UPDATE 1/24/2023: At last night’s meeting, Bellaire City Council members agreed to postpone a decision on the location of a new dog pound. Instead they have requested that City staff provide more information on zoning issues for the 1311 N. First St in Bellaire location, They also suggested that staff explore other possible locations, within the City or at least close to City limits. Several residents either spoke or emailed to request that the pound be located within Bellaire. Most of the Council members seemed to agree. Find a link to the meeting here. Stay tuned!
1/23/2023 – Monday night’s City Council meeting will include approval or rejection for grant applications and expenditures for various utility and equipment items.
But the last item on the Agenda may generate a fair amount of discussion. It’s the possible action to approve replacement of Bellaire’s dog pound.
The cost to the City if the pound is built on City land located in the UV-T, in the Westpark/610 area and originally estimated at $225,000, is now $403,120. Less a $100,000 donation from the Jerry and Maury Rubenstein Foundation the final cost would be around $300,000.
If the pound is moved to the Rubenstein property at 2328 W. Bellfort in Houston, with costs paid by the Rubenstein Foundation, the cost to the City would be about $35,000. Quite a difference in price, but also quite a bit more travel time for Bellaire residents and Bellaire police officers. The pound is checked at least twice daily, including weekends. Find a floor plan drawing below:
The proposed structure (600 s/f building plus 192 s/f for runs) would include eight (8) dog kennels with outside runs plus an isolation kennel, an air conditioner and a wall-mounted heater, a tankless water heater, plumbing for washer and dryer hookups and a bathroom. It includes a utility sink and a grooming tub. There are two additional rooms.
Council held a workshop on this matter last November. Find an earlier article on that meeting and my comments to City Council here. Chief Lopez advised Council at that time that BPD officers would accompany volunteers to the West Bellfort location. An Advisory Committee met in August of 2022 to discuss the status of the current pound. Find the minutes of that meeting here. It was deemed adequate for short-term housing. Updates or renovations of the pound were not mentioned.
Please email comments, concerns, or questions to the Mayor and members of City Council via our City Clerk, Tracy Dutton, at tdutton@bellairetx.gov and request that your email be forwarded to the Mayor and Council.
Construction on the new Bellaire High school is complete. The original building was demolished during the week of July 13-17, 2021. 
FEMA imposes requirements for new structures and limits on existing structures in flood zones. Check with Development Services for more information,
