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find "the best and the brightest, while also hiring professionals who
<br />were reflective of Houston's racial and ethnic diversity," sa.es
<br />Kfistaponis. Hired the ~ame day the city council passed the motion
<br />to adopt zoning, she launched an aggressive nationwide search for
<br />people and successfully built a 60-member zoning staff. ~We were
<br />looking for people who wanted to be pan ofa ven' unique
<br />challenge," she says. ~Here we were, the fourth largest cin, in the
<br />U.S., trying to come to a consensus on how to zone years of
<br />previousJy unregulated development." She was also fortunate to be
<br />contacted by some planners, originally from Houston, who had left
<br />to work for towns that had planning and zoning.
<br /> Kristaponis recognized earl), on that a massive public education
<br />effor~ was necessary to introduce the concept of zoning. She
<br />coordinated an outreach effort that divided Houston into 15 study
<br />areas and then divided thc nM' zoning staffinro teams assigned to
<br />these areas. The teams' goals were twofold: thu' had to gather all
<br />the physical data for their respective areas and, perhaps more
<br />importantly, enlist the community's support to do so. Kriztaponis
<br />says that "by having staffassigned m }ocal units, the3.' really got to
<br />know their communi~, well, and they fostered credibilit), while
<br />establishing a forum for local parnctpatmn. Staff met regularly
<br />with local citizens and effectively became the city's liaison to their
<br />assigned areas.
<br /> The staff also developed a media effort, including a video that
<br />explained what zoning was and why Houstonians should get
<br />involved. The department supplemented daily press coverage of the
<br />zoning issue by creating a newspaper insert called Houston Zoning.
<br />It includes information on how zoning could affect neighborhoods,
<br />businesses, and future development, and explains how people can
<br />access information in order to understand the ordinance bener. The
<br />insert also charts the progress of the new zoning team and reports
<br />on local workshops and public hearings. Kristaponis and her staff
<br />appeared on many local talk shows and met constantly with local
<br />citizens groups and commercial organizations. "Having the
<br />planning communi .ty monitor our progress under a microscope"
<br />further publicized their efforts, she adds.
<br /> Achieving even representation of Houston's racial, economic,
<br />and geographic composition has also proved difficult. In 1991,
<br />Mayor Kathy Whitmire renamed the planning commission the
<br />planning and zoning commission. Its job was to monitor the
<br />progress of and eventually approve the zoning ordinance. However,
<br />council member' Ben Reyes, who represents minority communities,
<br />later criticized the commission because its members did not reflect
<br />his constituentT. In November 1992, Mayor Bob Lanier appointed
<br />six new minority planning and zoning commissioners to more
<br />approptiately represent minorities. Other council members
<br />representing less populated areas also expressed concern that they
<br />might not get adequate representation. Council member Jim
<br />Greenwood, Houston's original grass-roots proponent' of zoning,
<br />also expressed concern that new appointees, despite their minority
<br />representation, might constitute a commission that overrepresents
<br />Houston's comrnerdal interests.
<br /> The planning and zoning commission appointed a zoning
<br />strategies committee and a mapping committee. Composed of local
<br />development professionals and citizens, these committees were
<br />charged with the responsibility of writing the zoning ordinance and
<br />developing the zoning map. The zoning strategies committee began
<br />work on the draft ordinance in the spring of 1991 with a July 1992
<br />target date for completion. Completion of the first draft was
<br />delayed because the committee felt it better to take the rime to forge
<br />consensus on issues rather than be criticized for not doing so. To
<br />the disappointment of many concerned homeowners, the zoning
<br />strategies committ~ sought an extension until January 1993.
<br />
<br />Last Chance
<br />As plans for the ordinance progressed, applications for building
<br />permits in residential areas rose. During the first six months of
<br />1991, 73 applicants sought permits to convert or expand single-
<br />family homes into commercial us~s. To protect predominantly
<br />residential neighborhoods from becoming mixed-use areas,
<br />neighborhood advocates proposed an interim moratorium that
<br />would prohibit thc building, conversion, or development of
<br />commercial businesses Oll lots smaller than two acres. Although
<br />most cita' council members supported the measure, one opposed
<br />it on the grouods that it would hurt many of tile mom-and-pop
<br />businesses in his district. He later approved the ordinance.
<br /> The council passed the interim residential protection ordi-
<br />nance, which is intended to stay in place until thc zoning
<br />ordinance is adopted. The interim ordinance imposes buffer
<br />requirements and height restrictions on commercial property
<br />that already exists next to residential propert).'. It would not bar
<br />conversions already in progress or applied for before the ordi-
<br />nance took effect. ]n addition, the interim measure includes
<br />waivers that allow homeowners in neighborhoods already two-
<br />thirds commercial to convert their homes into businesses. If the
<br />surrounding property is less than two-thirds commercial or
<br />nonresidential (for example, a church or a school), approval is at
<br />the discretion of the planning director, based on factors specific
<br />to each case. Moreover, the interim ordinance does not supersede
<br />deed restrictions allowing home-operated businesses.
<br />
<br />The Draft Ordinance
<br />The zoning strategies committee presented its f'lrst draft of a
<br />zoning ordinance to the planning and zoning commission in
<br />early January. The commission unanimously approved it on
<br />January 8 after 20 hours of public hearings. The city council's
<br />acceptance followed on March 2. The document then became
<br />the subject of six more public hearings, with the council
<br />scheduled to vote on final approval this spring. Although a
<br />referendum is also expected in January 1994, K.ristaponis feels
<br />the public is solidly behind the ordinance.
<br /> The ordinance proposes 12 zoning districts, tt has four
<br />hierarchical residen~al districts that range from the most restric-
<br />tive, R1 (single-family de~ached), which limits the number of
<br />units per acre, to the least restrictive, RO (residential only),
<br />which has no limit on the number of units. The next classifica-
<br />tion is the urban neighborhood district. This category applies to
<br />existing mixed-use areas with a predominantly residential
<br />character. It has fewer land-use restrictions than the residential
<br />districts, and it oudines scale and property-edge standards
<br />nonresidential uses and large apartment buildings.
<br /> The industrial district classifies all land where industry is
<br />currently located. It includes standards based on the specific use
<br />and requires buffers at the edge of the district. In addition, four
<br />special districra accommodate land uses with special needs:
<br />planned unit development districts, which allow unified control
<br />over' a landowner's mixed development; special districts for areas
<br />with unique characteristics such as universities or museums;
<br />landmark or historic districts, which serve as overlays to provide
<br />preservation designation for areas of cultural or historic signifi-
<br />cance; and greenspace districts, which protect parks, open space,
<br />and bayous from development. The major activiiy center (MAC)
<br />d/st'r/ct classifies areas of large-scale, mixed-use, high-intensity
<br />development such as Houston's Galleria, the Medical Center, or
<br />its Greenway Plaza.
<br /> Finally, there is the open designation. This category exists as an
<br />%pen slate." The goal is to provide a mechanism for those market
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