Houston Densifies and Diversifies Housing

"Developers at a City Hall public hearing on the ordinance last month said the proposed changes would allow them to easily develop single-family homes while also giving protections to neighborhoods. However, neighborhood activists were divided on the proposed changes, saying they had not been able to fully review them.

'I think there are some members of the alliance that are suspicious that it affords developers the opportunity to exploit or take advantage of less organized parts of town,' said David Robinson, president of the Super Neighborhood Alliance.

Some residents have said the updated code would not require enough guest parking for high-density developments while others have called for requirements for developers to provide more infrastructure improvements to prevent flooding and other "unintended consequences" of such properties, Robinson said."