Houston officials consider removal of rule mandating construction of sidewalks with new home builds

Houston officials are working on making amendments to the city’s sidewalk ordinance.

What happened

An amendment to the ordinance was first submitted to Houston City Council Sept. 18 asking for a change to the rule that requires developers to build mandatory sidewalks for any new single-family residential developments.

The city currently requires sidewalks to be constructed for new-build, single-family homes, even if there are no other sidewalks on the street that could be connected to the new sidewalk. Developers can only waive the requirement to construct the sidewalk if they pay a $250 fee.

The suggested amendment aims to remove that mandatory requirement and thereby eliminate both the construction requirement and the fee-in-lieu option.

Council members Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, Tiffany Thomas and Edward Pollard signed off on the amendment. However, Thomas tagged the item halting any possible discussion for at least a week.

Council members were able to discuss the item during a Sept. 25 council meeting, but it was ultimately referred back to the administration.

Going forward

Houston Mayor John Whitmire shared a memo from his office Sept. 25 regarding the potential changes.

According to the memo, the city's Planning and Development Department is working on making amendments to the sidewalk ordinance to help simplify the mandate by eliminating confusion or redundancy and streamlining the process.

The draft process will include opportunities for public comment and input. Whitmire said he anticipates having a draft ordinance for council consideration by December.

In the meantime, Whitmire’s administration has directed planning and development and public works officials to use discretion and waive sidewalk construction for single-family residential projects where it is technically infeasible to construct a sidewalk.