Houston: A City With No Zoning?

Have you ever heard someone say “Houston has no zoning”? While it’s true that Houston is the largest U.S. city without zoning based on land use that doesn’t mean there’s no planning or regulation.

One key regulatory tool in Houston is deed restrictions. While zoning is restrictions on the use of land by a government authority, deed restrictions apply to a property and are a private agreement. Though deed restrictions are common across the country they have special prominence in Houston, where they have been the primary way to regulate a neighborhood’s character. Usually, entire neighborhoods share deed restrictions, but that’s not always the case, like in Braeswood Place.

Special case

Deed restrictions vary across the Bayou City, but since the 1960s they have been enforced by the city itself, which gives them added power. Houston is unique in that the Texas legislature has authorized the City of Houston to legally enforce deed restrictions and establish subdivision regulations on all residential developments. In most other Texas cities, deed restrictions are overseen and enforced by private entities and similar types of residential regulations are part of the city’s zoning codes.

A quirk among American cities

Three times Houston voters have voted against adopting zoning — in 1948, 1962 and most recently 1993. Houston’s lack of zoning is an interesting quirk and there isn’t agreement on exactly why Houston never embraced zoning like the rest of the state. Despite it’s different development path, our city doesn’t look so different from the other large metros in Texas. Just because Houston hasn’t adopted a zoning code doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all. Houston continues on without “the Z word.”