The City shall have all powers and rights of self-government and home rule that exists now or may be granted to municipalities by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, unless such power or right is expressly prohibited or restricted by this Charter.
(A) 
The City of Lancaster, as such body politic and corporate, shall have perpetual succession; may use a corporate seal; may sue and be sued; may contract and be contracted with; implead and be impleaded in all courts; may take, hold and purchase such lands, within or without the City limits, as may be needed for corporate purposes of said City, and may sell any real estate or personal property owned by it; perform and render all public service, and when deemed expedient, may condemn property for corporate use, and may hold, manage and control the same; and shall be subject to all duties and obligations now pertaining to or incumbent upon said City as a corporation, not in conflict with the provisions of this Charter; and shall enjoy all rights, immunities, powers, privileges and franchises now possessed by said City and hereinafter conferred and granted; and except as prohibited by the Constitution of the State of Texas or restricted by this Charter, the City of Lancaster shall have and may exercise all municipal powers, functions, rights, privileges and immunities of every name and nature whatsoever. In addition to the powers herein otherwise granted, the City shall have all powers enumerated in State law, as hereafter amended, as though such State law were set forth herein.
(B) 
The enumeration of particular powers by this Charter shall not be held or deemed to be exclusive, but, in addition to the powers enumerated therein or implied thereby, or appropriate to the exercise of such powers, it is intended that the City of Lancaster shall have, and may exercise, all powers which under the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas it would be competent for this Charter specifically to enumerate. All powers of the city, whether expressed or implied, shall be exercised in the manner prescribed by this Charter or, if not prescribed therein, then in the manner provided by ordinance or resolution of the City Council.
The City shall have the power to, among others, construct and maintain, within or without its corporate limits, streets, flood control and sanitary facilities, water and storm drainage facilities in, over, under or upon all public property or easements granted for that purpose and to levy assessments for the costs of such improvements. It shall have the power to cause liens to be established for the purpose of securing the payment of such levies and shall have the power to compel the use of such improvements by the citizens of the City.
All real estate owned in fee simple title, or held by lease, sufferance, easement or otherwise, all public buildings, fire stations, parks, airports, streets and alleys; and all property, whether real or personal, of whatever kind, character or description now owned or controlled by the City of Lancaster shall vest in, inure to, remain and be the property of said City of Lancaster under this Charter; and all causes of action, chooses in action, rights or privileges of every kind and character and all property of whatsoever character or description which may have been held and is now held, controlled or used by said City of Lancaster for public uses or in trust for the public, shall vest in and remain and inure to the City of Lancaster under this Charter, and all suits and pending actions to which the City of Lancaster heretofore was or now is a party, plaintiff or defendant, shall in no wise be affected or terminated by the adoption of this Charter, but shall continue unabated.
The City of Lancaster shall have the power to lay out, establish, open, alter, widen, lower, extend, grade, abandon, improve and maintain streets, alleys, sidewalks, squares, parks, public places and bridges and regulate the use thereof and require the removal and regulate such public property or places, all obstructions, when same constitutes a hazard to the public, encroachments of every nature or character upon any said public property, and to vacate and close private ways; and when a street or alley has been vacated or abandoned, the City shall have the right to sell the same as now provided by the general laws of the State of Texas.
The City shall have the right under the TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE, together with all amendments thereof, adopted and made a part of this Charter, to authorize the City Council to provide for the payment of the costs of improvements to highways and streets partly by the City and partly by assessments against property abutting the part of the highway or street to be improved and the owners of that property.
The City Council shall have the power, by ordinance, to determine, fix and regulate the charges, fares or rates of compensation, by ordinance, to be charged by any person, firm or corporation enjoying a franchise in the City of Lancaster, and shall, in determining, fixing and regulating such charges or rates or compensation, base the same upon the fair rate of return upon the fair value of the property of such person, firm or corporation devoted to furnishing service to such City of [or] inhabitants thereof, as may be permitted by State law. The City Council may prescribe the character, quality and extent of service to be rendered and shall have the power to regulate and require the extension of lines or services of such public utility.
The City shall have the power to build, construct, purchase, own, lease, maintain and operate, as established under the TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE or general laws, within or without the City limits, light, and power systems, water systems, a sewer system, sanitary disposal equipment and appliances, natural gas systems and public services.
(A) 
General:
The City Council may grant franchises and the City may acquire, maintain and operate a transportation service and issue warrants, assignments of revenues and bonds and use public funds for such purpose.
(B) 
Airports:
The City Council shall have the power to establish, maintain and operate an airport(s), and heliport(s) within or without the city limits, and landing fields, radio beams, beacons and other apparatus, buildings, equipment and appurtenances necessary or convenient therefore, and to make suitable charges for their use.
The City shall have exclusive control of all City parks and playgrounds, whether within or without the City limits and the structures and apparatuses located therein.
The City may require the placing of all wires or overhead construction of public utilities within the business area or fire limits of the City under the surface of the ground under such regulations as may be prescribed by the City Council from time to time.
The City Council shall have the power, by ordinance or otherwise, to provide for a fire rescue department and regulation thereof; and to provide, by ordinance or resolution, such regulation to protect the public against conflagrations or threat thereof within the City.
The City Council shall have the power to provide for a health and sanitation department and to establish all necessary rules and regulations, by ordinance or otherwise, to protect the health of the City and for the establishment of regulations to protect the public health to include, but not to the exclusion of other powers, the following:
(A) 
To regulate, license and inspect persons, firms, corporations, common carriers or associations operating, managing or conducting any hotel or any other public sleeping or eating place, or any place or vehicle where food or drink or containers therefor, of any kind is manufactured, prepared, stored, packed, served, sold or otherwise handled within the City limits of said City, or manufactured, processed, prepared, stored or packed for sale or resale within the City; and shall have the power to prescribe health regulations with reference to any and all workers or employees hired or used in any of said places or vehicles, or about said places and vehicles; or who deliver products to and from said places and vehicles; and shall have the power to inspect, license and regulate the sanitary condition of said places and vehicles and to condemn all articles not wholesome or fit for human consumption, and to prohibit and summarily prevent the sale or dispensing of any such condemned articles.
(B) 
To define all nuisances and prohibit the same within the City and outside the City limits for a distance of five thousand (5,000) feet; to police all parks or grounds, speedways, or boulevards owned by said City and lying both outside and inside said City; to prohibit the pollution of any stream, draw, drain or tributaries thereof, water deposit and reservoir, whether above or below the ground, which may constitute the source of storage of water supply, and to provide for policing of same, as well as to provide for the protection of any watersheds and the policing of same, to inspect, license and regulate dairies, slaughter pens and slaughterhouses inside or outside the limits of the City from which meat or milk is furnished to the inhabitants of the City; to require property owners to make connection to the sewer system, if and when available, with their premises, and to provide for fixing a lien against the property of owners who fail or refuse to make it a personal liability.
(C) 
To provide for the fixing of penalties for failure of any person, firm or corporation or association to comply with any such rules and regulations so prescribed by the City Council under the provisions of this section; it being the intention to vest in the City Council not only the powers expressly numerated in this section but all other powers reasonably necessary for the protection of the health of the City of Lancaster and its inhabitants.
The city shall have the power, by ordinance, to establish and maintain a police department. The head of the police department of said city shall be known and designated as “chief of police.”
(A) 
The City may enter into a contract which may bind the City to pay for personal or professional services to be rendered for the performance of a specific act or for a specific period of time.
(B) 
The City or anyone acting for it may make any contract for goods, materials, services or supplies as authorized by State law, including a contract for the use or purchase or other acquisition of personal property by lease with an option to purchase, an installment purchase, or other form considered appropriate by the City Council, and subject only to applicable Constitutional restrictions, the City Council may obligate taxes or revenues for the full term of contract for the payment of the contract.
(A) 
No person shall be allowed to sell liquor in all or part of the residential sections of the City.
(B) 
The City Council may, by ordinance, prohibit the sale of beer in any residential area of the City and/or regulate the sale of beer and prescribe the hours when it may be sold as allowed by state law.
(C) 
The City Council may, by ordinance, regulate alcoholic beverages as permitted under the Constitution and laws of the state.
The City shall have the power to, among others, establish and maintain ordinances and regulations governing the use of lands within the City and to enforce by all lawful means these ordinances and regulations, within and without its corporate limits. The city shall have the power to authorize, regulate and inspect all construction and existing structures within or without its limits, consistent with State statutes, and to establish and enforce ordinances and regulations concerning their use, construction and reconstruction. The City shall have the power to license and regulate persons, corporations and associations engaged in any business, occupation, profession or trade when authorized by State law. The City shall have all powers, expressed and implied, granted by any section of this Charter.