BY RACHEL LELAND
Another viewpoint
Breaking it down
In their own words
David Schwarte, co-founder of Texas Neighborhood Coalition, a grassroots organization opposing state edicts allowing ADUs as of right, said he felt Senate Bill 673, which was led in the 89th Texas Legislature and allows ADUs by right, could turn “granny suites” into de facto short-term rentals. The bill requires neither resident relation nor owner occupancy, Schwarte said. “SB 673 would strip from every city of any size in Texas the power to apply those processes for determining whether an ADU was permitted,” Schwarte said.
Pearland allows ADUs in areas zoned for residential and mixed-use, except for suburban development, but applicants must le a condi- tional use permit, Pearland’s Community Devel- opment Director Vance Wyly said. “The conditional use permit allows us to ... be a little bit more speci c in looking at those particular circumstances,” said Kevin Cole, who was Pearland’s mayor at the vote. “We can put conditions, hence conditional use permit.” The city has regulatory layers to prevent ADUs from becoming short-term rentals, namely the 2025 Uni ed Development Code amendment, which prohibits them in residential zoning. Still, Wyly said that it’s “very di cult to impossible” for the city to enforce the ban. At the February meeting, City Council voted to add conditions to ensure the space wouldn’t be used as a short-term rental, but then later voted to deny the permit even with those conditions. The UDC is undergoing a rewrite, and a joint workshop will be held May 18 with council and the Planning & Zoning Commission to discuss how ADUs are regulated.
“Whether we approved it or not, the deed restrictions
overrule council’s actions, and in fact, deed restrictions would overrule legislative actions.” KEVIN COLE, FORMER PEARLAND MAYOR Neutral
Bills to watch
“The carnage from short- term rentals has been so
Against
Requires cities to allow ADUs by right in single-family zones and limits local regulations on size and design • Status: passed the Senate during the 89th Texas Legislature; pending action in the House Establishes a statewide ADU framework allowing ADUs on single-family lots while preserving some local control over design and standards • Status: referred to committee in the 89th Texas Legislature; no vote A broad zoning reform bill that includes ADUs by limiting municipal restrictions on residential land use and increasing allowable density • Status: referred to committee in 89th Texas Legislature; no vote Streamlines ADU permitting by requiring cities to approve applications within 60 days or allow automatic approval • Status: referred to committee in the 89th Texas Legislature; no vote
dreadful that a large sector of the community is really concerned about a Trojan horse.” DAVID SCHWARTE, CO FOUNDER, TEXAS NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION
Breakdown of ADU permit requests in Pearland Since 2006, Pearland has
“ADUs are the mildest possible way to relax the kind of strict
For
prohibition of single family zoning ... it’s honestly like you kind of barely even notice them.” JAKE WEGGMAN, PLANNING AND LAND USE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
received seven permit requests to build ADUs.
2
Approved
4
Denied
1
Pending
SOURCE: CITY OF PEARLAND COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: TEXAS LEGISLATURE COMMUNITY IMPACT
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