One glaring problem that I see with this change is that we already flood with the slightest rainfall, so a permeable area requirement was added. Guess what! Now each plat must have 150 sq. ft. per lot and cannot cover more than 75% of a lot less than 3500 sq. ft. OK, that’s good, but what happens on a 6000. 8000, or 10000 sq.ft. lot? Still only 150 sq.ft. of permeable surface? The rewrite is full of holes that can be exploited, but worse is that there’s intentionally no time for neighborhoods to realize the impacts, read the new documents (lots more changed than just Chapter 42), understand how they interact, and make constructive comments. City Council will vote on this July 1st or July 8th. Is this the Mayor making good on promises?

Turning Houston into a heat island of concrete is not creating a sustainable community. What it has a high probability of doing is increasing impermeable surfaces that will cause increased flooding, erases the green canopy, and creates very dense areas that lack the supporting infrastructure. Done right, increased urban density can be a good thing. Done wrong, it will be disastrous. Slow down, let the public really review the changes, see if there are requirements for improvements in infrastructure — drainage, water supply, etc. — then make the needed changes to do this correctly. Please!

Some of the Urban “subdivisions” built inside the 610 Loop in accordance with Chapter 42’s residential parameters over past 10+ years are very successful because infrastructure was either already in place or was improved to support the increase in density.
New residential density added in Midtown fronts wide streets with reasonable pedestrian realm, sufficient parking, preserved and newly created green spaces, and even mature shade trees. But, some are less successful in terms of adequate infrastructure and public amenities. In Superneighborhood 22’s west end - Rice Military and Cottage Grove - most urban “subdivisions” tend to be infill developments that have subdivided one or more 50 X 100 foot lots to each accommodate two or three single-family residential units with a minimum lot width of 20 feet.
Typically these subdivisions are on narrow streets that may have open swales for stormwater management and have very little space for the many functions public rights-of-way must serve – parking, trash bin staging, utility lines, poles and transformers, space for street trees and pedestrians.
Here, where infrastructure and amenities are inadequate to support the urban density that has been imposed, no Urban Corridors ordinance is proposed to provide improvement.

Allowing reduction of the minimum lot width to 15 feet, if an average lot width of 18 feet is maintained within the subdivision may be reasonable and desirable in terms of providing a diversity of residential style and price in large-scale developments, where an aesthetic mix can be achieved, and where infrastructure and amenities are incorporated into the plan for the benefit of the residents.

But, think about how this reduced lot size might work and what the cumulative impact would be of applying this one-size-fits-all regulation with 15 and 18 foot wide lots to multiple, small, infill “subdivisions” in neighborhoods where infrastructure and amenities are already less than adequate.

If this thought causes concern - inside the Loop or inside the Beltway. If your neighborhood has no deed restrictions, and your block has not petitioned for and received minimum lot size and set-back protection, this would be the time to put that process in motion.

There are two remaining opportunities, before these amendments are voted into law, for citizens to comment at public hearings.

Next up is the Regulation, Development and Neighborhood Protection Committee, Chaired by Council Member Toni Lawrence on Monday, June 22 at 3PM (verify the meeting time, previously this committee has met at 10AM) in the City Hall 2nd floor Council Chamber.
Council Members serving on this committee are:
Sullivan, Adams, Brown, Clutterbuck, Holm, Johnson, Jones, Lovell, Noriega and Rodriguez

The City Council hearing and vote will be early in July.

With a little money here and there, here and there at City Hall, a developer has always been able to do what he wants.

The exception of course being Buckhead Investment which found itself confronting a mayor who put the future political support of a law firm ahead of ethics with regard to enforcement of ordinances. Although with regard to 1717 Bissonnet, it was more a matter of attempting to create an ordinance to enforce.
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Neighborhoods outside the Loop who are eligible for these protections and want to preserve their lot size and building line character better start working on them now!
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They should. Unfortunately most probably won’t.

The rail line will never go everywhere and will always serve a very minuscule portion of the population.

Legally a single lane of a street can be used to park on narrow streets. The problems arises when people along the length of the street utilize both sides. Then drivers need to zig-zag down the street. Not mention how metro buses have to deal with it.

The guest parking rule is one that doesn’t sit well with town home developers, but it is desperately needed.

Neighborhoods outside the Loop who are eligible for these protections and want to preserve their lot size and building line character better start working on them now! The info is on the Planning Department website, http://www.houstonplanning.org.