Center for Houston’s Future
1200 Smith, Suite 1150
Houston, Texas 77002
www.centerforhoustonsfuture.org
TO: Our Emerging Houston Region Panel Members
I.
Events leading up to the Our Emerging Houston Region Panel Forum
During the last 7 years, the Houston-Galveston Area Council (“HGAC”), with the help of
several other groups including one called Blueprint Houston
(http://www.blueprinthouston.org/), successfully launched “Envision Houston Region” to
support its federal transportation funding requests.
That work, which included large public participation, community workshops and
extensive media coverage looked seriously at the Houston Region’s crowded roadways
lined by unattractive billboards and non-descript buildings, limited transportation
alternatives, and suburban clutter. One result of the effort is significant support for
improved regional transportation programs.
Members of the Center for Houston’s Future (CHF) recognized that Envision Houston
Region could serve as a foundation for a much broader discussion of regional public
policy to address issues beyond transportation. These discussions include taking a sober
look at the issues that affect our region -- air & water pollution, a high dropout rate in
central city schools, aging refineries, diminishing open space, a lack of regional
coordination and inconsistent development standards. As our regional population grows
by one million people each decade, and because current development practices will
consume some 15,000 acres of land a year, we must encourage public policy that will
support the region’s great assets and also enhance areas of shortcomings.
The substantial growth of the Houston region – in every geographic direction – is causing
local governments and private/civic organizations to realize that the environmental
infrastructure throughout the Houston Region is rapidly changing, and addressing
regional issues are becoming critical in the areas of transportation, cleaner air, cleaner
water and an adequate water supply.
The main objective of the CHF’s RG&D panel discussion is to “build on the initial effort
of Envision Houston Region through development of guiding principles and policy
initiatives that encourage public policy decisions and private investments within the
region to enhance our competitive future.”
In doing so, we must recognize and honor the unique assets and successful conditions
within our region -- including the world center for energy technology, 2nd largest seaport
in the U.S., the space program, world’s largest medical center, a productive diverse
workforce, a downtown with architecturally attractive buildings (thanks to Gerald Hines,
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Philip Johnson and others), and many entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals to
succeed.
Moving forward requires more than just a report to be reviewed and filed away; it must
be a continuing, dynamic effort to address change on a regional level.
REFERENCE TABS:1
1. Envision Houston Region Report
2. CoH Urban Corridors Plan (January 2007)
3. The full-page ad in the Chronicle today by Blueprint Houston, el al, discussing
the “Envision Houston” plan and related implementation
4. Transportation 2035
5. Houston “Area Plans” done early 2000s
II.
Sponsors of the ULI Forum
Richard Everett
ULI – Houston District Council
Hines
George Mitchell
Central Houston
Roger Galatas
George Martinez
III.
About Houston
The Houston region ranks as the world's 30th largest economy if it stood alone as a
nation. Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in the energy, aeronautics, and
technology industries. Only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters.
Houston is the fourth most populous city in the nation (trailing only New York, Los
Angeles and Chicago), and is the largest in the southern U.S. and Texas. The HoustonSugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area (Houston MSA) consists of 10
counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty,
Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller. The size of this ten-county Houston region covers
8,778 square miles, larger than New Jersey.
All references in blue are attached to this memorandum; all references in black are available
upon request and during the Regional Growth & Development Panel Forum at
djb@centerforhoustonsfuture.org
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Houston tends to rank high in national surveys related to affordability and health care
resources and low in areas related to aesthetics, recreational amenities, transportation and
environmental sustainability, and health care access.
This briefing book looks at the economic, social, historical, institutional, and
geographical forces that have and are shaping the region with a particular focus on in
infrastructure and development. The booklet concentrates on the following components
of regional development:
- Regional Economy - the growing diversity of the traditional business base (i.e.
energy and related fields) and the expansion of the “new economy”
- Community - the continued outward growth of neighborhoods and inward
redevelopment and in-fill and efforts to build affordable housing
- Environment – large-scale efforts to clean the air and the numerous waterways
in the region and add more green space
- Transportation and Infrastructure – Efforts to expand the roads and highways to
keep up with growth, maintain aging infrastructure and find alternative multimodal networks (e.g. metro light-rail system and multi-use trails)
- Government – finding additional ways to work on a regional scale on issues such
as business development, infrastructure maintenance, environmental quality,
funding for shared public improvements (e.g. parks, waterways, railroads, health
facilities)
This briefing booklet has four objectives:
1. To provide an overview of the economy and development of the 10-county
Houston region resulting in a richer understanding of its dynamics and its
components--both economic and geographic.
2. To place the 10-county Houston region in a national context by encouraging
comparison with other urban regions.
3. To review the portrayals about the 10-county Houston region in order to
independently assess and evaluate the scenarios and images that are shaping
private and public action relating to development and infrastructure in the
region.
4. To provide the opportunity to acquire skills in investigating the regional
economy for purposes of analysis, public policy, and for direct action.
The ultimate goal is to provide you with conceptual tools that will lead to a clearer
understanding of the complexity of the regional economy and how it bears on issues of
planning and economic development.
The Houston Region is growing rapidly, largely as a result of its substantial and vibrant
economic assets, including the Port of Houston, the Texas Medical Center, a diversifying
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economy increasingly supplementing traditional oil and gas industries, and widespread
residential and commercial development. Houston's goal is to be among the top ten
regions in the world as a place to live, work and play.
The guiding questions are:
(1) For the expanding Houston region as a whole, what is working well with
current growth patterns and what is not working well?
More specifically, how does the Houston region compare in the functionality of its
growth and development patterns to similar geographic regions around the country and
the world, and what improvements or programs should be considered to enhance the
region? Is the Houston Region growing in a way that will ensure that it is competitive
with the most desirable regions in the world?
(2) Given the large size of the Houston region and the numerous governmental
jurisdictions within the region, how can the region better coordinate?
More specifically, what approaches could the Houston region consider in promoting
regional cooperation and coordination in the critical areas of transportation, flood control,
clean air, wastewater treatment, supply of surface water, and regional parks and open
space?
(3) Which issues offer the most leverage and impact for shaping the future of the
Houston region as economically competitive?
Also, based upon your knowledge and experience, what issues/problems should the
Houston region avoid in working on the effects of future growth? What has been most
successful in other regions?
(4)
What approach should the Houston region take on regional transportation?
More specifically, with the threat of diminishing funds to provide mobility
improvements and with the reality of a rapidly growing population creating additional
travel needs, what approach should the Houston Region consider to accommodate
growth?
(5) Please comment on the merits of a market-driven approach to improving
development standards, modeled loosely on the LEED approach, provide a realistic
opportunity for improved quality of life for the Houston region?
More specifically, given the lack of regional planning and development standards, a
unique voluntary effort is being considered and pursued by a group of leading community
developers with support from CHF and the ULI Houston District Council. This market
driven program called “Regional Leadership in Development Standards or “R-LIDS”) is
conceptually modeled on the LEED approach and conceived to voluntarily impose, by
covenant, a consistent set of development standards on each community development
undertaken in the region. In addition to addressing quality within participating
communities, a broader benefit could come from market and financial forces to cause
improved development standards in “non-participating” projects.
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Ultimately, we will seek to answer whether--and how--it is possible to harness the
strengths and opportunities presented by the current status of development and growth in
the 10-county region and create suggested action items that can be used to improve
infrastructure and development in the region. Each section below discusses a
component related to the Houston region’s development and is supported by the list
of respective references.
IV.
Regional Economy - the growing diversity of the traditional business base
(i.e. energy and related fields) and the expansion of the “new economy”
A. What is the 10-county Houston region?2
In addition to 10-county governments and over 40 municipalities in the 10-county
Houston region, there are also 44 Management Districts, 16 Tax increment Reinvestment
Zones (TIRZ), 431 Utility Districts, 4 Community College Districts, 25 School Districts
(ISDs) and 31 Emergency Service Districts. There are also 7 major master-planned
communities in the region – including The Woodlands, Kingwood, First Colony (Sugar
Land), Cinco Ranch (Katy), Clear Lake City, Silver Lake (Pearland), and South Shore
Harbour (League City). All of these entities have an impact on growth, development,
public services and infrastructure and the environment. These entities are autonomous
and work separately from each other most of the time.
REFERENCE TABS:
6. Map of 10-county MSA
7. Mayor White’s 2007 State of the City Address
8. Chronicle Opinion Article, Old Problem: Taming New Sprawl by Roger Galatas
9. Kotkin’s report and related editorials written thereafter
10. H-GAC Map of 13-county region
11. H-GAC Map of Land-Use for 13-county region
B. Changes and Transformations in the Regional Economy: Deindustrialization,
Reindustrialization, Recomposition of the Labor Force
Employment: Annual average nonfarm payroll employment in the Houston MSA in 2006
rose by 97,400, or 4.1% to 2,446,000. Among the nation’s 367 MSAs, Houston ranked
third in nominal job growth (4.0%) from December 2005 to December 2006.
The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage
handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. It is the tenth largest port in the
world. Other key business segments include petrochemical, health care, entrepreneurial
enterprises, aerospace, alternative energy, biotechnology, education, information
technology, nanotechnology and. All of these areas are expected to expand and enrich
the current business climate in the region and attract new talent to develop the next phase
of economic growth. Also, there is a growing economic impact from the Houston
region’s involvement in the “Texas Triangle” which includes the metro areas of Austin,
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The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area (Houston MSA) consists of 10
counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and
Waller. The metro area’s mid-2006 population of 5,539,949 ranks sixth among U.S. metropolitan statistical
areas.
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Houston and San Antonio. Through expansive commercial and residential growth along
the corridors that link these cities, the respective economies of these cities are beginning
to merge and substantially compliment one another in some areas.
Petrochemical — The Texas Gulf Coast has a crude operable capacity of 3.853 million
Barrels of refined petroleum products per calendar day. This is 86.2 percent of the Texas
total and 22.8 percent of the U.S. total. The Houston MSA has more than 380 chemical
manufacturing establishments, with aggregate employment exceeding 34,200. The
Houston-Gulf Coast region has nearly 40 percent of the nation’s base petrochemicals
manufacturing capacity and dominates U.S. production of three major resins
polyethylene (38.7 percent U.S. capacity); polypropylene (48.4 percent U.S. capacity);
and polyvinyl chloride (35.9 percent U.S. capacity).
Health care: There are a wealth of medical facilities in the Houston region, and many are
located in the Texas Medical Center — the largest collection of health care facilities and
academic medical institutions in the world with a local economic impact of $10 billion.
The medical center serves more than 5 million patients each year and more than 52,000
people work within its facilities, which encompass 21 million square feet. Its three
universities have research budgets totaling more than $600 million per year, including
nationally recognized clinical research programs. And, there has been a recent expansion
of high-technology research in areas such as the human genome project, biomedical
imaging, nanotechnology, proton therapy, adult stem cell transplantation and transgenic
murine models of human disease.
Entrepreneurial Enterprises: Evidenced by more than 85,000 small businesses and
fueled by a “can do” attitude of its business owners and inhabitants, entrepreneurs thrive
in the region. A dynamic economy, well-developed information technology sector,
talented workforce, business-friendly environment, low costs of living, ease of doing
business and an outstanding quality of life create an environment supportive of new start
ups. Entrepreneurs will help to build the regional economy.
Higher Education: The Census Bureau’s 2004 American Community Survey showed
that 29.0 percent of adults in our region have a bachelor’s degree or higher, versus 27.0
percent nationwide. Houston’s ability to retain and attract a well-educated and skilled
workforce is directly linked to the intellectual and innovative talent working in the
region. From Nobel laureate instructors at Rice University to three law schools and
cutting-edge researchers at high-level institutions such as NASA’s Johnson Space Center,
Texas Medical Center, and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.
Housing: Houston’s cost of living is among the lowest in the nation – nine percent below
the national average – primarily due to low, stable housing costs. The median price of a
Houston home, approximately $140,000 is 17% below the national average. While the
bubble has burst in other states, Houston has become the largest housing market in the
United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Builders started 9,725 single-family
homes during the third quarter of 2007, a 27.7 percent drop from the same period in
2006, according to Metrostudy. Closings during the quarter fell 10.5 percent to 11,302
units. Meanwhile, a group of developers, realtors and home builders have recently
formed an organization, Houstonians for Responsible Growth, to advocate for low
regulation on development in order to keep housing prices low.
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International population — More than 1 million Houstonians (more than one in five) are
foreign-born. The steady rise in immigration supports Houston’s position as an
international center. The region’s number of foreign-born almost doubled between 1990
and 2003. Major employers of the Houston area are international in scope. Employees of
these companies are transferred internationally, bringing back with them knowledge and
experience of competing abroad.
International governmental representation — More than 80 nations have consular
offices in the region, ranking the Houston Consular Corps among the nations largest. At
least 42 foreign governments maintain trade and commercial offices here. Between 1992
and 2004, the number of consulates in Houston increased by almost 50 percent. Houston
represents the third-largest consular corps in the United States, behind New York and Los
Angeles.
Green Economy – Private/Public Sector Initiatives

LEEDS – Green Building - The City of Houston has put together the Mayor's
Green Building Advisory Council in partnership with companies that have led the
way in green building and achieved certification of their facilities according to
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating
standards. The objective of this group is to share experiences including
cost/benefit business cases and key information with others to help accelerate
green building across the city.

Kirksey, leader in sustainable architecture and design, today has issued a
challenge to employees and the community to encourage them to live a greener
lifestyle. Developed by The Kirksey Center for Sustainable ArchitectureSM, The
Kirksey Carbon Copy™ is a guidebook detailing this challenge and outlining
simple measures for companies and individuals to undertake to reduce our
collective carbon footprint. For further information, see
www.kirkseychallenge.com.

R-LIDS - Based on best management practices, R-LIDS seeks to develop and
encourage minimum community development standards within the five (5) county
Houston region. These voluntary standards, produced and initially funded by the
development community, will be used to enhance quality of life and quality of
place within the region through restrictive covenants, thoughtful planning and
development agreements. The R-LIDS program promotes a whole-development
approach by recognizing standards in seven key areas: (1) parks and open space
requirements, (2) preservation of natural areas, (3) regional and community trails,
(4) school site criteria, (5) architectural requirements, (6) signage, (7) homeowner
and property owner associations and related policies. Many of the standards are
compatible with the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED green building
program.
REFERENCE TABS:
12. Dr. Klineberg’s Surveys – Houston and Region (Rice University)
13. Greater Houston Partnership Briefing Paper on Key Issues Facing the Houston
Region (2005); Overview of the Houston LEED program
14. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, The Texas Triangle as Megalopolis, April 2004
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15. Metrostudy: Houston Housing Market Remains Strong (July 2007); Chronicle
articles on third quarter housing starts (November 2007) and new housing
developer/builder organization (January 2008)
C. Comparison with other growing regions




Envision Central Texas – When the decision was made to develop a
common vision for the Central Texas region, organizers placed an invitation
to community, business and government leaders from Bastrop, Caldwell,
Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties to attend a meeting to discuss how the
planning process might work. At this meeting, an eight-person committee was
appointed to establish a non-profit corporation, a governing Board of
Directors and an Executive Committee. This original committee appealed to
all aspects of diversity in forming the Board of Directors and Executive
Committee. With a shared goal and a Board of Directors in place, Envision
Central Texas sought a third-party consultant to manage the planning process
- Fregonese Calthorpe Associates (FCA), a regional planning consulting firm
based on the West coast.
Envision Utah – In January 1997, the Envision Utah Public/Private
Partnership was formed to guide the development of a broadly and publicly
supported Quality Growth Strategy - a vision to protect Utah's environment,
economic strength, and quality of life for generations to come. Five years of
scenarios analysis, research and public involvement have helped Envision
Utah bring the topic of planning and preparing for growth to the forefront of
the public mind. With the help of thousands of Utah residents, Envision Utah
has developed a Quality Growth Strategy that will help preserve critical lands,
promote water conservation and clean air, improve our region-wide
transportation systems, and provide housing options for all residents.
Central Florida - MyRegion.org – a Regional Development Program to
prepare the Central Florida Region to compete more effectively in the 21st
century by enhancing “Conservation, Countryside, Centers and Corridors.”
Southern California – the Regional Comprehensive Plan (RCP) presents a
vision and solutions for how Southern California can balance resource
conservation, economic vitality, and quality of life. The plan addresses 9
main areas: land use and housing; solid waste, energy, air quality, open space
and habitat, economy, water, transportation and emergency preparedness.
Draft Regional Comprehensive Plan, Nov. 1, 2007.Chicago Metropolis 2020
- In 1996, The Commercial Club of Chicago - a membership organization of
leading area business and civic leaders - undertook the Metropolis Project, to
look at the issues facing the region - Cook, DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Kane
and Will counties. More than 200 members of The Commercial Club
examined those issues in special committees organized around six areas:
education, economic development, taxation, governance, transportation and
land use and housing. The culmination of their two-year effort was a March
1999 report titled: "Chicago Metropolis 2020: Preparing Metropolitan
Chicago for the 21st Century." A key recommendation of the report called for
the creation of a new organization: Chicago Metropolis 2020. This new
organization continues the process started by The Commercial Club and is
implementing the ideas contained in the report. Chicago Metropolis 2020 has
focused on creating collaborations with other organizations and is developing
a new kind of "civic entrepreneurship," in the region.
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

Dubai - The Dubai Strategic Plan - 2015 (DSP), unveiled April of 2007
by Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and
Vice President, and Ruler of Dubai, is set to maintain double-digit economic
growth, achieve a GDP of $108 billion and increase real per capita GDP to
$44,000 by 2015. The plan, launched under the theme "Dubai: Where The
Future Begins", sets out a strategic approach that focuses on developing the
emirate's most dynamic economic sectors that have been the key contributors
to Dubai's annual real GDP growth rate of 13% since 2000.
Shanghai – ULI News Roundup, Sustainable Cities of the 21st Century (July
2007)
III. Community - the continued outward growth of neighborhoods and inward
redevelopment and in-fill and efforts to build affordable housing
Inner City Growth - The use of state legislatively-mandated management districts
(MDs) is a unique tool used mainly in the City of Houston and other large urban cities in
Texas for inward redevelopment and in-fill. These MDs have board of directors that are
approved by the City of Houston but in all other ways the MDs act separately from the
City. They derive its funding from Tax Incentive Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ). The MDs
work autonomously from each other and are not regionally-oriented but they have been
very successful in providing “management plans” for their respective districts. Examples
of these plans include the Greater East End MD; the Houston Downtown MD; Uptown
MD and Westchase MD (See Reference Tab 16 below). The Houston Downtown MD
plan includes:
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Suburban Growth - The use of “special districts” to develop infrastructure for suburban
development is another significant feature of the Houston development pattern.
Historically, aquifers allowed developers access to potable water virtually everywhere in
the Houston area. A developer with a large enough tract of land can petition for the
creation of a municipal utility district (MUD), sink a well, put up a small sewage
treatment plant, run lines and build streets and start building houses. Once enough homes
had been built and sold, the developer would then apply for reimbursement for 70% of
the cost of the water, sanitary sewer and drainage infrastructure that had been built and
turned over to the MUD.
The MUD then issued long term debt in the form of bonds to reimburse the developer.
Eventually the developer builds out the land in the MUD, the MUD reimburses the
developer, and the new home owners pay property taxes to the MUD to pay off the bonds
issued for the construction of the utilities. Since a big part of the cost of developing the
lot is now the responsibility of the MUD, home builders can offer lower prices for new
homes. Home buyers pay higher property taxes, but seem to accept this trade off. Most
new water and sewer infrastructure in the Houston ETJ is developed using MUD
financing. Now, however, county water supplies and distribution are reaching critical
levels because of subsidence and these MUDs are not as effective or desired.
Nonetheless, there are hundreds of these districts in the Houston area, by far the majority
of such districts in the state. When the City of Houston annexed a MUD in the past it
was automatically absorbed by the City. The need to regionalize the isolated water and
sewer system of an annexed MUD became a major cost to the City’s utility system.
Efforts to regionalize MUD utility systems have met with limited success, except in
master planned communities. The use of regionalized utilities in master planned
communities made annexation easier for the City.
REFERENCE TABS:
16. Management District Plans for East End MD; Central Houston MD; Uptown
Houston and Westchase; HGAC map of wastewater treatment plants throughout
the region
17. Renaissance 1960 Improvement Corporation, www.Renaissance1960.org
18. City of Manvel, Texas (Brazoria County), 2007 Comprehensive Plan
19. Information on Houston Hope Neighborhoods
20. Center’s Regional Strategies: A Toolkit for Cooperation among Governments
21. Map of Management Districts in Houston area
IV. Environment – Regionalization is critical to the success of large-scale efforts to clean
the air and the numerous waterways in the region and add more green space.
Clean Air - Houston’s air quality problems are severe. While efforts to reduce emissions
from local vehicles and industrial sources have resulted in reductions of many pollutants,
levels of other pollutants appear to be rising. As both a major urban center and the largest
petrochemical industrial complex in the United States, Houston faces major challenges in
improving air quality.
Every day, the five million residents of the greater Houston area drive over 100,000,000
miles.7 Houston has two of the four largest U.S. refineries and more than 400 chemical
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manufacturing establishments. The petrochemical industry manufactures over 40% of the
basic chemicals produced in the entire country.
All levels of government are involved in policy development around air quality. In
November of 2007, the Houston Regional Air Quality Task Force issued
recommendations on air quality. City of Houston Mayor Bill White and mayors from
other Harris County municipalities prompted the development of the Task Force, which
was appointed by the Greater Houston Partnership. The task force is composed of a
diverse group of eighteen business executives, economic development executive,
community leaders, and environmental and health professionals. The goal is to identify
effective regulatory mechanisms and voluntary initiatives that could help reduce air toxic
emissions, as well as to make recommendations.
Statewide, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) collects air quality
data and has dedicated resources to reducing pollution levels. TCEQ works toward
reducing ozone precursor pollutants by investing in technological research and
development for advancing pollution control technology and improving the science for
ozone modeling and analysis, among other areas.
Water Quality - Houstonians know Buffalo Bayou as the waterway that runs through the
heart of downtown. In the early 1900’s Houstonians swam in Buffalo Bayou, fished from
its banks, and even drank the water. Buffalo Bayou meanders from the less-developed
portions of Harris County to join White Oak Bayou in the highly urbanized central part of
the Houston business district. Both bayous lie within the San Jacinto River Basin and
eventually discharge to Galveston Bay. The Galveston Bay, with its enormous
recreational and economic impact, is dependent on the water quality that enters the bay
from the network of streams and bayous.
Today, water quality testing has found very high bacteria concentrations in all major
bayous in the five county region, posing a risk to people who swim or wade in them.
Recent federal law requires local government to achieve fishable, swimmable and
recreational water quality levels.
While there is community discussion of the feasibility of these levels as to many streams
in the region, significant interest exists among many community and bayou coalition
groups to provide recreational and environmental use of most waterways. Millions of
dollars have been spent improving the region’s bayous, creeks and tributaries, notably
Buffalo Bayou in the downtown area, for recreational use and environmental use, making
improvement of water quality to contact recreation standards desirable.
Also, the City of Houston has spent more than $1 billion to expand and repair its
sewerage system since the 1980s. Nonetheless, sources of bacteria currently found in the
region’s waterways are mostly from the following sources: (1) aging wastewater
treatment facilities by municipalities and MUDs, package plants and other system
infrastructure; (2) bacteria from animal waste; (3) street runoff; (4) chemicals in the grass
(such as fertilizers that drain into the water systems.
Considered one of the most successful BMPs for the region, there are currently at least 12
“water quality filtering basins” in parks and open space along waterways in the 5-county
region that substantially improve water quality for the targeted waterway. Art Storey
Park is one such project that will help reduce bacteria levels along Buffalo Bayou for
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water flow west of Beltway 8. Recent reports show a 400-600% reduction in bacteria
levels when water is allowed to travel through these meandering wetland basins before
being redirected into Brays Bayou. The Center for Houston’s Future is working with
interested parties to try to provide federal funding for development of hundreds more of
these filters within the next five years.
REFERENCE TABS:
22. Center’s Indicators’ Report
23. GHP, Clearing the Air on Clean Air
24. Houston Chronicle, Houston mayor sets 6-month pollution deadline, Nov. 6, 2007
25. Partnership with Harris County Flood Control, City of Houston and TxDOT on
water quality - http://www.cleanwaterclearchoice.org
26. Buffalo Bayou Partnership Master Plan http://www.buffalobayou.org
27. Center’s Parks & Open Space Task Force Report
28. Floodway map and impact on development
29. Houston Wilderness- Ecological map and data
V. Transportation and Infrastructure – Efforts to expand the roads and highways to
keep up with growth, maintain aging infrastructure and find alternative multi-modal
networks (e.g. metro light-rail system and multi-use trails) – see Reference Tab 30.
REFERENCE TABS:
30. White paper on transportation planning in Houston [By Dr. Carol Lewis]
31. 2007 Urban Mobility Report
32. Forbes.com, America’s Most Expensive Commutes, Aug. 8, 2007
33. Business Week, How Houston gets along without zoning, Oct. , 2007
34. Houston Business Journal, Houston congestion among worst in the nation, study
reveals, Oct. 19, 2007
35. Houston Chronicle, As city grows, zoning talk is reborn / Neighborhoods want
some way to regulate new development, Sept. 30, 2007
VI. Government – finding additional ways to work at a regional scale on issues such as
business development, infrastructure maintenance, environmental quality, funding for
shared public improvements (e.g. parks, waterways, railroads, health facilities)
A. City Government
1. Mayor, City Council
2. Functions
3. Annexations and ETJ
4. Chapter 42 and other pertinent CoH ordinances
Local government in the Houston area is organized according to the laws of the state of
Texas, which have, in turn been shaped by the needs of local governance in Houston and
other metropolitan areas. This interaction has created a system unfamiliar in many ways
to outsiders, and poorly understood by the local population.
The City of Houston - Like most urban areas, the central city of this region has both a
size and a broad set of functions that ensure that decisions made at Houston City Hall will
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have effects far beyond its city limits. Houston is large. A history of aggressive
annexation has produced a corporate area of more than 600 square miles. In recent years
the City has been empowered to annex for limited purposes additional territory which
extends its corporate limits to nearly 700 square miles. In 1963 the State of Texas
granted cities extra territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) in unincorporated areas on their
peripheries. Through a series of maneuvers the City of Houston extended its ETJ over an
additional 1200 square miles. The population within the city limits of Houston is
approximately 2.1 million. The population within its ETJ is about 1.5 million. Within its
ETJ a city is able to prevent annexation by any other city as well as incorporation of new
municipalities. It also has certain planning and regulatory powers. About 40% of the
metropolitan area population is located within the city, and another 30% in the ETJ.
Houston has a strong mayor form of government. In the 1940s dissatisfaction with a city
manager form of government led voters to change the City Charter by substituting the
word ‘mayor’ for ‘city manager’ wherever it appeared in the Charter. Thus, the mayor
presides as a voting member of City Council, but also is the chief executive. Department
heads, including the Treasurer and City Attorney are mayoral appointees confirmed by
Council. Council cannot remove department heads and cannot prevent the mayor from
doing so. The mayor is in charge of the City Council agenda. The mayor appoints the
members of City Council committees, most of which have no actual statutory powers.
The mayor nominates the members of almost all City boards and commissions and all
municipal judges, subject to Council confirmation. The mayor nominates for Council
confirmation the City representatives to the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority,
and those representatives constitute a majority of the board. The mayor proposes the
property tax rate, the operating budget and the capital improvement plan.
City Council includes fourteen other members, five elected at large and nine from
districts. Council members can force an item onto the Council agenda by majority vote,
but this has rarely occurred. Council members are able to nominate the City
representatives to the Port of Houston commission, a very powerful body, under a State
law dating back to its creation when the construction of the Houston Ship Channel made
the city a deepwater port in 1913. Of the fourteen current members, seven are Anglo,
four are African American, two are Hispanic and one is Asian American. Half of the
Council members are women.
One other City officer is elected, the City Controller. A financial officer, the Controller
has limited powers but, as an independent voice, can be influential with Council and the
public, especially in financial matters. This has led observers to regard the position as a
stepping stone to the mayor’s office, but only one Controller has ever accomplished that.
Houston voters have imposed term limitations on City officials through an initiative
process available only in municipalities in Texas. No one can be elected to an office
more than three times in their lifetime. And terms are only two years, meaning that most
Council members are in office for six years at most. The result has been a decline in the
power of Council members to influence City operations through familiarity with the
system and key personnel. It has also led to a tendency to begin planning for the next
career move as soon as someone is elected to office. This has contributed to an increase
in partisan activity in City government, although City elections are non-partisan. A
Council member who is planning on running in a party primary tends to vote with an eye
on party primary voters rather than their municipal election constituency. Five of the
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current Council members are identified as Republican, the rest are Democrats. In
presidential elections City voters have been reliably Democratic in recent years.
The City operates a water system, sanitary sewer system, park system, library system, a
health department, and a permitting and inspection division. It builds and maintains most
local streets and major thoroughfares and the associated drainage. It collects solid waste,
either directly or through contractors. The convention center is a City facility, as are
three major theaters homes to the opera, ballet, symphony and a repertory company. The
City’s Aviation Department owns and operates two air carrier airports and a major cargo
and general aviation airport. Although the City has a housing division to handle various
Federal grants, the public housing authority is an independent agency, but its board is
named by the mayor.
Many Houstonians are under the mistaken impression that the lack of a zoning ordinance
in Houston means that development in Houston is essentially unregulated. Houston
ordinances govern the subdivision of land, establish planning standards for development,
and restrict certain land use locations. The subdivision regulations and planning
standards are also applicable in the City’s ETJ.
Subdivision regulations require that any subdivision of land in the City or ETJ conform to
certain standards governing size, accessibility, building lines, easements, and street
dedications. A development plat is used to demonstrate conformance to regulations when
a structure is built or substantially altered as a part of the process of getting a building
permit.
Planning standards govern the way in which land is subdivided. Houston’s standards
include layout and arrangement of streets, including conformance to the adopted Major
Thoroughfare and Freeway Plan, dedication of proper right of way widths, block lengths,
and connection of stub end streets. Building lines in relation to public streets are
mandated. The creation of lots and reserves is addressed to ensure that such tracts meet
certain requirements for size and access, and to ensure that compensating open space is
provided when lots sizes go below a certain level. Utility easements requirements are
defined and multifamily housing development standards defined. Multifamily housing
standards include private street patterns, fire fighting requirements, minimum parking
provision, and required open space based on the number of residents. A recent addition
to the City’s planning standards is a requirement for park dedication as a part of the
creation of residential subdivisions within the city limits of the City of Houston.
Developers have a choice of dedicating land in the development or making a contribution
to a fund to acquire park land. Funds are restricted to the acquisition of park land in the
same sector of the city as the residential development producing the contribution.
Additional regulations mandate the preservation of street trees and require the planting of
trees and shrubs along street rights of way and in parking lots. Sexually oriented
businesses are barred from locations that are primarily residential, or close to schools,
churches and other sensitive uses. Hotels and motels are barred from residential areas as
a result of a boom in the construction of “hot sheet” motels in poor neighborhoods in the
early 1990s. There are also restrictions in the storage of hazardous materials in proximity
to residences as a result of a fire on the edge of a northeast Houston neighborhood. A
weak historic preservation ordinance is able to delay but not obstruct the destruction of
significant structures, although support seems to be building for strengthening that
restriction. Mobile homes can be located within the city limits only in subdivisions
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specifically platted as mobile home locations. Billboard regulation was first introduced
in 1980 and has resulted in litigations and State legislative intervention ever since.
Although the original 1980 ordinance has been undercut by such intervention, the number
of billboards in Houston has declined from 14,000 to 5,000 even as the city has grown
steadily.
The lack of zoning in Houston and its ETJ has led to a heightened reliance on deed
restrictions to keep incompatible uses out of single family residential areas. Each
subdivision in the city has its own deed restrictions, and the ability to enforce those
restrictions varies with the language of the restrictions and the history of their
enforcement. Some deed restrictions were written with provisions that allowed the
restrictions to lapse after thirty or fifty years. In other subdivisions property owners did
not try to enforce deed restrictions when homes were converted to businesses, and now
the enforceability of the restrictions is questionable. The City has sought to strengthen
the ability of property owners to enforce restrictions preventing conversion of homes to
businesses. It has been granted status to intervene in lawsuits over conversion, and has
adopted an ordinance that bars the issuance of a building permit for a structure that is
non-conforming to existing deed restrictions. State laws now make it easier to renew
expiring deed restrictions, and to establish deed restrictions where none currently exist.
The City has adopted methods to try and maintain residential character of neighborhoods
without restrictions, or with limited restrictions. Homeowners may petition the City to
establish a prevailing building line, based on current structures, which new construction
could not violate. Homeowners can also petition for the establishment of prevailing lot
sizes to prevent the subdivision of lots for the construction of row houses or town houses.
These methods have been employed in older neighborhoods with mixed results.
B. Other municipalities
1. Sugar Land, West University
2. Pasadena, Baytown
3. The Woodlands
Suburban municipalities in the Houston area take a number of forms. Bellaire and West
University Place were street car suburbs established before Houston could prevent
incorporations on its periphery. Both are located in near southwest Houston and are
surrounded by the central city. Both have the distinction of being zoned, which has
encouraged the replacement of the aging housing with new construction of much larger
and overtly luxurious homes than the original middle class housing. Other enclave
municipalities are the “Memorial Villages”, a cluster of six villages surrounded by the
central city in the northwest. They were incorporated just before Houston doubled in size
through a single annexation in 1956. Their zoning ordinances and heavily wooded
setting have made them high income neighborhoods with large lots and little commercial
development.
In Fort Bend County Sugar Land is the most prominent of a group of former farming
towns that are now suburbs of Houston. Fort Bend was a center for sugar cane growing,
and Sugar Land was the location of the Imperial Sugar refinery. It is now the center for
office and retail development in Fort Bend, based on a master planned community
developed Gerald Hines on the site of a former sugar cane plantation. Sugar Land’s
zoning ordinance currently includes no additional sites for the construction of apartments,
always a sensitive issue for single family home owners.
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On the east side of Houston are a number of suburban towns that were transformed by the
opening of the Houston Ship Channel. The length of the Ship Channel on its way from
the Turning Basin in the east end of Houston to Galveston Bay provided numerous sites
for the construction of industrial facilities. The employees of these facilities turned towns
that had been agricultural in their orientation to industrial suburbs. Pasadena is the
largest of these, with 150,000 people, making it the second largest city in the region. It
does not have zoning, and, until recently, neither did nearby Baytown, the home of one of
the largest refineries in the world, the Exxon-Mobil facility. Reflecting their perceived
independence of Houston, the eastside industrial suburbs did not vote to join the
Metropolitan Transit Authority when it was created in 1978. At that time unincorporated
suburbs to the north and west voted to participate, as did bedroom suburbs like Missouri
City in Fort Bend County.
Houston’s largest master planned community The Woodlands began as a project with
federal subsidies under legislation intended to create “new towns” outside of fading
central cities. Construction in The Woodlands began in the early 1970s. At that time the
developer was required to include a certain number of affordable housing units in the mix
of new construction. Innovations such as the use of permeable asphalt to reduce runoff
and help preserve the tree canopy were tried. As Houston and The Woodlands have
grown, the community has developed its own center of gravity. Retail and office
development has boomed, and new residential construction has shifted to the higher end
of the market. The original area of The Woodlands was added to the Houston ETJ by
petition of the developer. The City of Houston’s ability to annex this area has grown
more theoretical as State law has become more restrictive, and The Woodlands has taken
steps to create special districts to assist in the development of urban infrastructure in its
town center. At this time governance of The Woodlands is in flux, and may result in its
incorporation.
C. County government
County governments in Texas do not have ordinance making powers. In most of the state
their primary functions are to operate the state court system, provide a sheriff and a jail,
maintain rural roads and conduct elections. In Houston the size and complexity of the
unincorporated suburban areas in Houston’s ETJ within Harris County have led the State
to expand the services that a county may provide. Harris County operates a library and
park system and health clinics. The Harris County Hospital District has a separate
administration, but is subject to the County Commission. It operates two charity
hospitals. After an encephalitis epidemic in the early 1960s, the County also has a
mosquito control function. Unlike many counties, Harris County also has a Flood
Control District overlay. Flood Control maintains the main drainage courses in Harris
County and has developed a number of storm water retention areas to deal with damaging
run off. The only regulation of building in unincorporated Harris County is related to
requirements under the Federal Flood Insurance program. The Sheriff’s office provides
patrol service to unincorporated areas, and operates an extensive jail system. Counties
were never designed to substitute for municipalities in providing services to urban areas.
Service provision by Harris County represents a patchwork of varying effectiveness.
D. Independent school districts
1. Financing
2. Segregation/integration
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Public schools in Texas are operated by independent school districts. The Houston
Independent School District has no connection to the City of Houston. It includes
portions of other municipalities as well as unincorporated Harris County. The territory of
the City of Houston extends into twenty three school districts.
School districts are financed by the State of Texas and by local property taxes. In recent
decades direct state assistance has declined as a percentage of school district revenue, and
school district property tax rates have risen as a result. This has raised combined
property tax rates in some school districts to more than 3% of assessed valuation
annually. Recent increases in state assistance to school districts has produced some
reductions in school district tax rates, but property tax rates in Texas generally range
between 2.5% and 3% of assessed valuation.
All or a major fraction of seventeen school districts are located within the City or its ETJ.
As a result, development within these school districts is not controlled by zoning. The
ability of developers to build apartments in all of these suburban school districts may
have contributed to the suburbanization of African American and Hispanic populations.
In the 1960s and 1970s, when the Houston Independent School District was under court
order to eliminate the vestiges of segregation, most African American and Hispanic
students in the region lived there. As a result, Anglos opting out the HISD system could
move to almost any suburban school district and no longer have to be concerned with
court orders changing attendance boundaries. Nowadays most school districts in Harris
County have significant numbers of African American, Hispanic and Asian American
students. Racial sensitivity has also declined. Anglo parents at the time of the white
flight from HISD would generally leave schools with less than an Anglo majority. Now
multiracial student bodies can be quite stable. The most sought after high school in
HISD, for instance, has not had an Anglo majority in its enrollment in decades.
REFERENCE TABS:
36. Wall Street Journal article on Ashby High Rise issue in Houston, Oct. 17, 2007
37. Houston Chronicle article on former mayor joining campaign against
development regulations (January 8, 2008)
Conclusion
Given the Houston region’s rich economic past and present, and given that zoning is off
the table in Houston (Houston has a strong heritage against anything that might be
perceived to encroach on property rights), what other vehicles, actions, penalties or
incentives, public or private initiatives, or other suggestions might the panel have for
Houston to consider to better address long term growth objectives...and, specifically,
to STEER NEEDED DENSITY to where it is best accommodated, most efficient, and
most likely to serve the greater good? Some local leaders think we need a regional
approach to focusing infrastructure to where it benefits the greater long term good; and
that we lack the regional governance, leadership and consensus to make strategic
infrastructure plans that adequately address the long term effects of our exceptional
growth prospects. How can we better address these issues at a time when the business
community is doing so well and (joined with the inherent short term perspective of most
political leaders) not especially prone to think long term?
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Our Emerging Houston Region
PANEL STRUCTURE/ACTIVITIES
I.
Monday, February 4, 2008 (late afternoon/early evening)
Drive from airport to dinner with forum coordinators/sponsors, noting points of interest
4 p.m.
ULI organizational meeting with panelists
5:30 p.m. Late afternoon briefing on key issues affecting the Houston region by
Roger Galatas and Steve Klineberg;
7:00 p.m. Dinner with CHF members and forum sponsors. [Location – TBA]
II.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
8 a.m. - Noon


Half-day Field Trips/Site Visits.
VAN TOUR # 1 – Hardy Toll Road/I-45 North; The Woodlands, FM 1960,
Near Northside, I-45 South to East End, Galveston County, Sunnyside.
VAN TOUR #2 – IH 59, Sugar Land, Beltway 8 to Katy Freeway through
Washington Avenue; Midtown, Downtown; Greater Southeast MD area;
Reliant Park area.
12:30 p.m.
1 –6 p.m.
Box Lunch
Interviews and work sessions with city and regional leaders (see attached
list)
1:00 p.m. Telephone conference and E-power point presentation with John
Fregonese with Fregonese Associates (Portland, OR) to brief the
panel on his work with HGAC on regional infrastructure costs due
to growth patterns (including increased environmental costs, taxes
and transportation costs) [internet hook-up and internet access]
III.
IV.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Finish Interviews and work sessions with city and
regional leaders (see attached list)
Noon – 6 p.m.
Panelists Discussion & Work Session
6 p.m.
Panelists Dinner
Thursday, February 7, 2008
9 a.m.
Panelist Press Conference and Conclusion
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Center for Houston’s Future
Interview List
(1) County Judge Hebert (Fort Bend County) & Alan Sadler (Montgomery
County)
(2) County Judge Emmett, Harris County
(3) Mayor White
(4) Ned Holmes & Jim Edmonds
(5) David Wolff
(6) Mayors of Sugar Land, Bellaire & Pearland
(7) HGAC – Jack Steele and HGAC staff leadership
(8) Carol Lewis – Transportation; CoH Planning Commission
(9) Kelly Frels, George Beatty – Texas Environmental Research Consortium
(TERC)
(10) Management Districts meeting – Jim Murphy, John Breeding, Jack
Drake, Frank Robinson (City of Woodlands), Bob Eury, East End MD, Roger
Hord, Barron Wallace
(11) Developers meeting - Larry Johnson, Les Newton, Mark Kilkenney, Ted
Nelson, Joe Necker, Tim Welbes (The Woodlands), Dan Nip, Mark Culver
(Hines)
(12) Greater Houston Partnership (GHP)
Wolterman, Moseley, Jiles, George Gonzales
meeting
–
Hoffmeister,
(13) Environmental Infrastructure Meeting – Jim Blackburn, Sharon
Mattox, Lynne Humphries, John Kirksey, Kevin Shanley
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