HOUSTON \u2013 A proposed gas station in Houston\u2019s Third Ward is sparking a broader conversation about how neighborhoods protect themselves from unwanted development in a city without traditional zoning laws.<\/p>\n
Residents in the Riverside Terrace area say the project would place a gas station just feet from their backyards \u2014 prompting concerns about health risks, crime and property values.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiterally my backyard,\u201d said homeowner Nicholas Saunders. \u201cNo good \u2014 no good for anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saunders says when he first learned about the proposal, he immediately worried about the impact on his home and his neighbors.<\/p>\n
\u201cCatastrophe. We\u2019d lose money on the house. We\u2019d never be able to sell it,\u201d Saunders said. \u201cThere are health hazards. I\u2019m a disabled combat veteran. I have breathing issues from when I was in Iraq. I don\u2019t want to be breathing in benzene fumes.\u201d<\/p>\n
No zoning means neighborhoods rely on other protections<\/p>\n
The situation has also highlighted the challenges of regulating development in Houston, the largest city in the United States without zoning.<\/p>\n
Attorney David Kahne says that means neighborhoods must often rely on other tools to control what gets built nearby.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout zoning what we have here first and foremost are deed restrictions, and sometimes those deed restrictions can be used to block new development,\u201d Kahne said.<\/p>\n
Neighbors say their community does have deed restrictions, which could potentially limit certain types of development. However, they say those restrictions were not included in the original application submitted to the city. <\/p>\n
Questions about the city\u2019s review process<\/p>\n
State Representative Jolanda Jones, who also lives in the area, says that raises concerns about how the process works. She tells KPRC she requested the original application submitted by the developer and was told she would need to submit a public records request in order to see it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the city had done their due diligence in the first place, this property never would have been commercial,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
Proposed solution would involve neighborhood leaders<\/p>\n
In response, Houston City Councilmember Carolyn Evans-Shabazz says she\u2019s working on a proposal that would add another layer of verification to development applications.<\/p>\n
Her idea would require developers to get confirmation from local neighborhood leaders \u2014 such as a super neighborhood president or civic club president \u2014 about whether deed restrictions exist before submitting an application.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that signature is not on there, then certainly that should be a red flag that they have not done their due diligence in regard to the deed restrictions,\u201d Evans-Shabazz said.<\/p>\n
Supporters say the change could give communities a stronger voice in developments that impact their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, residents in Riverside Terrace say they are continuing to organize and gather documentation of their deed restrictions as they push the city to block the gas station proposal. The developers were due to go before the city today but were moved from the planning commissioner\u2019s agenda and tabled for two weeks at the request of Councilwoman Evans-Shabazz. <\/p>\n
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