Houston Landscaping Requirements Ordinance postponed

The desire for a community to have an inviting and sustainable landscape for commercial and residential properties versus the rights of residents to maintain their land as they choose was at the heart of an ordinance introduced at the Houston City Council meeting on July 10.

Ordinance 25-18, which was scheduled for introduction, proposes changes to Houston Municipal Code (HMC) Chapter 10.03. In the proposed ordinance, the applicability of the new requirements would pertain to only new developments of single-family, two-and three-family units within the city other than commercially-zoned districts.

In residential zones, at a minimum, the proposal states that no developer, owner, occupant or other person shall remove from an undeveloped residentially-zoned lots less than one acre, 15% of existing, healthy vegetation must be retained. For lots equal to or greater than one acre, 20% of existing, healthy vegetation must be retained. Additionally, all lots must have established lawn, sod, or naturally occurring ground cover.

Standards are much lengthier and detailed concerning commercial properties, which must be in compliance with grass seeding and tree height requirements. Efforts must be made to protect slopes and disturbed soils from erosion by methods “such as, but not limited to, installation of ground cover, landscaping, and maintenance of vegetation cover.”

Additionally, there are buffer landscaping requirements intended to separate and cushion adjacent lands and reduce any impact on neighboring properties. There are also landscape requirements for parking lots and street right-of-ways.

Even before it was introduced, Ordinance 25-18 had caught the ire of many Houston residents, some of whom posted on social media their unhappiness with the proposal, while others who packed the council chambers to voice their concerns with the proposal.

Christine Nelson said that while she appreciates the City’s desire to pursue beautification, she said the ordinance goes too far.

“It will create administrative overhead for the city, while also imposing a financial burden for existing property owners. For residential lots greater than one acre, the requirements to retain 20% continuous vegetation effectively forces me to reserve 1/5 of my already small lot for nothing but planting grass or vegetation.” She told the council that one reason for purchasing her property in Houston was to get away from “restrictive environments.”

“If I wanted such limitations, I would have purchased in a master-planned community with luxury-level standards.”

Nelson said for commercial property owners, there is even greater impact due to planting and spacing requirements for trees.

“Passing this ordinance will deter people from considering relocation here for peace and freedom, and it will increase the development costs, further limiting business expansion,” she said during her testimony.

Former Deputy Mayor Lance Wilson also spoke against the ordinance, saying that though he commends the two years that the Planning Commission spent on the landscaping requirements and applauds their intent, problems exist within the proposal.

“You have residential landscaping requirements that will be applied to public lands,” he said.

He also took issue that there seemed to be no exceptions in landscape requirements for rural-agricultural land districts, where minimum lots are five acres. “Right now, as it stands, there’s no exceptions for agriculture use. The inability to clear lands for agriculture use would make it incompatible,” citing that Palmer and Wasilla both have exceptions in their codes and suggested a revisitation to the proposal. He also said the city should follow Palmer and Wasilla codes, which have exemptions in their landscaping codes for housing on single lots.

“Sometimes lots are very small, not even an acre, and if you require that 15% , it might make that lot unbuildable.”

In a statement posted to the City of Houston website, the Planning and Zoning Commission says that only new homes and business would be subject to the changes, and that older homes and businesses would be grandfathered into the plan.

The statement lists the key elements of the plan, including buffer zones and windbreaks, writing: “to respect property boundaries, we will establish buffer zones using mixed hedgerows and tree lines. These green borders help reduce soil erosion, limit wind exposure, and add privacy for residents while also supporting wildlife migration and nesting.”

Constancy was also listed as a key element, saying that ensuring the community has a plan in place for future development and incorporating healthy, durable vegetation into the city were integral to the changes.

“Houston is currently a small Alaskan town, but we are growing rapidly. We want new businesses and homeowners to feel welcome in our community. Having a beautiful environment around you makes a big difference. With new growth comes new responsibility. We will ensure our town remains the same, adding details into our landscaping plan to ensure the wellbeing of our future.”

The Planning and Zoning statement also says that the changes were not meant to take away from the rural character of Houston, but enhance the community. The commission also states that there is no desire to turn neighborhoods into Home Owners’ Association, but adding basic standards to the landscape code.

Before a motion to send the Ordinance to public hearing next month, city council voted to send the proposal back to Planning and Zoning for a public hearing at that level, as well make any clarifying changes that may be needed.

“There has been a lot of time spent revising this, and there has been a lot of stuff brought up by the public tonight. Also, I’ve gotten emails and phone calls, text messages from people concerned about this. I don’t feel like it’s ready for approval,” said Councilmember Kent Mitchell, who recommended a public hearing with Planning and Zoning before sending it back to the city council.

“I think there is an intention here that’s being misconstrued. There is intention that has validity, and that is when we look at the growth of the city, including when the state comes through with road projects,” said Deputy Mayor David Childs. “But the community wants more to opportunity to give their input,” he said before recommending the ordinance be sent back to Planning and Zoning.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Houston City Council will be held on Thursday, August 14 at Houston City Hall.