New regulations for residential development?

[hysinger]

If there is a more appropriate forum, please move...

 

I received an email this morning from the Houston Planning Department about new requirements for solid waste plans and new developments.  The memo is at https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/DevelopRegs/docs_pdfs/Solid_Waste_Plan.pdf.  It seems to say that each new residential development will need 10 feet of curb frontage for each unit.  Am I reading this right?  Seems like this would have a huge impact on some types of townhome development inside the loop.  In particular, splitting a 5000 sq ft lot in two, with a double car driveway in each unit, would probably be impossible under this rule.  On the flip side, it would increase on street parking.

[houstontexasjack]

I suspect this topic would be more appropriate for the “Houston Real Estate” forum.

 

My reading of the memorandum is that it’s merely a proposal at this point. However, you are correct that this would impact townhome development within the Loop. Many townhome developments don’t have places for storage of trash and recycling bins planned out, and the bulk of these proposed regs address that issue. The diagram attached to the memo suggests developers might achieve the minimum curb space by narrowing the entry points into driveways.

 

One positive effect of the proposed regs might be to encourage single-car garages and households in high density areas. I’ve been musing about the possibility that Inner Loop neighborhoods might appeal to transit-oriented professionals if there were the possibility that one member could take transit to work (as an example, my brother’s spouse would prefer not to drive if she were to move to Houston, but knows they’ll need a car). There’d be extra square footage available on the first floor of townhomes if they were designed with only a one-car garage in mind, allowing a greater charge for usable square feet and potentially greater profit margins in certain neighborhoods.

[mollusk]

Tandem garages would also work with a narrower driveway.  Lots of us already play Musical Cars in our single lane driveways - it'd be nice to have more than one under cover.  

[Luminare]

28 minutes ago, hysinger said:

If there is a more appropriate forum, please move...

 

I received an email this morning from the Houston Planning Department about new requirements for solid waste plans and new developments.  The memo is at https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/DevelopRegs/docs_pdfs/Solid_Waste_Plan.pdf.  It seems to say that each new residential development will need 10 feet of curb frontage for each unit.  Am I reading this right?  Seems like this would have a huge impact on some types of townhome development inside the loop.  In particular, splitting a 5000 sq ft lot in two, with a double car driveway in each unit, would probably be impossible under this rule.  On the flip side, it would increase on street parking.

 

2 minutes ago, houstontexasjack said:

I suspect this topic would be more appropriate for the “Houston Real Estate” forum.

 

My reading of the memorandum is that it’s merely a proposal at this point. However, you are correct that this would impact townhome development within the Loop. Many townhome developments don’t have places for storage of trash and recycling bins planned out, and the bulk of these proposed regs address that issue. The diagram attached to the memo suggests developers might achieve the minimum curb space by narrowing the entry points into driveways.

 

One positive effect of the proposed regs might be to encourage single-car garages and households in high density areas. I’ve been musing about the possibility that Inner Loop neighborhoods might appeal to transit-oriented professionals if there were the possibility that one member could take transit to work (as an example, my brother’s spouse would prefer not to drive if she were to move to Houston, but knows they’ll need a car). There’d be extra square footage available on the first floor of townhomes if they were designed with only a one-car garage in mind, allowing a greater charge for usable square feet and potentially greater profit margins in certain neighborhoods.

 

Thats not what any of this is saying. Its basically saying that for a single residential unit you have to have a pad of some kind that 5'x5' which is where garbage is loaded and unloaded from the property yet it can't be on private property. It has to be in the ROW between sidewalk and the road. This doesn't discourage townhome development or even the subdividing of townhome development. In fact it might push them even further since it would be more efficient to lock each one together and then designate a single large dumpster to all who live on that plat of land. It doesn't even state what the material for the pad should be (concrete, gravel, etc...). I imagine this has arisen because of the cities issues with upgrading road infrastructure because the majority of townhome development is in areas that still have large open storm and when trash time comes around its on the side behind the storm or in the driveway of the townhouse complex which is leading to delays in service. Again another bandaid to an issue which the city should be fixing, which is upgrading our infrastructure and eliminating open storm within the loop. What might end up happening though is depending on how large the townhome development is then it might give the design team/contractor more incentive to bury the storm and because they need to have a pad for the garbage they will have to do better sidewalk design from the road to the edge of ROW. Thats from what I'm reading in this as someone who is in the industry. 

[thedistrict84]

4 minutes ago, mollusk said:

Tandem garages would also work with a narrower driveway.  Lots of us already play Musical Cars in our single lane driveways - it'd be nice to have more than one under cover.  

 

That’s a good point. I almost bought a townhome in Second Ward that had what would have been (at least for me and my affinity for small cars) a three-car tandem garage. It definitely would allow for a narrower footprint and less frontage on the street.

 

A single-capacity, single care garage would be a deal-breaker for a lot of inside the loop buyers. Even if you do not need a car for work or most local travel, they’re necessary to get around to other parts of town (especially if you have friends and family in the suburbs, as I do). And, given the car culture here, a lot of people have second cars for recreational use.

[skooljunkie]

This topic includes so many items all too familiar in my neighborhood in the Washington area. I really wish the City would consider a European style trash system in very dense neighborhoods--maybe they could even throw in an organic material tub. The current system's inefficiency in dense neighborhoods is off the chart imo. The amount of trash/recycling cans along the extremely narrow streets is just pure comedy--and gets funnier every year as more homes are built.  My can gets skipped whenever a construction truck parks across the street at the very moment the trash truck comes by (It happened this very week). Come to think of it, it's usually an AT&T truck since they absolutely get off on tearing up the same stretch of "sidewalk" every few months.  Anyway, I'm sure finding locations for neighborhood waste tubs would be a challenge, but geez, I'd rather occasionally walk a few blocks to the trash rather than deal with that damn rolling waste bucket that doesn't get picked up half the time. Hell, I'd have more space in my garage too.

 

The property I live in has tandem garages. The housing cost was most definitely kept down due to this and it's not much of a hassle once you get used to it--one of those give and takes.

[Luminare]

25 minutes ago, skooljunkie said:

This topic includes so many items all too familiar in my neighborhood in the Washington area. I really wish the City would consider a European style trash system in very dense neighborhoods--maybe they could even throw in an organic material tub. The current system's inefficiency in dense neighborhoods is off the chart imo. The amount of trash/recycling cans along the extremely narrow streets is just pure comedy--and gets funnier every year as more homes are built.  My can gets skipped whenever a construction truck parks across the street at the very moment the trash truck comes by (It happened this very week). Come to think of it, it's usually an AT&T truck since they absolutely get off on tearing up the same stretch of "sidewalk" every few months.  Anyway, I'm sure finding locations for neighborhood waste tubs would be a challenge, but geez, I'd rather occasionally walk a few blocks to the trash rather than deal with that damn rolling waste bucket that doesn't get picked up half the time. Hell, I'd have more space in my garage too.

 

The property I live in has tandem garages. The housing cost was most definitely kept down due to this and it's not much of a hassle once you get used to it--one of those give and takes.

 

I would be for the European model only as far as recycling goes. Thats a trip you won't have to make all the time. Trash is another story. This is from my experience living in a small town in Germany for two years. It would be a huge hassle if it were trash. Would be nice if they had large bins for recycling. Its way more efficient and gives the right kind of recycling more notice (even though I'm not much into recycling. In that model its more efficient and therefore I'm for it.) What needs to happen is that we go back to alleyway trash collection. Collecting trash in front of a property is incredibly inefficient, and storing trash in the front is not only a waste of space, but its ugly. This will only get worse in some sense with these regulations because through my interpretation it will eventually lead to "blocking" townhomes into a essentially a "unit" instead of them designated as single entities in themselves which will lead to less cans, and instead large dumpsters for each "block of townhomes" or "unit of townhomes". Of course where are they going to place these? In front of the townhomes, facing the street and in full view of everything. We have all these alleyways in town and aren't using them and its a waste of space.

[houstontexasjack]

1 hour ago, Luminare said:

 

 

Thats not what any of this is saying. Its basically saying that for a single residential unit you have to have a pad of some kind that 5'x5' which is where garbage is loaded and unloaded from the property yet it can't be on private property. It has to be in the ROW between sidewalk and the road. This doesn't discourage townhome development or even the subdividing of townhome development. In fact it might push them even further since it would be more efficient to lock each one together and then designate a single large dumpster to all who live on that plat of land. It doesn't even state what the material for the pad should be (concrete, gravel, etc...). I imagine this has arisen because of the cities issues with upgrading road infrastructure because the majority of townhome development is in areas that still have large open storm and when trash time comes around its on the side behind the storm or in the driveway of the townhouse complex which is leading to delays in service. Again another bandaid to an issue which the city should be fixing, which is upgrading our infrastructure and eliminating open storm within the loop. What might end up happening though is depending on how large the townhome development is then it might give the design team/contractor more incentive to bury the storm and because they need to have a pad for the garbage they will have to do better sidewalk design from the road to the edge of ROW. Thats from what I'm reading in this as someone who is in the industry. 

My response wasn't meant to suggest it would discourage townhome development.  However, the proposed regs would, as you acknowledge, affect how development goes. (Also, for purposes of conversation, I use the term "townhome" to include patio homes and very narrow two stories with limited lot space--essentially any home on a larger lot that was subdivided following the time when the City of Houston lowered its minimum lot size). The proposed reg specifically requires a minimum of ten feet of frontage for "each residential unit" in a residential development. (emphasis added).  There are a number of plans executed by developers today that would not have the required frontage--I can think of a number of homes by me in Museum Park that have barely a few feet between each driveway.  Grouping units together under a condominium scheme to designate one area for trash disposal might indeed be a good response to the proposed reg.  Limiting garage space is another potential response.

[skooljunkie]

1 hour ago, Luminare said:

 

I would be for the European model only as far as recycling goes. Thats a trip you won't have to make all the time. Trash is another story. This is from my experience living in a small town in Germany for two years. It would be a huge hassle if it were trash. Would be nice if they had large bins for recycling. Its way more efficient and gives the right kind of recycling more notice (even though I'm not much into recycling. In that model its more efficient and therefore I'm for it.) What needs to happen is that we go back to alleyway trash collection. Collecting trash in front of a property is incredibly inefficient, and storing trash in the front is not only a waste of space, but its ugly. This will only get worse in some sense with these regulations because through my interpretation it will eventually lead to "blocking" townhomes into a essentially a "unit" instead of them designated as single entities in themselves which will lead to less cans, and instead large dumpsters for each "block of townhomes" or "unit of townhomes". Of course where are they going to place these? In front of the townhomes, facing the street and in full view of everything. We have all these alleyways in town and aren't using them and its a waste of space.

 

Totally valid points, Luminare.  Regarding alleys, my neighborhood doesn't have them. Perhaps a re-imagining of trash collection, much like Metro did with the bus system, should occur. As I always say, the City cannot continue to increase density without upgrading streets and changing the way things have been done just because "it's always been done that way" --- but I digress.

[Luminare]

32 minutes ago, houstontexasjack said:

My response wasn't meant to suggest it would discourage townhome development.  However, the proposed regs would, as you acknowledge, affect how development goes. (Also, for purposes of conversation, I use the term "townhome" to include patio homes and very narrow two stories with limited lot space--essentially any home on a larger lot that was subdivided following the time when the City of Houston lowered its minimum lot size). The proposed reg specifically requires a minimum of ten feet of frontage for "each residential unit" in a residential development. (emphasis added).  There are a number of plans executed by developers today that would not have the required frontage--I can think of a number of homes by me in Museum Park that have barely a few feet between each driveway.  Grouping units together under a condominium scheme to designate one area for trash disposal might indeed be a good response to the proposed reg.  Limiting garage space is another potential response.

 

Great points. All of the variations you have pointed out are "townhomes". Whats been interesting the past decade or so is the rise of the "townhome" typology in this city. Its not a new typology though. Its simply the next evolution of the city as it gets denser. Older cities like New York started with a lot of single family, then evolved into townhomes, and then evolved into midrises, and then evolved into highrises. We have been spread out for so long and development has always hopped the previous so single family has honestly held on in the inner city here than would realistically be possible in other cities with more geographical constrains and traditional growth patterns (which is why I'm not exactly sorry to see many single family houses go since they have lived way longer than what is typical in other cities). All of which you have classified, is townhome by there dimensions even with the porch (but the porch is definitely a unique addition to Houston townhomes kinda like the Charleston model). As for the proposed reg. This reading you have, which would negate the way that townhomes are typically developed right now would only work if the interior driveways to get to the interior townhomes were public ROW to reach said private property/lot, but that isn't the case. If that were the case then in the diagram presented we would see the 10' min with pad applied to outside each lot, but instead its shown to be outside the entire block of lots near public ROW. So to take your Museum Park "townhome" clusters  or block of townhomes, this reg only applies to the streets that border the entire block and not the interior drives, so the lots in the interior of the block don't violate this proposed reg, but this reg does (as I said and you have said) give pause to how one collects trash for instances like this and if you have a "block of townhomes" and each has at least 2 cans + 1 recycle then thats a crap ton of space needed to fit all of those which gets to be absurd.

 

20 minutes ago, skooljunkie said:

 

Totally valid points, Luminare.  Regarding alleys, my neighborhood doesn't have them. Perhaps a re-imagining of trash collection, much like Metro did with the bus system, should occur. As I always say, the City cannot continue to increase density without upgrading streets and changing the way things have been done just because "it's always been done that way" --- but I digress.

 

This absurdity rolls into your statement here, which I completely agree with. The change will come soon enough regarding infrastructure. This has been the case for all major cities that went through a massive growth spurt of unorganized development patterns. At some point we will need to take a step back and say...ok we want more of this, but while we like have this hap-hazard unorganized development happening inside the property, we don't need that for infrastructure and to grow even more than we need to upgrade to match. Your point of re-imagining of trash collection is correct. I think the private end of the business side of trash collection will figure it out, but its the government side that will always been slow to respond because it doesn't have others to compete with. Instead someone with vision will need to step up to provide a true direction forward, whether that be how we collect trash to how we move people around.

[mollusk]

Actually, in Houston there's one rolling bin for trash and another rolling bin for recycling, both of which are considerably larger than a typical trash can.

 

Regarding alleys - yeah, they'd be nice.  I don't see how on earth you could retrofit them without massive condemnations of chunks of people's back yards, garages, garage apartments, swimming pools, and sometimes even houses.