COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE SHOULD THOSE LITTLE LOTS GO? “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 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.” [TxTom12, commenting on Chapter 42 of the Houston Development Story: Letting Out That Urban Belt A Notch]
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Didn’t the horse already leave the station on this back in 1997? That’s when they changed Chapter 42 to allow lots as small as 1400 square feet in the ‘suburban’ area. As far as I understand, the new proposal doesn’t change that minimum, it just allows the lots to be narrower.
The problem remains one of scale. How much lot will be left when it is built? Will there be any trees left? Any permiable soil? What will all this do to air quality, flooding, shade/tree canopy and overall livability of a neighborhood? If we are entering an era where people are being encourage to walk and ride bikes and do either of those things to hook up to public transit, how much concrete jungle do we want? Is being like New York, where trees are in parks, really our goal?
Heights residents should take note. For instance, 807 Beverly has been replatted to 21 lots. Don’t think the surrounding new home owners in their one million dollar homes are going to appreciate that.
I live in an unincorporated area where homeowners have ¾+ acres. We have wells/septic and worry about being incorporated by the city. Generally, the Bad (for us): taxes; the Good: subdividing or building apartments!! Woo-hoo!
I think all of us should be concerned with a protocol to keep outlaying areas green as they become “urban†because Green just doesn’t happen on its own in this man-made world…
Just today I drove Beltway 8 and realized that along the north-northwest and the east, the trees, shade and open-spaces make the driving-experience so much nicer. Where’s Mrs. Lanier’s vision to plant trees and flowering perennials?