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The Department of Planning and Development regulates land development in Houston and within its extraterritorial jurisdiction, ETJ. The City of Houston does not have zoning, but development is governed by ordinance codes that address how property can be subdivided. The City codes do not address land use. No Zoning Letter and Boundary Map for ...
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Jul 3, 2024 · Details. Houston Land Use Web Map. ZONING. Houston is the largest city in the United States without formal zoning regulation but development is governed by codes that address how property can be subdivided. The City codes do not address land use. Web Map by MyCityHouston. Last Modified: July 3, 2024.
- They DO have land use regulations. Despite their reputation as the city without zoning, they do regulate a myriad of land use issues such as density, buffering, lot size, and historic preservation through their Planning and Development Department.
- Unincorporated Towns. It’s important to note there are numerous unincorporated towns within and surrounding the Houston metro area. And while these towns have their own land use codes, if they lie within the very large Houston annexation area, they will be subject to some of Houston’s ordinances, like subdivision laws, in addition to their town’s land use codes.
- The Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. Houston also has something called a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. Designed to establish and attract new investments, these areas retain property tax revenue for uses within their borders.
- Houston has no Comprehensive Plan. This isn’t earth-shattering news, but the absence of a comprehensive plan means there is no policy document to inform ordinance creation.
Ways to circumvent a lack of zoning. The biggest difference, of course, is the lack of zoning — but what that really means in Houston is that there is no zoning for use. Under the city’s development code, no parcel of land is restricted for any particular land use, and in many cases, there are no density or height restrictions either.
Houston Actually Does in Fact Lack Zoning. When discussion of Houston is brought up urbanists will say that while Houston lacks a formal zoning code, that its land use regulations are "zoning by another name". But I believe this analysis is simplistic. This equates all land use regulation with zoning and it misunderstands what zoning in fact is.
Apr 29, 2021 · April 29, 2021, 12:00 PM PDT. By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell. Yes, Houston is one of the most populous cities in the United States, and it's also the only city among the largest in the country to lack a zoning ordinance. But, despite a few obvious exceptions, Houston really isn't that much different than other U.S. cities.
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Mar 8, 2020 · The City codes do not address land use." It’s unclear why Houston never embraced zoning. Houston voters rejected formal land use regulations in 1948, 1962, and in 1993.