective, durable material adjacent to the road. If they don't, they're subject to a fine of as much as $500.

Jefferson County commissioners approved the order at Monday's regular meeting.

"It's so emergency personnel won't have a problem finding the house when seconds count," Jeff Branick, an attorney in County Judge Ron Walker's office, said by phone Tuesday.

In June, Gov. Rick Perry signed into law House Bill 2665 filed by Rep. Allan Ritter, a Nederland Democrat. It allowed counties to order rural residents to display their addresses in a uniform manner determined by the county and provided for a penalty for the first time.

The law does not force counties to pass such an ordinance, but allows them the option.

Along with that order, commissioners said the county engineer and the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission, which administers the county's 911 emergency call program, will share the responsibility of ensuring new roads approved for future subdivisions are not too similarly named to existing county roadways, Branick said.