Notes on the Houston City Council Meeting on November 19, 2025

Agenda

1. The Mayor’s Report
2. Consent Agenda (items that require a vote, like purchases, resolutions, ordinances, etc.)
3. Council Member Pop-Off

The Mayor’s Report

Mayor Whitmire plugged the Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday 11/27 starting at 9am. There are no council meetings next week and the city will be closed on Thursday and Friday.

There was some discussion on (apparently new) laptops the council could vote on starting today. They traditionally vote orally. Whitmire said he prefers they use the traditional oral vote method until a transparency device can be worked out for the public.

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Items 1 and 2 appointed people to the Boiler Code Review and Licensing Board and the Historic Preservation Appeals Board.
• Item 3 approved the city’s holiday schedule for 2026 and 2027. This includes days off for MLK Day, Juneteenth, the Fourth of July, and more.
• Item 5 accepted final work and approved the final payment of $27M for airfield pavement repairs at Houston’s three airports.
• Item 8 approved $1.2M for 30 emergency response vehicles for the police department.
• Item 16 approved $1.4M over 54 months for pallets of drinking water for distribution during emergencies.
• Item 25 approved December 13 as the date for the runoff election for the At-Large 4 city council seat. Early voting is December 1 through December 9. Your choices are Alejandra Salinas and Dwight Boykins.
• Item 31 authorized an agreement between the city, the Harris County Flood Control District and TIRZ 17 for a flood detention project in District G. This project is funded in part by a grant from FEMA. The total project is estimated to cost $84M, although the support document is not clear about which agency is responsible for contributing what amounts.
• Item 34 approved $4.5M for improvements at the Kingwood West Wastewater Treatment Plant.
• The following items were not voted on for various reasons: Items 26 and 28 were not received, Item 32 was tagged by CM Alcorn, Item 35 was pulled by the administration.

Item 20: A Curfew on Scooters

Item 20 established a curfew for “micromobility devices” and ATVs with accordant impoundment rules and fees. It is now illegal to operate or rent scooters and ATVs on public right-of-ways from 8pm to 4am. The support document cited complaints from residents and businesses regarding traffic congestion, obstruction of walkways, and pedestrian hazards, especially downtown. Personally-owned vehicles are exempt when used for “certain commuting purposes.” During the discussion, many CMs complained that late-night scooter users are minors, run red lights, don’t yield to pedestrians, and are a general nuisance and safety hazard.

CM Martinez, who represents the downtown area, spoke in support. He remarked on the dangerous environment downtown and said this ordinance will rein in joyriding while the city starts “looking at an RFP (request for proposals) to identify a legitimate vendor that could also ensure that we could still have micromobility within downtown.”

Mayor Whitmire called scooters “one of our number one security risks in the city right now.” He said irresponsible scooter use is ruining the downtown environment the city and philanthropic partners have worked hard to create. He wants to pass this ordinance now before school is out and because milder weather brings more pleasure seekers into the city. Whitmire pointed to complaints from hotels, the theater district and Discovery Green in particular. “We’ve talked to the vendors. We understand the hardship it puts them under, but we can’t yield to special interests.” The mayor said the scooter problem is a drain on emergency services. He said that many late-night scooter users are minors who live outside of city limits. “They’re from Spring, Humble, Tomball. It’s just kind of like the new Astroworld in their minds.”

CM Ramirez supported the ordinance in general, especially compared to the original idea of a total scooter ban, but he complained that CMs did not receive this ordinance until Friday and the public did not have access until Monday. He planned to tag the item to allow for more public engagement, which would delay the item for two weeks as next week is a holiday.

• Mayor Whitmire pushed back on Ramirez and encouraged him to exercise his privilege as an elected person able to vote on behalf of his constituents. Whitmire asked Ramirez to think of the greater good and said, “You do realize the danger you’re putting those Houstonians to and the disruption of our holiday season?” Ramirez said, “I think that’s a false choice, frankly. I think transparency is paramount in government.” The mayor said, the process has been “so transparent, it’s unbelievable,” and asked Ramirez to allow the vote. Ramirez replied, “The council will get to vote … at our next meeting.”
• CM Carter supports the scooter curfew and said she thinks it could go further. “I don’t know how we’re going to accomplish anything until we actually geo-fence and ban those scooters in certain areas.”
• Mayor Whitmire said there will be a tragedy, “and then the public will want to know why we allowed that.” Regarding scooters used for commuting to work and school, Whitmire said they will be approved by HPD and provided with a medallion.
• CM Davis said he believes that council and the public has had plenty of time to review this ordinance. “Downtown is not an amusement park.” He said delay will not accomplish anything.
• Mayor Whitmire expressed urgency due to public safety. “Weapons have become a problem. Drugs have become a problem. They enjoy their drugs and get on a scooter. There’s absolutely no regulation.” Whitmire again complained about special interests, like scooter vendors, trying to block the ordinance change. He reiterated that many scooter users are not from Houston (he named Tomball and Pasadena) and that regulating scooter usage is a drain on HPD.
• CM Alcorn thinks this is a good compromise and said there has been no major pushback. She urged CM Ramirez not to tag the item, especially as next week is a holiday and there will be more traffic downtown.
• CM Martinez said this is a first step towards more regulation in the future. The city plans to put out a “RFP (request for proposals) for responsible vendors with technology.” “As a father of four, anybody that is a minor, or even 19 or 20 riding around in downtown at 10 o’clock in the evening, is not safe.” He threatened to make a motion to override Ramirez’s tag. He asked, “What more outreach could I do in two weeks [than has already been done]?”
• CM Thomas cautioned against overriding tags, calling it a “slippery slope.” She said there has been documented engagement on this ordinance and encouraged Ramirez not to tag so they could vote. She did not want to set the precedent of overriding tags.

Mayor Whitmire initiated a 15-minute recess so they could discuss in private and the cameras were turned off. (I found this to be particularly disturbing as Ramirez’s whole point of contention was transparency and public engagement. It seems to be city policy to turn off the cameras during recesses, so we will never know what they said during this recess, or even how they looked while they talked. I also have questions about this in relation to the Open Meetings Act, but no time to research).

When council returned, Ramirez reiterated his complaints about timing and public engagement, but said the mayor agreed for this ordinance to be heard at a committee hearing in early December, so he agreed not to tag it and allow a vote. Mayor Whitmire said, “I publicly commit to your description of our discussion. I’ll participate in that hearing and we’ll broadcast it widely.”

This item passed unanimously; even Ramirez voted yes. Scooter and ATV use is now illegal during the hours of 8pm-4am.

Council Member Pop-Off

• CM Peck plugged the fire department’s Operation Stocking Stuffer, which is accepting donations until 12/10. www.osstoydrive.com/ for more details.
• CM Martinez thanked the East Downtown TIRZ for upcoming roadway improvements. He praised the New Hope senior housing complex on Ennis Street. His office is doing a turkey giveaway on Friday 11/21 at 9am at the Magnolia Multi-Service Center.
• CM Alcorn recently visited the FCC recycling facility, which reports a 40% contamination rate and that general recycling is down 30%. She advocated for education campaigns to make city recycling more efficient and profitable.
• CM Carter remarked on a forthcoming respite care project.
• CM Evans-Shabazz plugged the Fairwoods at Furman affordable housing development opening on Thursday 11/20.
• CM Davis praised the mayor for uniting the two MLK day parades.
• CM Flickinger plugged a Battery, Oil, Paint, and Antifreeze (BOPA) recycling event this Saturday 11/21 starting at 9am at the Kingwood Park and Ride. He shared condolences for Martha Galvan.
• CM Jackson made remarks about ICE. She explained her former work with the Texas Organizing Project to end 287G, “Because I saw firsthand how harmful these collaborations were.” She said she was heartbroken over reports of ICE in District B. “No collaboration, whether formal or informal, between local law enforcement and immigration enforcement should ever put our residents in danger.”
• CM Huffman complained about a ditch with standing water that has the potential to flood during upcoming rains.
• CM Ramirez encouraged people upset with ICE to also contact their state and federal representatives, who are up for election next year. He remarked on the upcoming Ben Taub expansion which proposes to take land from Hermann Park and encouraged people to get involved in that conversation.
• CM Thomas supported CM Jackson’s remarks regarding ICE and empathized with the anxiety many Houstonians are feeling. She criticized the lack of transparency when it comes to License Plate Reader cameras, especially pointing to two recent pedestrian/auto accidents. She is hosting a breakfast round table on 12/5 on homelessness on the west side. She complained about contractors illegally dumping in neighborhoods and advocated for the use of Flock camera footage to catch the culprits.

Who took these notes? And what resources did they use?

My name is Emily Hynds. I am a writer, small business owner, producer of the monthly storytelling series Grown-up Storytime, and lifelong Houstonian. I am not a journalist or government official. I am a local government enthusiast who believes meaningful change starts at home. These notes are presented from my point of view and with my framing and are not comprehensive. Your notes will certainly be different and I would love to read them if you attend.

I watched this City Council meeting via HTV: https://www.houstontx.gov/htv/

While compiling these notes I used the following sources:
https://houston.novusagenda.com/agendapublic
https://houwatch.com
https://www.houstontx.gov/thanksgivingparade/
https://www.osstoydrive.com/

You can find your City Council Member and their contact info at: https://www.houstontx.gov/council/whoismycm.html

Thank you to the volunteers who proofread these notes.
My Patreon is patreon.com/emilytakesnotes.