<\/p>\n
People fill up their tanks at a gas station at Hadley and Smith in the Midtown area of Houston, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.<\/p>\n
Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Houston officials are proposing new limits on where gas stations can be built, responding to years of complaints from residents about the noise, gasoline fumes and foot-traffic stations generate near their homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The proposal would nudge new stations toward wider roads and areas with less nearby housing \u2014 a\u00a0 difficult feat in a city without traditional zoning<\/a>, as City Hall attempts to balance commercial growth with residents’ quality of life concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under the proposal, a new station could move forward with a permit if it is on a major thoroughfare<\/a> wider than 80 feet, such as Shepherd Drive, Gessner Road or Cavalcade Street. Stations still could move forward on smaller streets if less than half of the surrounding area is residential. Applicants whose sites fail that test could ask the Planning Commission for a variance, or exception.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n INTERACTIVE MAP:\u00a0Search our map to see Houston areas with the most parking citations<\/a><\/p>\n The city has not decided how close a home must be to a gas station to count in the residential test. Officials are considering measuring 50 feet or 100 feet from the gas station\u2019s property line.\u00a0<\/p>\n Marlene Gafrick, a senior adviser to Mayor John Whitmire, presented the proposal to the city council\u2019s Economic Development Committee on Wednesday. The mayor assembled a team this summer to develop the ordinance after residents raised concerns about station locations, Gafrick said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The idea is still under development and a public hearing is expected to take place early next year. The ordinance, if adopted, would apply to new gas stations proposed after that date.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re on to something good. I wish we would have had it long before,\u201d said At-Large Council Member Sallie Alcorn. \u201cI\u2019ve had a million emails and calls about this ordinance. It\u2019s really important to the community and to many communities across Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Houston City Council to vote on new residential buffering rules<\/a><\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office found that the vast majority of new gas stations over the last four years were located on major thoroughfares, which\u00a0 are designed to carry heavy traffic and commercial development.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city also found that nearly half of the new stations had some residential property nearby.<\/p>\n \u201cWe concluded that retail fueling stations were largely going on to our major thoroughfares which is what we wanted,\u201d Gafrick said, \u201cBut there are some opportunities to perhaps encourage them to locate away from residential property.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE: Riverside Terrace wants to protect its history. Residents are running out of ways to save it.<\/a><\/p>\n Gas stations being developed near residential areas became a flashpoint for residents, especially in Third Ward and Old Sixth Ward. In Third Ward, State Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, earlier this yea<\/a>r said she contacted the mayor\u2019s office to pause the development of a gas station near Riverside Terrace.<\/p>\n Under the new proposal, that proposed gas station, at 5204 Live Oak St., would not qualify for a permit, according to Wednesday\u2019s presentation.<\/p>\n