UPDATE: The discussion at the October 11, 2022 joint workshop included a decision to hire a consultant and suggestions on seeking public input, What do residents want in their commercial areas, especially the UV-D and the UV-T.
Would they prefer the opportunity to pull in and park in front of a shop or store? What do they think about multi-story parking lots adjacent to multi-story office buildings, nextdoor to homes, as built at 4460 Bissonnet?
What about a similar design on the old Randalls site? Are Bellaire residents okay with zero setback, up to 90% lot coverage, and possibly a couple of 5-story buildings? Please, let City Council and P&Z know what you think,
Email Planning and Zoning via malejos@bellairetx.gov or csomers@bellairetx.gov and request that your email be forwarded to members of P&Z.
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.
Here’s my letter of 10/7/2022 to City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Find a link to the 10/11/2022 Joint Workshop here.
10/17/2022: Find the Mayor’s report on the joint workshop here.
UPDATE: A joint workshop between City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission to discuss the Comprehensive Plan and current zoning ordinances will be held on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, at 6 PM in Council Chambers. Find the agenda here.
Find my comments of 10 10/7/2022 to City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Councilmember Lewis added an agenda item to the September 12, 2022, City Council meeting to call a joint workshop and public hearing before the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission. Zoning districts under discussion would be the CMU, UV-D, and UV-T.
Find the Agenda Item here Agenda Statement Report – Pdf
The Mayor managed to sideline her request for a workshop on three zoning ordinances with a substitute motion to schedule a joint workshop with P&Z to initiate a review of the 122 page Comprehensive Plan. The Council voted 6 to 1 to approve. The workshop will hopefully be held within the next month.
Meanwhile the big players, like Houston Methodist, can pursue their options for multi-story buildings and parking garages on the old Randalls site. Another location still in play is Christ Church Presbyterian on the southeast corner of Bellaire Blvd at South Rice, currently zoned R-4 (residential).
Here’s a link to the September 12, 2022 City Council meeting
Mayor Friedberg objected to the review of the zoning process as being too specific, and instead suggested that the existing Comprehensive Plan should be examined first. He mentioned barriers to new developments, felt that the agenda item seemed to be in response to recent proposals for developments that were turned down or discouraged because they do not meet the current code.
The Mayor did not directly address the recent presentations by O’Reilly Auto and Thompson+Hanson (see more below). Neither one would be acceptable under current zoning,
Councilmember Gordon was concerned and felt Councilmember Lewis’ suggestions would result in a complete rewrite of the commercial zoning codes. Councilmember Lewis responded that she felt he misstated her presentation, that her proposals were very narrow and very specific.
Councilmember Wesely agreed that the City should not resort to spot zoning. Specify what’s allowed and what is not. His suggestion is to query what the Comprehensive Plan says, how do the current items and zoning districts under discussion meet the intent of the Plan? He suggested that examination of the ordinances might be very amenable to members of the Planning and Zoning Commission. (See more about the Comprehensive Plan at the end of this article.)
Councilmember Frazier stated that the basis for the zoning in the UV-T in 2014 has changed over time, and felt it may be reasonable to re-examine that zoning ordinance. Councilmember Witt mentioned residents’ concerns about setbacks, and he felt there is some urgency to address these zoning codes now due to the amount of possible commercial developments that may be submitted in the near future.
Councilmember Hotze commented on the new construction at 5222 Spruce, and asked Council to imagine the entire area lined with similar buildings, side-by-side. What sort of image would that present for our City? He wondered if enough residents still want a downtown where you can park in front and run into a store.
Which reminds me of my drive through Rice Village along Rice Blvd recently. It was packed with customers parked in front of the mostly one story businesses. And many pedestrians. That’s not what one sees in the UV-D.
Why Are Zoning Ordinances And The
Comprehensive Plan Issues Now?
Two local businesses, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Thompson+Hanson, have been advised that their plans for development are not acceptable under current zoning ordinances.
UV-D zoning requires buildings be constructed at zero setback from property lines, 50% of the front of the structure must be at zero setback for residential and 75% for commercial buildings.
- The rezoning was promoted in 2014 as encouraging a “small town” feel.
- Those setback areas are not to be used for parking.
- Up to 90% lot coverage is allowed.
- Buildings must be at least 2 stories, at least 30 feet tall.
- Single-family dwellings, up to 5 attached, are allowed.
- The angled public parking built a few years ago in the ‘ornamental streetscape’ precludes easy access to some of the current businesses.
O’Reilly Auto didn’t want or need a 2-story building, but their request to the Board of Adjustment for a variance in order to build a new 1-story building on Spruce in the UV-D was refused.
UV-T zoning is similar to UV-D and while the idea of the Urban Farm was well received by P&Z, the property owners were advised it was not in line with the current zoning.
- The UV-T specifies at least 75 percent of the front building facade of all principal buildings shall be at the front property line, with zero feet of setback.
- Maximum site coverage of 90% is also allowed.
- Minimum building height of 2 stories, maximum is 16 stories or 235 feet.
- No single-family dwellings (detached or attached).
- In addition, both districts allow multi-family (apartments and condos) and hotels but only the UV-D allows single family units (townhouses).
Thompson+Hanson’s plans for an Urban Farm and Gardens did not meet the requirements of the UV-T.
Comparison Of Ordinances To The Comprehensive Plan
Let’s take a look at the current Comprehensive Plan, which often seems to rule decisions on zoning ordinances. Chapter 5 Commercial Area Development & Enhancement (pg 85 of the pdf) is important. Find links to the Comprehensive Plan and to Chapter 5 of the Plan at the end of this article.
- First mentioned is the Bellaire Urban Village at Westpark, now the UV-T. This is from the updated Comp Plan of 2015:
The passage of time has also led to different market calculations and real
estate decisions by owners of property within the City of Houston, just west
of the UV-T area toward South Rice Avenue. Larger tracts on the Houston
side that were once part of the TOD vision along Westpark have already
developed in a more typical, auto-oriented fashion with large-footprint retail
stores, associated pad sites along South Rice, and expansive areas devoted to
parking. Properties conducive for redevelopment in Bellaire’s UV-T district
could still follow a different path…
- So pretty much a washout. There’s an enormous flyover ramp at the 610/59/69 intersection, running south to Fournace, making the area between Westpark and Fournace difficult to access
- No light rail was built. Instead the Houston portion offers a huge Metro transit station for buses, and no one seems interested in building a 16-story building.
- The Uptown Houston/River Oaks scenario is now a Walmart, some fast food places, a hotel and Microcenter, also in Houston.
- Next comes the City Center, now the UV-D,
- From the first paragraph: …”encourage significant reinvestment (e.g., by setting quality standards, establishing a more walkable setting, addressing area aesthetics in terms of streetscape and signage, providing public parking, and exploring public/private partnership opportunities.). Were H-E-B and the ‘ornamental streetscape’ the response to that suggestion? H-E-B’s store would have spanned the old CCD-1 and CCD-2 zoning districts and violated the zoning.
- There never seemed to be a willingness by the City to offer mini-grants to existing commercial property and business owners to help finance improvements (pg 5.17). And there was plenty of parking available for the public in business parking lots.
- Within a year of the rezoning in 2014 H-E-B presented plans for their new store at 5106 Bissonnet.
- The authors of this Comp Plan seemed concerned about the lack of residential development and multi-family in the downtown area. Why? Haven’t we always offered single-family residential areas, rather than apartments, as a haven from the madding crowd?
- Aren’t “stand-alone” multi-family developments (apartments and condos) often built by investors, ultimately as rental units? Is that what we want in the middle of town? Is that where aging Bellaire residents want to live in retirement?
- Lack of green space is mentioned in the Plan. How does that reconcile with zero setbacks and 90% lot coverage?
- And on and on… it’s almost bizarre to read the multiple criticisms and suggestions for such a small downtown area that has served the needs of Bellaire residents successfully for over a hundred years.
The CMU, the Corridor Mixed Use District, is slightly less restrictive than the UV-D and UV-T in that it does require a 15 foot setback, except for Planned Developments.
Perhaps the current zoning reflects the desire of a majority of Bellaire residents, but if that is not the case it’s up to those residents to let the folks on P&Z and City Council know what they would like to see in future commercial developments. This is from our City website:
“As an enclave community surrounded by the big city, Bellaire residents enjoy the best of both worlds. We’ve got easy access to conveniences and amenities throughout the Houston area, and peace of mind knowing we can depend on our first-class municipal services and public safety departments that really set us apart. An inviting refuge from all the hustle and bustle, our small-town feel makes Bellaire the ideal place to live, work and raise a family.”
Find Chapter 5 of the Comprehensive Plan here
Find the entire Comprehensive Plan here.
A Few Of Bellaire’s Many Comprehensive Plans
A Primer on Bellaire P&Z: A 30 ft Minimum Height And A Zero Setback!
The Old CCD-1 and CCD-2 Zoning Districts CCD-1&2 Map
Email Planning and Zoning via malejos@bellairetx.gov or csomers@bellairetx.gov and request that your email be forwarded to members of P&Z.
Please email concerns or questions to the Mayor and members of City Council via our City Clerk, Tracy Dutton, at tdutton@bellairetx.gov. Let Council know what you think.
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,
