Houston, TX zoning: where a drive-thru restaurant is allowed
Is a drive-thru allowed in Houston, TX?
A drive-thru restaurant is allowed by right (no conditional use permit, special exception or rezoning) in these zoning districts: ALL (no zoning).
Drive-thru restaurant rule by zoning district
| District | Drive-thru restaurant | What the code says | Section | Source | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL (no zoning) | By right | The City of Houston does not have zoning ... The City codes do not address land use. No use zoning: drive-thru allowed anywhere subject to private DEED RESTRICTIONS (city can enforce, Code Ch. 10 Art. XV) and Ch. 42 platting/access, Ch. 26 parking. Check each lot for deed restrictions. | Houston Planning (no zoning); Ch. 42 / Ch. 26 | houstontx.gov | 2026-11-14 |
"By right" means permitted with site plan and building permit review only. Overlay districts, planned developments (PD/PUD) and conditions attached to a past rezoning can change the answer for a single parcel.
Permit and impact fees
Worked out from the adopted fee schedules linked below for three sample buildings. "Not found" means the schedule did not give a figure, not that the fee is zero.
| One-time fee | 800 sf drive-thru coffee | 3,500 sf restaurant | 22,000 sf grocery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building permit and plan review | $1,140 | $4,136 | $19,235 |
| Impact / mobility fees | not found | not found | not found |
| Water and sewer impact / capacity | $7,532 | $32,419 | $32,058 |
| Tap and meter | $393 | $538 | $670 |
| Stormwater (one time) | $511 | $1,022 | $2,812 |
| State road driveway permit | not found | not found | not found |
| Total found so far | $9,576 | $38,116 | $54,775 |
State road access: TxDOT Form 1058: no fee unless TxDOT owns the access rights (43 TAC 11.59). Allow 30-60 days (assumed).
Assumptions: No zoning (check deed restrictions). Coffee/restaurant use Fast Food service units; grocery 0.00033 SU/sq ft. Drainage impact fee only in its service areas. On-site detention cost not included. Trade (MEP) permits not included. Annual drainage charge rate is from a secondary source.
Fee schedules: houstonpermittingcenter.org · houstonpermittingcenter.org · houstonpermittingcenter.org
Sources
How to confirm before you buy
- Look up the parcel on the official zoning map to get its district and any overlay.
- Open the code section linked in the table and read the use table and the drive-thru standards.
- Call the planning office and ask whether a drive-thru restaurant needs anything beyond site plan review at that address.
Why this library exists
I'm Luke Smith. I find land for drive-thru brands like 7 Brew, Ellianos Coffee and Starbucks, sign the tenant, build the shop and sell it as a net lease property. Every deal starts with the same question: is the use allowed here without a rezoning? Getting that answer takes too long, so we read the codes (with AI research help), and I publish what we find with a link back to every source so you can check it yourself.
If you have a site that fits a drive-thru, or you want to learn how these deals are put together, join the free Reverse Deal Finder community on Skool, see cap rates and land prices by brand, or call 1-760-392-1525. Brokers welcome: I pay commissions.