Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) repealed the 2015 joint Clean Water Act (CWA) “Waters of the U.S.”(WOTUS) definition and rule. That rule would have dramatically expanded jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act and …
Residential Lot Banking: Alternative Financing to Fuel Homebuilding Growth
Home to four of the top 10 fastest growing cities in the country, the Texas homebuilding market continues to heat up. One challenge homebuilders face in this hot market is how to maintain capital to …
New State Laws Effective September 1
The 86th Texas Legislature has come to a close with hundreds of bills signed into law. Here are three that should be on your radar as a Texas homebuilding professional. House Bill 2439 by Representative …
City of Houston Announces Green Infrastructure Incentives
Last summer, the GHBA along with other development and community stakeholders were invited to participate and contribute in the process to develop the City of Houston’s Green Stormwater Incentives to encourage the use of green …
Harris County Adopts New Development Regulations Based on Atlas 14 Data
The Harris County Commissioners Court has adopted changes to development regulations that were based on the updated Atlas 14 study of historical rainfall data. These changes are effective immediately. Atlas 14 is a study conducted …
10 Common Reasons for Site Plan Review Rejections
The Houston Planning and Development Department (P&D) wants to help you get your site plans approved quickly and with the fewest amount of rejections possible. To this end, the team has identified the 10 most …
Texas Legislature Passes Historic Flood Control Legislation
The GHBA is a founding member of Houston Stronger, a coalition of development stakeholders from around our region. The group’s initial purpose when it formed shortly after Hurricane Harvey was to push for what became …
NAHB Regulatory Achievement
Important Step Forward on Waters of the U.S. Rule We are pleased to announce that the Trump administration today released its proposed new definition for “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) that will resolve years …
City of Houston Floodplain and Drainage Regulations
The City of Houston recently made some major revisions to Chapter 19, the floodplain ordinance, and to Chapters 9 and 13 regarding drainage in the infrastructure design manual. These new regulation changes went into effect on …
Waters of the U.S. Rule Implementation Halted in Texas
Recently, there has been much confusion over the implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) joint Clean Water Act (CWA) “Waters of the U.S.”(WOTUS) definition and …
New Regulations for the City of Houston Effective September 1
In an attempt to take action following Hurricane Harvey, the City of Houston has taken an aggressive, accelerated and largely emotional response by adopting onerous building and drainage regulation changes that went into effect on …
Congressman John Culberson at Developers Council
On August 1, the GHBA Developers Council hosted Congressman John Culberson (CD-7) who discussed his work on securing federal funds for Harvey recovery and infrastructure projects in his role as a subcommittee chairman of the …
FINAL OPEN HOUSE for Chapter 19 Guidelines
Members encouraged to attend Thursday, June 28 from 6pm-8pm The public comment period for the proposed guidelines for the recently adopted major changes to Chapter 19, the City’s Floodplain Regulation Ordinance, ends on Friday, June …
City of Houston Passes Ordinance Expanding Regulation in Floodplains
Last week the Houston City Council voted to dramatically increase regulations on building within the 100 and 500 year floodplains. The proposal to amend Chapter 19, the City’s Floodplain Regulation Ordinance, was first introduced in …
WCR Application Process Reset
The Houston Permitting Center is working to improve the Wastewater Capacity Reservations (WCR) application process. On May 1, the Houston Permitting Center launched a new process that introduced an appointment feature to schedule and process …