The Fine Print: Houston
What they put in the agenda
Every agenda the site reads, from Commissioners Court and City Council to the port, the transit authority, the college districts and the school boards, is checked item by item. Anything that adds a rule, a fee, debt, surveillance or land control, or that happens behind closed doors, is logged here with the agenda's own words. Anything that cuts or repeals one is logged too, as a rollback.
Showing Houston City Council only. Every government →
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Authorize eminent domain for water line project
Authorizes acquisition of fee simple or easement interests in two parcels for 66-Inch Water Line Project along Veterans Memorial Drive and West Gulf Bank Road using gift, dedication, purchase, or eminent domain; authorizes payment of acquisition costs including appraisals, relocation assistance and expert witness fees.
Oct 27, 2026 agenda, item 23: the agenda's words
ORDINANCE finding and determining that public convenience and necessity for the acquisition of real property interests in connection with the Public Improvement Project known as the 66-Inch Water Line along Veterans Memorial Drive and West Gulf Bank Road Project; authorizing the acquisition of fee simple or easement interest in two parcels of land required for the project, and situated in the G. Green Survey, Abstract No. 281, Harris County, Texas, by gift, dedication, purchase and the use of eminent domain and further authorizing payment of the costs of such purchases and/or eminent domain proceedings and associated costs for Relocation Assistance, Appraisal Fees, Title Policies/Services, Recording Fees, Court Costs, and Expert Witness Fees in connection with the acquisition of fee simple or easement interest to the two parcels of land required for the project - DISTRICT B - JACKSON Ordinance Report - 20SW07 Coversheet Location Map - 66 Inch
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Designate ten properties as Protected Landmarks or Landmarks
Public hearing to designate ten residential and church properties as Protected Landmarks or Landmarks in Houston, restricting future alterations or demolition. Property owners applied for designations.
Oct 27, 2026 agenda, item 1: the agenda's words
PUBLIC HEARING regarding the designation of Landmarks or Protected Landmarks upon application by the property owners: Protected Landmark: Trinity United Methodist Church at 2600 Holman Street Protected Landmark: House at 1317 Ruthven Street Protected Landmark: Berean Seventh-Day Adventist Church at 2119 St. Emmanuel Street Protected Landmark: Irene and George Robinson House at 2322 Dunstan Road Protected Landmark: Myrle and Vernon Williams House at 2107 Tangley Street Protected Landmark: Ince-Crain House at 1914 Dunstan Road Protected Landmark: Helen and Jesse O. Webb House at 2232 Dunstan Road Protected Landmark: Myer-Jones House at 2232 Tangley Street Protected Landmark: Mae and John Wallace Donaldson House at 2306 Tangley Street Protected Landmark: Doney-McElwain-Freeman House at 2522 Calumet Street Landmark: First City National Bank at 1021 Main Street Landmark_and_Protected_Landmarks_MAP
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Consent to add 15.3 acres to Dowdell Public Utility District
Ordinance consents to addition of 15.3148 acres of land to Dowdell Public Utility District for inclusion in its district. Affects the specified acreage and district boundaries.
Oct 14, 2026 agenda, item 29.97: the agenda's words
Acre Tract Site Map Vicinity Map ORDINANCE consenting to the addition of 15.3148 acres of land to DOWDELL PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT, for inclusion in its district Ordinance Report - 20WR646 Coversheet Maps ORDINANCE consenting to the addition of 73.794 acres of land to FORT BEND COUNTY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 134C, for inclusion in its district Ordinance Report- 20WR660 Coversheet Maps ORDINANCE finding and determining that public convenience and necessity no longer require the continued use of a 70 square-foot, ground easement (Parecel SY26-062A) and an 854 square-foot aerial easement (Parcel SY26-062B), both out of the Robert Vince Survey, Abstract No. 77, Harris County, Texas; vacating and abandoning the said easements to CENTERPOINT ENERGY HOUSTON ELECTRIC, LLC, the underlying fee property owner, in consideration of its payment to the City in the cash amount of $12,881,.00 and other good and valuable consideration - DISTRICT J - POLLARD Ordinance Report - 20RDP10475 Coversheet HPW20RDP10475 Aerial Map HPW20RDP10475 District Map HPW20RDP10475 Parcel Map 1 ORDINANCE appropriating $8,812,515.48 out of Dedicated Drainage and Street Renewal Capital Fund - Ad Valorem Tax and $1,730,779.84 out of Water & Sewer System Consolidated Construction Fund; approving and authorizing Joint Participation Interlocal Agreement with HARRIS COUNTY for Triway Lane to 350’ east of Gessner Road along Tanner Road Project - DISTRICT A - PECK Ordinance Report- 20INA234 Coversheet Map ORDINANCE
Deed restrictions
Houston has no zoning; deed restrictions are what keep a business out of a neighborhood, and the city's Legal Department enforces them for neighborhoods. Complaints don't go through 311: they go to drcomplaints@houstontx.gov or the city's complaint form.
- Deed restriction cases reviewed and enforced by the city: 530 in 2024-25, an estimated 550 in 2025-26, and a target of 550 for 2026-27. Nuisance lawsuits handled: 15 in 2024-25, an estimated 10 in 2025-26. [City of Houston FY2027 budget, Legal Department]
- The city's list of reported deed restriction violations has not been updated since Oct. 20, 2015. [data.houstontx.gov]
Code enforcement
- 40% of the City of Houston's Neighborhoods code citations and 36% of Public Works citations were dismissed; the top reasons were "Nolle Prosequi" (the city dropped it), "Officer Not Present" and "Insufficient Evidence." Inspectors made 95,688 residential inspections from Jan. 1, 2024. [KPRC, Nov. 21, 2025]
- Code enforcement inspectors from Neighborhoods and Public Works have been merged into one Community Code Enforcement division in Houston Public Works. Targets for 2026-27: 13,500 weeded-lot cuts, 87% voluntary compliance, 325 demolitions. [City of Houston FY2027 budget, Neighborhoods]
- The Municipal Courts do not publish code citations and how each ended (fined, dismissed, deferred), and the city's code violation dataset was last updated in 2023.
Code and nuisance complaints to Houston 311, by type, and the average days each took to close, from the city's 311 extract.
| Case type | Cases | Closed | Average days to close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parking Violation | 1,175 | 643 | 6.3 |
| Traffic Signal Maintenance | 1,162 | 882 | 1.2 |
| Container Replacement | 984 | 945 | 1.4 |
| Weeds/Trash/Stagnant Water on Property | 950 | 88 | 5 |
| Trash Dumping or Illegal Dumpsite | 562 | 179 | 4.8 |
| Traffic Signs | 509 | 367 | 4 |
| New Resident Container | 494 | 471 | 1.3 |
| Building Code Violation | 403 | 337 | 2 |
| Container Repair | 340 | 311 | 1.3 |
| Heavy Trash Code Violation | 335 | 119 | 5.4 |
| Health Code | 261 | 25 | 5.7 |
| Junk Motor Vehicle - Private Property | 163 | 34 | 5.1 |
| Bandit Sign - Right of Way | 157 | 148 | 1.8 |
| Traffic Signals | 104 | 54 | 4.9 |
| Dangerous Buildings | 54 | 12 | 3.9 |
| MultiFamily Habitability Violation | 49 | 28 | 1.8 |
| Fire Code Complaint | 49 | 40 | 2.6 |
| Occupancy Violation | 38 | 36 | 2.4 |
| Container Placement | 25 | 3 | 4 |
| Graffiti on Private/Commercial Property | 12 | 4 | 4.5 |
| Drainage System Violation | 11 | 5 | 4.6 |
| Donation Box Violation | 8 | 6 | 2.1 |
| Sign Code Violation | 7 | 5 | 4.5 |
| Malfunctioning Railroad Signal | 4 | 0 | |
| Graffiti - ATT Telephone Equipment | 4 | 0 |
By council district: A 707 (2.5 days) · B 978 (2 days) · C 1,066 (3.1 days) · D 1,118 (2.6 days) · E 370 (2.2 days) · F 337 (3 days) · G 512 (2 days) · H 1,037 (2.7 days) · I 822 (2.7 days) · J 328 (3.1 days) · K 557 (4.1 days) ·
Ghosts in the machine
These cities pass ordinances, set tax rates and sign contracts, and none of it appears here: their agendas could not be read by machine in the last 90 days (scanned images, script-only pages, or no posted agendas). Unseen is not clean.
- 9,613 residents · Jacinto City (0 agendas read, 0 new items; newest agenda posted is for May 28, 2026)
- 4,385 residents · City of Hunters Creek Village Its website does not answer this site's public-records reader, and has since Oct 23, 2026. Its meeting agendas are public records the city must post under the Texas Open Meetings Act; nothing it approves can be shown here until it lets them be read.
- 3,704 residents · City of Taylor Lake Village Its website answers "forbidden" to this site's public-records reader, and has since Oct 23, 2026. Its meeting agendas are public records the city must post under the Texas Open Meetings Act; nothing it approves can be shown here until it lets them be read.
- 3,128 residents · City of Piney Point Village (0 agendas read, 0 new items)
- 816 residents · City of Hilshire Village (0 agendas read, 0 new items)
Scorecard, last 12 months
Points: New rules 3 · Money 4 · Surveillance 4 · Land control 3 · Strings attached 2 · Secrecy 2 · Rollback −3 · the same weights The Fine Print uses everywhere. The Fuckery Meter adds tax rates, consent agendas, closed sessions, missing notice and withheld records.