Zooming in
City Planner Rachel Lazo presented several suggestions at the Aug. 25 special meeting, which would require more landscaping at several properties across Katy.
Lazo said the suggestions would change Katy’s regulations to include requiring:
- Trees to have a 3-inch caliper minimum (previously 1.5 inches)
- Shrubs to have a 5-gallon minimum (previously 3 gallons)
- All existing trees to be barricaded during construction
- A 15-foot landscape buffer on private property (previously along street frontage)
- One tree and three shrubs per 25 feet of frontage (previously two trees and three shrubs per 50 feet of frontage)
Diving in deeper
Lazo also presented a plan to preserve trees with a circumference above 25 inches within the Old Katy District and above 60 inches within city limits. The removal of any tree would face replacement requirements and fees up to $10,000 per tree with a circumference of 36 inches or more.
Lazo said the suggestions aim to:
- Protect, preserve and enhance the city’s canopy
- Promote quality development through cohesive landscaping
- Encourage native and drought-resistant plants for water conservancy
- Improve stormwater runoff quantity and quality
- Abate noise, glare and heat from both the built environment and vehicles
Several City Council members said the requirements seemed too stringent for the city to be regulating itself.
“To me, it feels like we took requirements from [a homeowners association] and now we’re trying to apply it to the entire city,” Ward A council member Janet Corte said.
Ward B council member Gina Hicks said multiple businesses, including Second Baptist Church and Katy Mills, could be regulated out of the city by the new changes.
What’s next
While no meeting time has been set yet, City Council will have another meeting to discuss the landscaping ordinance in the future before potential approval.
