Changes Are Coming For Bellaire’s Comprehensive Plan

First up at the April 1, 2024, was a City Council discussion to update the Bellaire Comprehensive Plan was the Pont Alba apartments, located at 4301 Bissonnet.  The current zoning for that area is R-MF, Residential Multi-Family, apartments or condominiums.

In the new Comp Plan the Pont Alba area becomes Small-Lot Residential Attached, and presents an opportunity for homes on smaller lots or fee simple townhouses. However, a new zoning ordinance will be required to complete the change.  Until then the site is still zoned for multi-family. 

The really bad news?  Multi-family remains in the UV-D, the Urban Village Downtown.  Some members on Council seem to think that’s a good idea, and that means apartments or condos could be built on the old Randall’s site as mixed-use multi-family. Bellaire residents may recall the shiny new apartments that were built about 50 years ago in what is now known as the Gulfton area.  A highrise condo development, The Sussex, was built in the 1960s in Sharpstown. 

Others have mentioned the number thefts of autos and the transitory nature of occupants of multi-family developments. Condos are often purchased or converted for rental units, as is the case with a condominium development just outside Bellaire. Currently only 9 of the 27 units are homesteaded, and some investors own multiple units in the complex.

In addition, the UV-D was expanded in 2014 to include the north side of the 5100 and 5200 blocks of Spruce St., which means multi-unit developments could be built 15 feet from the backyards of homes on the south side Locust St.  Meanwhile, small upscale cities like West University do not allow any multi-family.

The zero-lot line setback will become ‘narrower setbacks’, allowing more green space in the UV-D and the UV-T (located in the Loop 610/Westpark area), and the 2-story minimum building height is scheduled to be removed, .  Stay tuned, I’ll try to parse out more Comprehensive Plan updates as I finish watching the video from the April 1st City Council meeting. 

Feel free to email comments to the Mayor and City Council via our City Clerk at tdutton@bellairetx.gov, and to members of the Planning and Zoning Commission via zoning@bellairetx.gov.