During its Nov. 18 meeting, Tomball City Council gave the first of two approvals for an ordinance limiting the operating hours of gas stations and convenience stores. The ordinance passed 4-1, with council member Paul Garcia voting against the ordinance. Garcia said not allowing a business to operate at its normal hours is unfair.

The details

The ordinance states gas stations and convenience stores, with or without gas sales, must close for business between 11:01 p.m. and 4:59 a.m.

Exemptions in the ordinance include:

• Gas stations along FM 2920, Hwy. 249, Tomball Parkway, Hufsmith-Kohrville Road and Holderrieth Road
• During a disaster or emergency declaration as declared by the mayor
• Gas stations or convenience stores that are not contiguous to a residential zoning district

How we got here

During a Nov. 4 workshop, council discussed the potential of the ordinance after residents voiced grievances, according to prior reporting.

What they’re saying

• “We already approved them to get in there,” council member Paul Garcia said during the Nov. 18 workshop meeting. “We already got the fox in the hen house, so now we're going to tell the fox you can only eat the black chickens and not the white chickens. ... The guy has a right to make money, if we didn’t want to put a service station there we should have never allowed it to be zoned that way. We need to get control and decide, are we pro-development or we want to control development?”
• “I think it's valid to say you can't operate all night,” council member Lisa Covington said during the Nov. 18 workshop meeting.

Stay tuned

The second and final reading of the ordinance should take place at council’s next meeting Dec. 2.

View the ordinance below.