Emily Hynds has been independently covering Houston City Council meetings since June 2020. In her monthly Houstonia column, she shares all the latest intel about what’s happening at City Hall. Want to check the meetings out for yourself? Read this companion guide.

IN THIS MONTH’S DISPATCH: Tensions rise over HPD collaborating with ICE, public-space restrictions expand, and apartment inspection reform is sidelined once again. 

City council continues to make it more illegal to be in public.

On October 29, after weeks of delays, Houston City Council approved the $16 million purchase of 419 Emancipation Avenue, a location that will now become a “triage site” for people experiencing homelessness. In an effort to appease nervous neighbors, the council voted on November 12 to extend the boundary of the East End’s civility ordinance to include 419 Emancipation. The ordinance hours, which make it illegal to sit, lie down, or store belongings in public spaces such as parks and sidewalks, have also increased to around-the-clock enforcement. 

A previous version of the ordinance, which is enforceable in 12 zones around the city, only deemed such activities illegal between 11pm and 7am. However, the city has begun extending the ordinance to 24/7 in certain areas. 

Councilmembers Abbie Kamin and Leticia Plummer expressed concern that expanding the civility ordinance will result in unhoused people receiving more citations, which can quickly turn into warrants when they don’t show up to court. On November 5, Kamin pointed to Houston Public Media’s reporting that tracked increased citations since the expansion of previous civility ordinances. Mayor Whitmire called this “major misinformation” and said that he was unaware of these citations. “That is not the practice of HPD,” he said.

At the November 12 vote, councilmembers Kamin and Tarsha Jackson voted against the ordinance, but the item still passed. The mayor has said he thinks the whole city should be under a civility ordinance.

Apartment inspection reform is delayed again.

Councilmember Plummer has advocated for years on behalf of people who live in apartments with unsafe and inadequate conditions, including rodent infestations, mold, broken HVAC, crime, flooding, and lack of running water. The issue has always been sidelined, so this fall she used Proposition A, a tool that allows a coalition of three council members to place items on the agenda. On November 5, the public finally got to watch what has (likely) been going on behind closed doors for years.

Plummer’s ordinance proposed new methods for apartment inspections, code enforcement, and interdepartmental communication, but a representative from the Houston Apartment Association (HAA) questioned its urgency and enforceability. She also said the mayor’s team attempted to work on the ordinance over the summer and implied Councilmember Plummer was not involved or interested at that time. Plummer responded in kind, and an energetic debate ensued.

As the conversation dragged on and the talking-in-circles continued, Plummer finally called for a vote. Although she was backed by six council members, she did not have enough support to pass the ordinance. The mayor promised to revamp the ordinance and bring it back to council by December 10, but considering how long this has languished in closed-door discussions, this promise isn’t very convincing.

While in tears, Councilmember Plummer chastised her colleagues for capitulating to the demands of “stakeholders” like the Houston Apartment Association. “I'm so disappointed and embarrassed to sit on this council today,” she said.

Mayor Whitmire faces backlash about infamous ICE quote

At the November 12 meeting, Mayor Whitmire responded to backlash after he was quoted in the Houston Chronicle, admitting that Houston’s police department is working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Whitmire urged people to “get back to the facts” and stop politicizing the issue by creating clickbait material to share on social media. He said the city’s policy is to comply with state and city laws. “Do not make it part of the social media misrepresentation or the fact that somebody needs to make clickbait out of something,” he chastised.

Whitmire then invited the Houston Police Officers’ Union president, Doug Griffith, to explain HPD’s policy. Griffith said HPD is required to run background checks under certain circumstances, although he was vague about what those circumstances are. He offered some clarification that if HPD discovers a warrant for arrest from another agency, HPD must contact that agency. Other than that, Griffith denied collaboration. “We're not working with ICE. We don't care about ICE,” he said. He also cautioned against “fighting” ICE officers or assaulting federal agents, which literally no one was talking about. Griffith suggested inaction is safest and “everything will work itself out in the end.” Councilmember Kamin disagreed, pointing to warrantless searches and racial profiling. She explained that “calls to fight” mean taking court action, advocating for underrepresented people, and funding legal aid.

Kamin went on to criticize the mayor’s administration for “Chamberlain-style appeasement,” a reference to the common peacekeeping strategy credited to former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain that involved conceding to aggressive powers to keep war at bay. Kamin criticized ICE for inhumane practices and stripping people’s rights with no due process. “We should not be following any policy of appeasement. We should be standing with our community and protecting those [who] right now cannot protect themselves,” she said.

Whitmire concluded the discussion by cautioning against the call to “fight,” as he implied that some people take it literally. “HPD is following the law and their training, and the current state and city laws. We do not have any control over ICE,” he said.

Scooters are (mostly) not welcome here

Finally, on November 19, the city made it illegal to ride or rent “micromobility devices” between 8pm and 4am. Some exceptions are made for people who use scooters to commute to school or work, but those individuals must preregister with the police department, which will issue a medallion for users to place on their motor-powered ride. City council also did not specifically define what a “micromobility device” is, so good luck figuring all that out. Violators could be subject to an unspecified fee and impoundment.

Coming up: a runoff election

Election burnout is real, but Houstonians will be asked to vote again very soon. December 15 is the runoff election for the At-Large 4 city council seat between Alejandra Salinas and Dwight Boykins. The seat opened up after Letitia Plummer resigned from her At-Large 4 position to run for Harris County judge in July, but Plummer will remain in the seat until a successor is elected. Early voting will take place December 1–9. 

Houston City Council meetings take place almost every week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 901 Bagby Street or online via HTV.