All new construction and remodeling projects must be approved by the Southgate Civic Club before being permitted by the City of Houston. To obtain a permit, you must, as part of the application process, include a declaration stating that your “Project does not violate the Deed Restrictions … that apply to the Land.” To be able to make such declaration, you must submit your plans for approval to the Southgate Architectural Review Committee before applying for a permit from the City of Houston to ensure compliance with architectural guidelines and the Southgate Deed Restrictions. By performing an architectural review, the Southgate Civic Club helps protect the interests of all parties by keeping deed restrictions active and enforceable.
If you are remodeling or building a new house, you must submit the following to the Southgate Architectural Review Committee email at greenmodern@earthlink.net. Please include:
- The address of the building site and the name of the architect/designer/builder as well as the owner.
- A copy of the plat for the building site.
- A copy of the new construction or remodeling plans.
- Information concerning the materials to be used on the exterior of the building and the approximate percentage of the entire facade that will be covered by each material; e.g., % brick, stone, or stucco, and % wood or other material. Please review the deed restrictions of your section of Southgate to note the type of exterior materials and the percentage of each required by the section of the deed restrictions where the building site is located.
- Note the setbacks for the front, back, and sides of the project. Again, please check your section of the deed restrictions to ensure that you are complying with the required front, side, and back setbacks.
- Send us your sidewalk plans as well to ensure compliance with the 2007 City of Houston ordinance that requires sidewalks in all residential neighborhoods within Loop 610.
We refer above to “your section” because the Southgate neighborhood is comprised of Southgate Addition (roughly University Blvd to the north side of Southgate Blvd.), Southgate Section 2 (the south side of Southgate Blvd.), Southgate Section 3 (between Southgate Blvd. and Holcombe Blvd.) and the Southgate Annex, each of which has a separate plat and is subject to a separate declaration of restrictions.
The review committee will review your plans/plat within two weeks of receipt and get back to you. If your plans are in compliance, the response will include a formal letter noting compliance with the deed restrictions. If not in compliance, the accompanying letter will identify concerns, if any.
For questions email us at greenmodern@earthlink.net
Members of the Architectural Review Committee are Patrick Peters, Richard Maxwell, Ed Aviles, and Stephen Paine.