Unzoned Houston protects apartments from some incompatible neighbors

In January, a large explosion on Gessner Road killed two people and caused extensive property damage in northwestern Spring Branch. Some nearby homes and businesses were destroyed, and the blast shattered dozens of windows and knocked doors off their hinges at several area apartment communities. The explosion even broke windows at the Houston Apartment Association office nearly a mile away.

Since the accident, property owners and policymakers have started asking whether Houston should do more to protect citizens from the hazards that can occur with industrial facilities.

Houston, even without zoning, does have some specific protections for apartment communities and other land uses that prohibit certain things within various distances. Here’s a quick review of some of Houston’s distance protections for apartment properties:

Abattoirs — “Abattoir” is a polite term for a slaughterhouse. An abattoir has to be at least 3,000 feet from a long list of land uses including apartment properties.

Correctional facilities — Many jail and prison facilities for adults cannot be placed within 1,000 feet of any licensed day care center, public park, recreation facility or school. Singlefamily homes and apartment properties are not specifically included, but the ordinance would exclude many sites near apartment communities.

Hazardous enterprises — A Houston city ordinance prohibits “hazardous enterprises” if a third or more of the tracts within 1,000 feet of the site are residential. In the case of an apartment community, every eight units constitute one “tract” for the purpose of this calculation. A hazardous enterprise is defined as anything qualifying as a Class H Occupancy in the Building Code. It’s a long and complex definition but it’s basically what you would expect — facilities that manufacture, store or use significant amounts of toxic or hazardous substances.

Junkyards — Houston prohibits junkyards, salvage yards, auto parts recyclers and metal recyclers within 300 feet of an apartment property.

Rendering plants — A rendering plant is a facility that processes “…any animal or parts thereof, or the proteins and fats…” for commercial use — mostly grease. These also have to be located at least 3,000 feet from an apartment property.

Sexually oriented businesses — Houston won’t grant a permit for a “gentlemen’s club” if 75% or more of the tracts within a 1,500-foot radius of the proposed site are “residential in character,” with each 1/8 acre of land on which an apartment property is located counting as a separate tract.

Keep in mind that our Constitution frowns on ex post facto laws, meaning the “we were here first” theory generally applies. If one of these land uses was already there before the distance ordinance was passed by City Council, or if they were there before your apartment property was built, they can probably stay.