Bellaire commissioners workshop changes to Urban Village Downtown zoning; public hearing set for June 12

Members of the Bellaire Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed a revised draft of the city’s Urban Village Downtown (UVD) zoning code at a May 8 workshop and agreed on several edits to bring to public hearing June 12.

The commission, staff and two city council members discussed changes to Section 24-5-37 of the city code and related parts of Chapter 24. Planning staff described edits that remove “maximum” yard dimensions (leaving minimum street-facing yard setbacks of 10 feet in most places and 15 feet on certain major streets), move multifamily standards into the planned-development section, and add explicit rules for outdoor seating in required street‑facing yards subject to visibility and pedestrian access conditions.

Why it matters: the UVD district covers core commercial strips near older residential lots along Bissonnet, Bellaire Boulevard and South Rice. Commissioners and Council Member Lewis said the changes seek to balance reinvestment and commercial redevelopment while protecting the privacy and scale of neighboring houses.

Planning staff told the commission they had not adopted the separate R-6 townhouse dimensional standard for UVD but had replaced the ordinance phrase “single-family attached” with the term “townhouse” to match the city code’s definition. Staff said multifamily housing would be permitted only through a mixed‑use planned…