{"id":791994,"date":"2026-05-12T22:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/791994\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T22:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:07:15","slug":"secondary-suite-permit-denial-sparks-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/791994\/","title":{"rendered":"Secondary suite permit denial sparks conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPearland resident David Deriso said he had no idea that filing a permit <\/a>request in December to build an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, to house his aging mother would be \u201ccontroversial.\u201d<\/p>\n

An ADU is a detached building with a living area, kitchen and a restroom.<\/p>\n

Current situation<\/strong><\/p>\n

City Council denied Deriso\u2019s request in a 4-3 vote in February, citing concerns that the ADU would eventually be turned into a short-term rental, with council members Tony Carbone, Clint Byrom and Rushi Patel voting for the ADU, while council members Joseph Koza, Layni Cade, Mona Chavarria and Rick Fernandez voted against it.<\/p>\n

Deriso said his mother\u2019s deteriorating health led him to take out a home equity loan weeks before filing the permit to build the ADU in the backyard of his home in Green Tee Terrace.<\/p>\n

Despite not breaking ground yet, Deriso said he\u2019s spent nearly $30,000 on the loan.<\/p>\n

Deriso said had he known about the city\u2019s short term rental ban, which City Council approved earlier in February, he would have approached the project differently. He also offered to add an affidavit to remove key appliances after his mother dies to ease rental concerns, but said it didn\u2019t resolve the issue.<\/p>\n

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Why it matters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deriso said being without the kitchen won\u2019t be ideal for his mom, especially as she gets older.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom deserves to be able to cook or boil an egg,\u201d Deriso said. \u201cWhen I think about what that looks like for the rest of her life, it\u2019s like every meal she\u2019s ever cooked, she\u2019s going [to] have to walk outside and whatever the elements are that day to come eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deriso said city officials told him that members of his neighborhood expressed concerns that the ADU violated deed restrictions, yet he said his direct neighbors had been very supportive of his decision to build the ADU.<\/p>\n

Despite having to put a sign in his yard for 30 days notifying neighbors of his intent to build the ADU, no one came to protest at the February meeting.<\/p>\n

Breaking it down<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pearland allows ADUs<\/a> in areas zoned for residential and mixed-use, except for suburban development, but applicants must seek a conditional use permit, Pearland\u2019s Community Development Director Vance Wyly said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conditional use permit allows us to …be a little bit more specific in looking at those particular circumstances,\u201d said Kevin Cole, who was Pearland\u2019s mayor at the vote. \u201cWe can put conditions, hence conditional use permit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city has regulatory layers to prevent ADUs from becoming short-term rentals, namely the 2025 Unified Development Code amendment, which prohibits them in residential zoning.<\/p>\n

Still, Wyly said that it\u2019s \u201cvery difficult to impossible\u201d for the city to enforce the ban. At the February meeting, City Council voted to add conditions to ensure the space wouldn\u2019t be used as a short-term rental, but then later voted to deny the permit even with those conditions.<\/p>\n

The UDC is undergoing a rewrite, and a joint workshop will be held May 18 with council and the Planning & Zoning Commission to discuss how ADUs are regulated.<\/p>\n

Another viewpoint<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Schwarte, co-founder of Texas Neighborhood Coalition<\/a>, a grassroots organization opposing state edicts allowing ADUs as of right, said he felt Senate Bill 673, which was led in the 89th Texas Legislature and allows ADUs by right, could turn \u201cgranny suites\u201d into de facto short-term rentals.<\/p>\n

The bill requires neither resident relation nor owner occupancy, Schwarte said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSB 673 would strip from every city of any size in Texas the power to apply those processes for determining whether an ADU was permitted,\u201d Schwarte said.<\/p>\n

Bills to watch<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are several pending and stalled bills concerning ADU’s including:<\/p>\n