Tracts for non-single-family use—Reserves.
Houston Code of Ordinances § 42-190
in effectSec. 42-190. - Tracts for non-single-family use—Reserves.
(a) A tract of land that is not restricted to single-family residential use shall not be designated on a subdivision plat as a lot but shall be designated as a reserve and shall be subject to those provisions of this chapter pertaining to reserves.
(b) A subdivision plat shall identify each reserve by alphabetical letter and shall show the total acreage of the reserve within the delineated reserve boundaries. The applicant may note on the plat the use intended for each reserve. The applicant shall identify a reserve tract for which it has not determined a use as an unrestricted reserve.
(c) Each reserve shall meet the following requirements for minimum size, the type and width of street or shared driveway on which it may be located, and the minimum frontage, as applicable to the type of reserve:
TYPE OF RESERVE | MINIMUM SIZE | TYPE OF STREET OR SHARED DRIVEWAY | MINIMUM STREET OR SHARED DRIVEWAY WIDTH | MINIMUM STREET OR SHARED DRIVEWAY FRONTAGE
Unrestricted reserve | 5,000 sq. ft. | public street | 60 feet (50 feet in a street width exception area) | 60 feet
MUR Reserve per Sec. 42-237 | 3500 sq ft | public street or type 1 permanent access easement | 50 feet | 50 feet
Restricted reserve - Courtyard per Sec. 42-194 | 480 sq ft for the main courtyard | None required | None required | None required
Restricted reserve—Lift station | Minimum size required by the design manual | public street or type 1 permanent access easement | 50 feet | 20 feet
Temporary access easement if the reserve meets the standards of section 42-190(d) | Temporary access easement if the reserve meets the standards of section 42-190(d)
Restricted reserve—Compensating open space | 240 sq. ft. | public street or type 1 permanent access easement | 50 feet | 12 feet
type 2 permanent access easement | 28 feet
shared driveway | 16 feet
Restricted reserve—Landscape or open space | None required | None required | None required | None required
Restricted reserve—Recreation | 5,000 sq. ft. | public street or type 1 permanent access easement | 50 feet | 50 feet
Type 2 permanent access easement | 28 feet | 50 feet
Shared driveway | 16 feet | 50 feet
Restricted reserve—Drainage or detention | None required | public street | 50 feet | 20 feet
permanent access easement | 28 feet
shared driveway owned by homeowners association | 16 feet | 16 feet
None if adjoining existing reserve restricted to drainage or detention | None if adjoining existing reserve restricted to drainage or detention | None if adjoining existing reserve restricted to drainage or detention
Restricted reserve—Wastewater treatment, water production, or water repressurization | 5,000 sq. ft. | public street or type 1 permanent access easement | 50 feet | 50 feet
Temporary access easement if the reserve meets the standards of section 42-190(d) | Temporary access easement if the reserve meets the standards of section 42-190(d)
None if adjoining existing reserve restricted to wastewater treatment, water production, or water repressurization | None if adjoining existing reserve restricted to wastewater treatment, water production, or water repressurization | None if adjoining existing reserve restricted to wastewater treatment, water production, or water repressurization
Restricted reserve—Parking | Minimum size requirement for a parking space specified in the Construction Code | public street or type 1 permanent access easement | 50 feet | Minimum width of a parking space required by the Construction Code
type 2 permanent access easement | 28 feet
shared driveway | 16 feet
Restricted reserve—All other | 5,000 sq. ft. | public street | 60 feet (50 feet in a street width exception area) | 60 feet
(d) A reserve may take access via an access easement temporarily until the adjacent public streets within the general plan are platted with abutting sections if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The reserve is specifically restricted to lift station, wastewater treatment, water production, or water repressurization;
(2) The access easement is temporary and non-exclusive that must be recorded prior to the recordation of the plat in a form approved by the city attorney;
(3) The access easement aligns with the public street pattern identified in the current approved general plan;
(4) The minimum width of the access easement must be 30 feet with all-weather road surface and shall comply with all applicable Design Manual, Fire Code, city, county, and Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requirements; and
(5) The minimum street width and minimum frontage requirements otherwise required by this section must be met as other sections abutting the reserve are recorded.
(Ord. No. 2013-343, § 3(Exh. A), 4-24-2013; Ord. No. 2022-391, §§ 14, 15, 5-18-2022; Ord. No. 2023-801, § 3(Exh. A), 9-27-2023, eff. 11-27-2023)
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_CH42SUDEPL_ARTIIIPLST_DIV4LORE_SDAGERELORE_S42-190TRNNGMIUESFetched: 10/26/2026