How Houston

Densified
Retooling for high
density single family
development

Vibrant Value Variety

History of Densification

Variances granted before 1998

Midtown
Chapter 42 revisions
Densification of old suburban neighborhoods
Transitions
No Ps or Zs allowed
Market Forces
Land cost
Single family detached to townhomes to free-standing
townhomes and back to single family detached.

Revised subdivision ordinance sent

to panel / Areas would be tagged as
urban or suburban
MATT SCHWARTZ Staff
TUE 09/08/1998 Houston Chronicle, Section A, Page 13MetFront, 3 STAR Edition

After two years of study and

four rewrites, a proposal to
revise Houston's development
ordinance by dividing the city
into urban and suburban areas
now is in the hands of a City
Council committee.
Calling it a "major rewrite of
the most important regulatory
ordinance governing land
development in the city,"
Mayor Lee Brown forwarded
the 83-page draft to the City
Council's Neighborhood
Planning and Protection
Committee.

Suburban Lots Inside Loop 610

Transition begins like this

How is This Allowed?

No zoning: density can happen anywhere market demands
Market demand for living close to downtown; impetus for
older subdivisions to densify
Lack of architectural design regulations: allows artistic
freedom and individual expression
Simple, predictable and clear subdivision standards
Only the front building setback is regulated by the City of
Houston
Deed restrictions protect some neighborhoods
Neighborhoods can establish a prevailing lot size per block
Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Districts

No Zoning

Without zoning, new housing appears wherever a developer is

willing to take the risk.
Maxroy Mews

Industrial uses on West 11th Street

Homes on a Mews create their own

neighborhood

Market Demand

Market Demand for Living Near Downtown

Small two bedroom homes were designed to attract young people into
an area east of downtown at prices they could afford.

Lack of Design
Regulations

Freedom of Expression

Development
Regulations

Chapter 42 Summary of

Regulations in Urban Areas

1400sf minimum lot size allowed if you provide:

60% maximum lot coverage

150sf of permeable area per lot
Maximum density = 27du/acre
Minimum lot width = 20ft

5ft. front bldg. setback if shared drive layout

10ft front bldg. setback if garage faces public
street
17ft garage door setback if garage faces street

Lot Sizes
Average lot size
may be reduced to
this square footage

Upon providing this amount of

compensating open space per lot

Suburban Area

Urban Area

4,9994,500

100

None

4,4994,000

200

None

3,9993,500

300

None

3,4993,000

400

240

2,9992,500

500

360

2,4492,000

600

480

Sec. 42-184. Reduction in lot size;

compensating open
space.
Lot sizes less than the
otherwise applicable minimum
prescribed in sections 42182 and 42-183 of this Code
are permitted in subdivisions
where compensating open
space is provided within the
boundaries of the subdivision
plat in accordance with the
following schedule and in
conformance with the design
standards of section 42-185 of
this Code:
(Ord. No. 99-262, 2, 3-24-99)

Setbacks

Building Lines
No minimum side yard
No minimum rear yard
Front setback = 5ft, 10ft,
20 ft or 25ft depending
on site design and street
frontage

5ft. Setback at Public Street

(Shared Drive Design)

may be

at the front or side

of the house

In a transition neighborhood the new

buildings come closer to the street

Building Line Requirements

MINIMUM BUILDING LINE REQUIREMENTS
URBAN AREA

SUBURBAN AREA

Central Business District

0 feet

NA

Abutting Major Thoroughfare

25 feet

25 feet

Single-family Lot Backing on Major

Thoroughfare

10 feet, if meets standards of section

42-153

10 feet, if meets
standardsof section 42-153

General

15 feet, if meets standardsof section

42-154

NA

Retail Commercial Center

5 feet, if meets standards of section

42-155(a)

NA
NA

Abutting Major Thoroughfare, Other

Than Transit Corridor Street, With
Planned ROW of 80;ft; or less

0 feet, if meets standardsof section

42-155(b)
Collector and Local Streets Not Single-family Residential

10 feet

10 feet

Nonresidential Across from

Single-family Lots with Platted
Building Line Greater than 10'

Lesser of 25 feet orGreatest

Building Line on Single-family Lots

Lesser of 25 feet or Greatest

Building Line on Single-family
Lots

Collector Streets - Single-family

Residential

10 feet, Principal Structure

25 feet Front
10 feet Side and Back, if
adjacent to local street

17 feet, Garage or Carport Facing

Street 5 feet, if meets standards

But, it hasnt always been like this...

BEFORE 1999

AFTER 1999

Going from 15DU/acre to 27 DU/acre

Site plan for front loading garages

17 garage door setback enables guest parking in

front of the two-car garage and provides four offstreet parking spaces per unit.

Setback for front loading garages

Three or Six Units on a Shared Drive

Courtyard Homes on Shared Drive

Just Enough Open Space

Off center R.O.W. provides an

opportunity for public open space

No Height Limits

W
h
a
t
a
b
o
u
t
t
h
e
t
r
e
e
s
?

What about the trees?

Trees rule in the R.O.W.

Or builders save a specimen tree

Neighborhood Character
New construction
Demographics drive varying home sizes and prices
Land Values
Concentration of certain homebuilders
Dimensions of infill lots
Neighborhood protections include Deed
Restrictions, Prevailing Lot Size, Tax Increment
Finance District (TIF) with architectural guidelines.

The Heights

East of Downtown (EADO)

East Downtown (EaDo)

Low wall separates public/private

space at five foot setback

Midtown
Illustration

Midtown

Museum District

One Block in Transition

Hyde Park Main

Apartment Building

Condo with stacked garage

Cottage Grove
Larger tract develops as a community of patio
homes
Infrastructure issues
Storm water
Guest Parking

Cottage Grove

Sawyer Heights
Downtown views sell

Variety of stylesand holdout cottage restoration

live side by side

Westhaven Estates
Compensating open space required outside of
loop 610
Usually provided at front of lot (not always as
common as it should be)
Larger lots allow larger townhomes, many
free-standing
Variety of architectural styles over the years
but mostly traditional designs.

The End of the

Transition

Whats next?
Apply urban regulations to suburban areas
outside loop 610
Densify areas surrounding other commercial
nodes
Urban Area Designation in Chapter 42 needs
revisiting

Thank you!
Barbara Tennant, Architect

TENNANT DESIGN
btennantra@gmail.com
www.tennantdesign.net