The city’s latest proposal to eliminate off-street parking requirements in Midtown and East Downtown got a vote of confidence from the management districts of both neighborhoods when staff members presented it to them last Monday. Shown above are the new areas (in blue and green) that’d supplement Downtown’s existing Central Business District (red) where developers are free to build without leaving room — like the rest of Houston must — for on-site parking spots. To the east, the designation extends out to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and then down to I-45. And to the south, it follows the 527 spur, ending at 59. (If put in place, the whole contiguous zone would fall under a new term the city’s invented for it: Market Based Parking.)

There’s still a ways to go before the map becomes more than a pretty picture: A 30-day public comment period will culminate in a recap next month. Then city council gets its final say on things at a meeting proponents hope will take place before the end of the year.

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Meantime, builders outside the Downtown CBD will still want to keep this Chapter 26 requirement sheet handy. Passed by the city in 1989 (and twice amended since) the rules outline the number of car spots necessary for developments based on their use and size.

There will be a presentation tomorrow at Planning Commission [Houston Planning Commission]

Map: Houston Planning Commission

Deregulatory Roadmap