The Clute Planning and Zoning Commission voted Oct. 9 to set a joint public hearing with the City Council on Nov. 13, 2025, to consider changes to the zoning ordinance that would allow ground-floor residence use in existing homes built before a 2016 remapping and to review when a specific use permit is required.

Commission members and staff said the issue arises from the 2016 land-use remap, which left many older single-family homes in commercial zones; new buyers who want to renovate those houses cannot obtain building permits until they secure an SUP. A staff presenter described the situation as “a catch-22 position where we have homes being sold as residences, marketed as residences, but they’re in a commercial zone, and folks have to come ask permission basically to use their home in that manner,” and said staff plans to draft an ordinance and may ask the city attorney for advice before the hearing.

The commission discussed practical trade-offs raised during the meeting: encouraging commercial development in commercial zones versus the reality that many of the parcels in question are existing houses not easily converted to retail or industrial uses. Commissioners cited past remapping decisions and neighborhood concerns about noise and compatibility on Main Street and nearby blocks. The staff presenter said the agenda item before the commission was only to set the hearing date so that full details, including a draft ordinance, would be considered at the joint public hearing.

Commissioners voted to set the joint public hearing date for Nov. 13, 2025. The action sends the issue to City Council and schedules public input and a detailed review of any proposed ordinance language. Staff said subsequent work will include preparing draft ordinance language and circulating materials ahead of the hearing so residents can review the proposed changes.

The hearing will also consider a pending SUP application at 249 South Main Street, which staff identified as an example of the problem: the property was sold and the new owners want to renovate, but building permits are blocked until an SUP is granted. The commission’s vote does not change current permit requirements; it only schedules the public process to consider possible ordinance revisions.