HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS

Houston Code of Ordinances ch. 2, art. VIII

in effect

Houston Code of Ordinances § 2-276 Department created.

Sec. 2-276. - Department created. There is hereby created a department of the city to be known as Houston Public Works. (Ord. No. 90-635, § 7, 5-23-90; Ord. No. 93-514, § 5, 5-5-93; Ord. No. 2018-11, § 4, 1-10-2018)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 2-277 Office of director.

Sec. 2-277. - Office of director. (a) There is hereby created the office of Director of Houston Public Works. The director shall be the executive officer of the department and shall be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by city council. The director shall either: (1) Be a professional engineer, registered as such in Texas; (2) Have at least five years of full-time experience in an executive position in public service administration or business administration with accountability for management of complex business or service line performance and growth; or (3) Have an equivalent combination of training, education, and experience sufficient to provide leadership and perform the duties of the office. (b) The director shall have all the powers and shall exercise all the duties conferred upon the department stated in section 2-278 of this Code, except that if the director is not a professional engineer registered as such in Texas, any duties that devolve upon the director that are required to be performed by a professional engineer shall be performed by the city engineer. (Ord. No. 90-635, § 7, 5-23-90; Ord. No. 93-514, § 5, 5-5-93; Ord. No. 05-91, §§ 1, 5, 1-25-05; Ord. No. 2018-11, § 49, 1-10-2018; Ord. No. 2024-880, § 2, 11-20-2024)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 2-278 Duties.

Sec. 2-278. - Duties. (a) The duties of the department shall include the following: (1) Construction, maintenance and operation of the city's water system, sewer system, drainage utility system, and any combination of those systems. (2) Design, construction, repair and maintenance of streets, bridges, structures and capital projects of all natures as required for the infrastructure of the city. (3) Acquisition of real property for capital projects and maintenance of real property records; disposal of surplus real property. (4) Operation and maintenance of city buildings and structures that are assignedto the department. (5) Design, installation and maintenance of traffic control signals and devices and related duties. (6) Administration and enforcement of the Construction Code and related duties. (7) Administration of the building official's functions assigned to the department in Chapter 10 of this Code. (8) Administration of the solid waste management division's duties and functions, including maintenance and operation of the city's solid waste management system, assigned to the department in Chapter 39 of this Code. (9) Any other duties as assigned by the mayor or city council pursuant to law. (b) To the extent that this Code or any other ordinance or any motion, resolution, or other document devolves duties relating to the enforcement of the Construction Code upon the department of planning and development or the director thereof, then such references shall be construed to mean Houston Public Works and the director thereof. (c) To the extent that this Code or any other ordinance or any motion, resolution, or other document devolves duties upon the department of public works and engineering or the director thereof, then such references shall be construed to mean Houston Public Works and the director thereof. (Ord. No. 90-635, § 7, 5-23-90; Ord. No. 93-514, § 5, 5-5-93; Ord. No. 94-674, § 3, 7-6-94; Ord. No. 98-613, § 10, 8-5-98; Ord. No. 02-528, § 14d., 6-19-02; Ord. No. 03-794, § 5, 9-3-03; Ord. No. 04-1015, § 6, 9-27-04; Ord. No. 08-417, § 3, 5-14-08; Ord. No. 08-568, § 21, 6-18-08; Ord. No. 2018-11, §§ 5, 50, 1-10-2018; Ord. No. 2021-1037, § 20(Exh. I.5, 12-1-2021, eff. 4-1-2022; Ord. No. 2026-0516, § 21, 6-10-2026)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 2-279 Certain functions to be performed by the general services and aviation departments.

Sec. 2-279. - Certain functions to be performed by the general services and aviation departments. With the exception of real property acquisition and the disposition of surplus real property, which shall be handled concurrently by the department and the general services department, the planning, design, construction and management of city buildings shall be the responsibility of the general services and aviation departments, as provided in this Code. (Ord. No. 99-378, § 3, 4-21-99; Ord. No. 05-946, § 2, 8-10-05; Ord. No. 06-804, § 2, 8-2-06; Ord. No. 07-840, § 3, 7-18-07)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 2-280 Use of training services by outside agencies.

Sec. 2-280. - Use of training services by outside agencies. Houston Public Works shall maintain one or more training facilities at which job related training shall be provided to personnel of the department and of other city departments. Priority shall be given in all training courses conducted by Houston Public Works to city employees. To the extent that any excess capacity may exist in any class or training course after city needs have been accommodated, Houston Public Works may allow persons who are employed by other political subdivisions, persons who are employed by construction contractors and other persons to attend the class or training course. The Director of Houston Public Works may adopt procedures regarding the offering of training to persons who are not city employees. The Director of Houston Public Works or the director's designee shall establish training fees, registration fees, lab fees, printing fees, and other related fees for any training furnished to persons who are not city employees. The fees shall be payable for each person other than a city employee attending each class. The fees shall be based upon the city's cost of providing the services and shall be remitted to the city treasury. In addition to the imposition of the fees authorized above for training provided to persons who are not city employees, the Director of Houston Public Works may impose interdepartmental fees to recover the Houston Public Works costs when training is provided to city personnel who are assigned to other departments. The fee amounts are stated for this provision in the city fee schedule. (Ord. No. 00-14, § 1, 1-5-00; Ord. No. 2011-1168, § 13, 12-14-2011; Ord. No. 2018-11, §§ 49, 50, 1-10-2018)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 2-281 Leasing of parking lots.

Sec. 2-281. - Leasing of parking lots. (a) The department* shall have and exercise management of the leasing, subject to city council approval, of all city-owned parking lots, and garages that are situated on property within its director's custody and of any that are situated on other city property that is assigned to the department for such purpose. The department shall collect and account for the revenues therefrom. (b) Users of the post office lot, being that parking lot beneath Interstate 45 between Franklin and the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks, shall be liable for payment of the fees stated for this provision in the city fee schedule, plus sales tax. (Ord. No. 91-1076, § 7, 7-17-91; Ord. No. 96-50, § 6, 1-17-96; Ord. No. 96-1379, § 1, 12-18-96; Ord. No. 08-417, § 4, 5-14-08; Ord. No. 08-568, § 22, 6-18-08; Ord. No. 2011-1168, § 13, 12-14-2011; Ord. No. 2018-11, § 50, 1-10-2018)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 2-282 Freeway ramp closing agreements.

Sec. 2-282. - Freeway ramp closing agreements. The Director of Houston Public Works is authorized to negotiate agreements with the Texas Department of Transportation for the temporary closure of ingress and egress ramps of state maintained controlled access highways as may be necessary or desirable for public safety during temporary use of adjacent city streets for events such as the Houston International Festival, street functions conducted under section 40-27 of this Code, parades conducted under chapter 45 of this Code, city sanctioned motor vehicle races, and similar activities. (Ord. No. 00-184, § 1, 3-22-00; Ord. No. 2018-11, § 49, 1-10-2018)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 2-283 Fees for review of plans or specifications.

Sec. 2-283. - Fees for review of plans or specifications. Plan review fees shall be charged in any instance in which city engineer is requested to review plans or specifications to ensure compliance with the city's water, wastewater, drainage, street paving, and traffic infrastructure standards. An administrative fee shall also be payable in full upon submission of plans or specifications to the city engineer. Plan review fees for the initial submittal shall be payable as follows: (1) 25 percent of the total plan review fee (nonrefundable) shall be paid upon submission of plans or specifications for review, and (2) the remainder of the total plan review fee shall be paid upon completion of the review. Plan review fees for additional pages for a resubmittal shall be paid in full upon resubmission of plans or specifications for review. The fee amounts are stated for this provision in the city fee schedule. Payment of the fees is a condition of the processing of any request for review of plans or specifications. (Ord. No. 05-820, § 11a, 6-22-05; Ord. No. 2011-1168, § 13, 12-14-2011)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 2-284 Notice to building owners or building managers that an individual has requested their building plans.

Sec. 2-284. - Notice to building owners or building managers that an individual has requested their building plans. (a) The director shall promulgate procedures to notify building owners or building managers when a request is made to inspect or to obtain copies of their building's construction plans and floor plans that are maintained by the city. This service shall be available to all building owners who register and pay the required registration fee. (b) The director is authorized to charge each building owner who registers for the service a registration fee for each two-year registration period. The fee are stated for this provision in the city fee schedule. (c) The service must be renewed upon the expiration of the registration period with the fee payable upon renewal. (d) Failure to renew the service upon the expiration of the registration period shall result in the discontinuation of the service for the building owner or building manager. The service shall resume upon renewal. (e) Participation in this program is not intended to, nor shall it create a contract, either express or implied, creating a guarantee of performance by the city. Any and all liability and consequential damages resulting from the city's failure to comply with this program are hereby disclaimed and governmental immunity as provided by law is retained. (f) The building owner, building manager or any other persons registered for this program must covenant and agree that they will, jointly and severally, indemnify and hold the city harmless against liability for any and all claims, judgments and associated legal expenses and costs and for claims and litigation arising out of the city's failure to comply with this program. (g) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to a request made by a governmental entity or a law enforcement agency to inspect or obtain copies of building plans. (Ord. No. 05-1401, § 1, 12-20-05; Ord. No. 2011-1168, § 13, 12-14-2011)

Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH2AD_ARTVIIIHOPUWOFetched: 10/26/2026