No Zoning, But Many Restrictions

"Houston's real estate developers, who have long enjoyed a unique role as the city's unfettered engines of growth, suddenly find themselves on the defensive as they scramble to confront a flurry of policy initiatives affecting their industry."

"In the past year, the City Council has strengthened rules for protecting historic buildings, required developers to set aside land for parks and tried to give neighborhood leaders more influence over the shape of new development surrounding them."

"Various officials and committees, meanwhile, are working on new rules for development in transit corridors, policies to encourage and guide urban mixed-use developments and requirements for traffic impact studies of certain high-density projects."