Third Ward Building Line

[Chanticleer21]

Third Ward Building Setback

 

Does anyone know if variances can be granted to building setback/building line requirements in Houston generally and the Third Ward specifically? Want to buy a house in the area and build an attached garage where the driveway is, but want it to bump out past where the current house is. 

All help appreciated.

[Ross]

12 hours ago, Chanticleer21 said:

Third Ward Building Setback

 

Does anyone know if variances can be granted to building setback/building line requirements in Houston generally and the Third Ward specifically? Want to buy a house in the area and build an attached garage where the driveway is, but want it to bump out past where the current house is. 

All help appreciated.

Setbakcs are usually defined by deed restrictions, not ordinance. That's why Montrose is full of townhomes that are only a few feet from the street. There may be a generic 10 foot setback defined somewhere. I'm pretty sure you can get a variance, though, as I see signs for that all over the place.

[Houston19514]

Minimum setbacks are indeed defined by city ordinance.  Specifically, Chapter 42, division 3.

[cspwal]

It looks like Building lines are defined in Chapter 42, Article III, division 3, subdivision A

https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH42SUDEPL_ARTIIIPLST_DIV3BULI_SDAGEREBULI
 

Here is the table from the ordinance that summarizes setbacks

 

Type of Street	Tract Description	Minimum Building Line Requirement
All Public Streets	Within the central business district	No requirement
Major Thoroughfares	In general	25 feet
	Single-family residential backing on a major thoroughfare	10 feet, if the lot meets the standards of section 42-152(b)
	Not single-family residential and abutting a major thoroughfare with a planned right-of-way width of 80 feet or less	15 feet, if the reserve meets the standards of section 42-153
	Retail commercial center abutting a major thoroughfare with a planned right-of-way width of 80 feet or less	5 feet, if the reserve meets the standards of section 42-154(a)
		zero feet, if the reserve meets the standards of section 42-154(b)
Transit Corridor Streets	All tracts	25 feet
		Reduced building line if the tract meets the standards of article IV of this chapter
Type A Streets	All tracts	See applicable public street classification
		Reduced building line if the tract meets the standards of article IV of this chapter
Collector Streets	Not single-family residential and across the street from a single-family residential lot with a platted building line of 10 feet or more	Lesser of 25 feet or the greatest building line on the single-family residential lots
	Single-family residential	25 feet, if the lot meets the standards the standards of section 42-156(a)
		10 feet, if the lot meets the standards of section 42-157(b)
		5 feet, if the lot meets the standards of section 42-157(c)
		zero feet, if the lot meets the standards of section 42-157(d)
	All others	10 feet
Local streets	Not single-family residential and across the street from a single-family residential lot with a platted building line of 10 feet or more	Lesser of 25 feet or the greatest platted building line on the single-family residential
	Single-family residential	20 feet, if the lot meets the standards of section 42-156(b)
		10 feet, if the lot meets the standards of section 42-156(b) or section 42-157(b)
		5 feet, if the lot meets the standards of section 42-157(c)
		zero feet, if the lot meets the standards of section 42-157(d)
	All others	10 feet
Private Streets	All tracts	5 feet for habitable structures
Type 2 Permanent Access Easements	All tracts	5 feet
Shared Driveways	All tracts	3 feet, if the lot meets the standards of section 42-159(a)
		zero feet, if the lot meets the standards of section 42-159(b)