Living in a City with NO ZONING

  Many people who move to Houston are shocked to hear that land use is determined at the neighborhood level, meaning there is no central zoning agency. And not only that, zoning has been put to a vote more than once and lost each time. I live in Montrose, which is a land-use nightmare (single-famly here, muli-family there, retail over there, etc,) but guess what? I can walk to three of the coolest coffee houses in the city in five minutes. So I like the mixed-up, eclectic nature of my neighborhood.

Developers have long had their way in Houston but now a very well-connnected neighborhood is up in arms about a towering high-rise planned for their area. Who can blame them? Their city council representative will introduce a new ordinance soon aimed at cutting back high-density residential development in areas that cannot withstand the traffic impact. I support the effort and hope they prevail. The developers have to be reined in somewhat. I love the business climate of Texas and lack of regulation, but a balance has to be struck for the preservation of a livable city.