Fee in Lieu of Sidewalk Ordinance

Troy AllenLegislative Priorities

The Sidewalk Network Ordinance, adopted by Houston City Council in late January, has officially taken effect, as of March 1. The ordinance applies to new building permits and applicants who were previously approved. The ordinance requires the following: 

  • Construct the required sidewalk. (Sec 40-553 lists the development activities requiring sidewalk construction)
  • Submit a sidewalk Standard Modification Application to the Sidewalk Committee 
  • Pay a Fee in Lieu of Sidewalk Construction (Sec 40-560(b)(1) or Sec 40-561(d)). 

The GHBA Government Affairs team worked hard to lower the proposed fee to the final $12/sq ft adopted in the ordinance. The ordinance also lowers the application fee for sidewalks from $1,174.46 to $250 for single family residential homes. The fees will be allocated to a Sidewalk Fund used to extend sidewalks across the city.

Resources:


For more information, contact GHBA Director of Government Affairs Troy Allen at (281) 664-1430 or tallen@ghba.org.

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