Galveston planning commission weighs standards for alley‑access home lots

At a May 6 workshop, the Galveston Planning Commission reviewed proposed standards for subdividing and approving lots that would rely solely on alley access, focusing on firefighter access, utility easements, drainage and neighborhood impacts.

The matter drew attention because staff’s GIS study identified about 70 alley‑access lots concentrated in older sections of the city east of 61st Street. Commission members and staff said those parcels could be a potential source of smaller, lower‑cost homeownership, but they also raised technical concerns that could limit or condition approvals.

“It's not something we thoroughly enjoy, but we may do with it,” said Chris Harrison, the city's fire marshal, describing how the department treats fires in narrow alleys. Harrison told the commission that the department tries to avoid driving large apparatus into narrow alleyways because ladder trucks require extra room for outriggers; “instead of the normal 20 foot … that goes up to 26 or 30 feet,” he said. He added that the department aims for a minimum 20‑foot paved fire‑lane width for pumpers but that aerial access and ladder operations become problematic when buildings exceed about 30 feet in height.

Harrison described operational tradeoffs in alley responses: crews will often rely on hand lines if aerial deployment is infeasible and can lay long supply lines from hydrants when needed. He said the department carries up to 1,000 feet of 5‑inch supply hose and has used longer lines in past incidents, but “the shorter the better” because…