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  #201  
Old Posted May 14, 2021, 4:39 AM
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Originally Posted by benp View Post
Houston has many areas with deed restrictions, which are often more powerful than zoning as they cannot be overturned without the approval of 75% of the residents. Some deed restrictions include defining use, occupancy, and things such as liquor sales, approving design changes, having only approved house colors, or not parking in the street or in your driveway overnight (really, some areas are that strict). Houston also has parking ordinances, such as requiring 4 off-street parking places for each 1000 square feet of retail. There are also other restrictions which may affect some areas including drainage, sewer use, water, etc. Fire codes are still effective, depending on the business, which can affect design and occupancy.

No zoning doesn't mean no rules, it just means no centralized planning.
that's basically equal square footage to retail as parking. That's insane.
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  #202  
Old Posted May 14, 2021, 12:30 PM
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^ yeah, 4 spaces for every 1,000 SF of retail is a kooky high ratio for a city.

A standard parking space is 9'x18', so 162 SF.

x4 is 648 SF. throw in space to pull in/back out and you're essentially at 1,000 SF, so yeah, more or less 1 to 1.


Is that really a city-wide rule for all of Houston? If so, no wonder its commercial corridors are generally so damn abysmal from an urbanism perspective.
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  #203  
Old Posted May 14, 2021, 12:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
^ yeah, 4 spaces for every 1,000 SF of retail is a kooky high ratio for a city.

A standard parking space is 9'x18', so 162 SF.

x4 is 648 SF. throw in space to pull in/back out and you're essentially at 1,000 SF, so yeah, more or less 1 to 1.


Is that really a city-wide rule for all of Houston? If so, no wonder its commercial corridors are generally so damn abysmal from an urbanism perspective.
Some districts (like downtown transit corridors, Medical Center) have special variances, but that is the general rule for most of the city.

But yeah, the new build CVS and Walgreens usually have 40 to 60 parking spots - generally 3/4 or more are empty 24/7. This is the view in the opposite direction of the Shepherd Street image posted earlier:
https://goo.gl/maps/bTVGMSY9QQtTkKTQ6

https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/O...Ordinance.html

If you think 4 is high:
Quote:
Class 7. Food and Beverage:
a. Take-out restaurant 4.0 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of GFA
b. Dessert shop 6.0 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of GFA and outdoor decks, patio and seating areas in excess of 15% of GFA
c. Small restaurant 8.0 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of GFA and outdoor decks, patio and seating areas in excess of 15% of GFA
d. Neighborhood restaurant 9.0 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of GFA and outdoor decks, patio and seating areas in excess of 15% of GFA
e. Restaurant 10.0 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of GFA and outdoor decks, patio and seating areas in excess of 15% of GFA
f. Tavern or pub 10.0 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of GFA and outdoor decks, patio and seating areas
g. Small bar 12.0 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of GFA and outdoor decks, patio and seating areas
h. Bar, club or lounge 14.0 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of GFA and outdoor decks, patios and seating areas
https://library.municode.com/tx/hous...DIV2REPASPBISP

Last edited by benp; May 14, 2021 at 1:03 PM.
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  #204  
Old Posted May 14, 2021, 1:16 PM
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^ the parking requirements for bars, taverns, and clubs being the highest is the most absurd of all of that ridiculous absurdity.

Ideally, you want to make it really, really difficult and annoying to drive to a bar or club so that people are encouraged to walk, take transit, taxi/Uber/Lyft, etc. to cut down on drinking and driving.
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Last edited by Steely Dan; May 14, 2021 at 2:21 PM.
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  #205  
Old Posted May 14, 2021, 3:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
^ the parking requirements for bars, taverns, and clubs being the highest is the most absurd of all of that ridiculous absurdity.

Ideally, you want to make it really, really difficult and annoying to drive to a bar or club so that people are encouraged to walk, take transit, taxi/Uber/Lyft, etc. to cut down on drinking and driving.
Which can be waived by applying for an exemption. There are certainly old bars in Houston that grandfathered in, but being the pioneer establishment that doesn't offer parking would be a bold move.

Houston does have terrible commercial corridors but the bar/nightlife is very decentralized and consists of two or so blocks in a dozen separate areas. Even then the parking still sucks and the neighborhoods are upset at the spill over parking so ride sharing is encouraged. Having done the nightlife in Austin, DFW, Houston, and ATL there's really not much difference.... you take an uber to the spot, bar hop, and take an uber back home/to the room.
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  #206  
Old Posted May 14, 2021, 3:41 PM
mhays mhays is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
^ yeah, 4 spaces for every 1,000 SF of retail is a kooky high ratio for a city.

A standard parking space is 9'x18', so 162 SF.

x4 is 648 SF. throw in space to pull in/back out and you're essentially at 1,000 SF, so yeah, more or less 1 to 1.


Is that really a city-wide rule for all of Houston? If so, no wonder its commercial corridors are generally so damn abysmal from an urbanism perspective.
300 square feet is a baseline. For smaller (inefficient) parking garages the number can easily get over 400 or even 500.

Urban cities have walkable retail and bar districts that have some parking but very little, and where most businesses don't have their own. Maybe there are a few bus lines, 5,000 residents and 2,000 workers are within a 1/4-mile radius, there are a few hundred off-street parking spaces plus the street parking, plus Uber...
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  #207  
Old Posted May 14, 2021, 6:03 PM
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Despair not! Change is afoot!

Houston Rolling Back Parking Requirements

Houston took a step toward becoming an “increasingly urban city” this week when lawmakers put the kibosh on minimum parking requirements in two center-city neighborhoods.

The reform, known locally as “market based parking,” allows developers and business owners to decide how much parking they need at their buildings, rather than conform to an arbitrary number imposed by city law.

The change “will lead to better streetscapes in this transition period of becoming an increasingly urban city, which will help us be greener, healthier and a more walkable Houston,” City Councilmember Karla Cisneros said.



https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/07/...-requirements/
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  #208  
Old Posted May 14, 2021, 6:59 PM
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SIGSEGV SIGSEGV is offline
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Originally Posted by bilbao58 View Post
Despair not! Change is afoot!

Houston Rolling Back Parking Requirements

Houston took a step toward becoming an “increasingly urban city” this week when lawmakers put the kibosh on minimum parking requirements in two center-city neighborhoods.

The reform, known locally as “market based parking,” allows developers and business owners to decide how much parking they need at their buildings, rather than conform to an arbitrary number imposed by city law.

The change “will lead to better streetscapes in this transition period of becoming an increasingly urban city, which will help us be greener, healthier and a more walkable Houston,” City Councilmember Karla Cisneros said.



https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/07/...-requirements/
That's great! Now they just need to expand it to everything inside the loop.
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  #209  
Old Posted May 14, 2021, 7:12 PM
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Originally Posted by SIGSEGV View Post
That's great! Now they just need to expand it to everything inside the loop.
Yeah it's a start but it needs to be extended. SO we don't more of this:

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7337.../data=!3m1!1e3
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