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Houston City Council this week amended a hotel ordinance that will require smaller hotels and motels to distance themselves even farther from residential neighborhoods.
Citing a correlation between crime statistics and hotel size, City Council updated a 10-year-old ordinance regulating hotel and motel construction and renovation, voting in favor of lengthening the distance a hotel can stand from a residential neighborhood based on how many rooms it has.
While the ordinance won't likely affect large corporate hotels, many small and mid-sized hotel and motel operators say the city doesn't have enough statistical data from the Houston Police Department to link hotel size with criminal activity.
Robert Corn, an attorney with Houston law firm Woodward, Hall and Primm represents the Small, Independent and Franchise Motel Operators Association, which has about local 100 members who own approximately 140 properties citywide.
Some members of the group hired Corn a few months ago to help them voice their concerns about the ordinance amendments.
"They disagree that this data shows anything about these kinds of
properties," explains Corn. "They were concerned about ... the impact
on business - and growth of their business - and of future sites for
motel properties."
Existing hotel and motel establishments are grandfathered under the ordinance, meaning they don't have to relocate if they are in violation of the new rules. But the rules restrict both new J46construction and renovation,...