ADDITIONAL BUILDING AND SITE DESIGN STANDARDS

Houston Code of Ordinances ch. 42, art. IV, div. 3

in effect

Houston Code of Ordinances § 42-651 Ground floor façade.

Sec. 42-651. - Ground floor façade. The ground floor façade of buildings used for other than single family residential occupancy shall comply with the following standards, unless a modification is granted under section 42-604 of this Code: (1) A minimum of 50% of the ground floor façade of a building with linear street frontage along a primary street shall be transparent openings such as windows or doors into occupiable space. (2) A minimum of 40% of the ground floor façade along a secondary street shall be transparent openings such as windows or doors into occupiable space. (3) When a building has facades on three or more streets designated as a transit-oriented development street or walkable places street, the applicant may designate, in writing to the planning official, one secondary street frontage to be exempted from the requirements of this section. (Ord. No. 2020-684, § 2(Exh. A), 8-5-2020)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 42-652 Public entrances and doors.

Sec. 42-652. - Public entrances and doors. (a) A non-single-family residential building constructed adjacent to the pedestrian realm of a walkable places street or transit-oriented development street subject to this article shall provide and maintain at least one public entrance to the pedestrian realm. (b) No door to a building or structure, other than a door used only for emergency access, shall swing into the minimum unobstructed sidewalk within the pedestrian realm. (Ord. No. 2020-684, § 2(Exh. A), 8-5-2020)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 42-653 Driveway locations and dimensions.

Sec. 42-653. - Driveway locations and dimensions. The following standards apply to driveway locations and dimensions unless a modification is granted under section 42-604 of this Code: (1) The minimum distance between driveways along a walkable places street or transit-oriented development street shall be 300 feet where one or more lots on the same street are under one ownership, legal interest, or common control, except that: a. When a lot has linear street frontage along more than one street, no new driveway shall be permitted along a primary street. If two or more streets are designated as a primary walkable places or transit-oriented street, then the applicant may select one street where the driveway standards otherwise required by the section may apply; and b. A lot that has linear street frontage along three or more walkable places streets or transit-oriented development streets may have one non-primary street that is exempt for the driveway standards of this section. (2) The maximum width of a driveway shall be 30 feet for a two-way driveway or 15 feet wide for two one-way driveways. (3) When there is an existing driveway along a primary street, the applicant may modify or relocate the driveway(s) and have one driveway from the primary street in accordance with the distance and width requirements of this section. (Ord. No. 2020-684, § 2(Exh. A), 8-5-2020)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 42-654 Bicycle parking.

Sec. 42-654. - Bicycle parking. (a) For all classifications listed under classes 1 - office, 6 - recreation and entertainment, 7 - food and beverage, and 8 - retail services in section 26-492 of this Code, two bicycle spaces shall be required for each 10,000 square feet of gross floor area up to 150,000 square feet of GFA. (b) One bicycle space shall be required for every 20 dwelling units in an apartment, as those terms are defined in section 26-472 of this Code. (c) Bicycle spaces required by this section shall conform to the design criteria of section 26-583 of this Code. (d) This section shall prevail over the minimum number of bicycle spaces otherwise required by this Code. (Ord. No. 2020-684, § 2(Exh. A), 8-5-2020)

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_ARTIVENPEREST_DIV3ADBUSIDESTFetched: 10/26/2026