After input from restaurant and bar owners last week, the City of Houston Planning Commission reexamined the proposed Off-Street Parking Ordinance Thursday.

"This is not the end of the process," said Marlene Gafrick, director of the planning and development department, explaining that comments from the meeting would help to shape the final document, which will be presented to Houston City Council Dec. 1.

Restaurateurs and bar owners are up in arms about the severity of proposed parking spot increases: The new city ordinance would require future restaurants to offer 10 spots per 1,000 square feet of service area (up from the existing 8 spot requirement), and future bars to offer 14 spots (up from 10).

Scott Repass, owner of Black Hole Café and Poison Girl in Montrose and Antidote in the Heights, told the commission that the parking impositions would not help a neighborhood develop in the way that the residents want. For instance, if a big chain restaurant wanted to move in, it would have the resources and the gall to tear down an existing structure (and surrounding ones) to make room for a gigantic building with sufficient parking, he said.

Small, local businesses likely don't have the same resources, Repass said, but they do foster a greater connection to the community. In the days after Hurricane Ike, Repass and his partners opened up their coffee shop and bar — despite the lack of profitability — to a community in need of a place to gather.

Daniel Fergus, the longtime owner of Brasil, where street parking is the only parking available, told the commission that he believes that the Montrose neighborhood in particular welcomes small businesses. The parking shortage is just part of the experience, said Fergus. Residents know what to expect when they move into the area.

Bobby Heugel, co-owner of Anvil Bar & Refuge and Hay Merchant, sees the proposed ordinance as "an assault on smaller, independent bar and restaurant owners," and came to the meeting prepared with a numbered list of ideas for the committee.

Heugel suggested that the blanket approach is flawed — the city should invest in urban density rather than sprawling parking lots, and the parking situation should be left to the neighborhood level.

Chairwoman Sue Lovell agreed that "one size fits all" doesn't favor anyone, and the members of the Planning Commission also said they are open to suggestions. Planners hope to see more parking management districts, and they want to offer incentives for shared parking, bike and pedestrian accessibility and historical preservation.

A Houston developer who asked not to be identified points out that proposed parking ordinance will not affect existing restaurants or bars, shopping centers and schools. Nor will it affect those future entrepreneurs who open up another bar/restaurant/retail space in an existing, abandoned bar/restaurant/retail space.

Existing establishments will be "grandfathered in," and won't be expected to pull additional parking spots out of thin air. This will further increase the value of abandoned restaurants and bars, thereby encouraging density and walkability, he maintains.

The City of Houston aims to address residents' concerns about how parking from neighborhood hot spots overcrowds their streets, making it hard to maneuver or find a parking spot. But small business owners don't want the increased regulations to proportionately increase the risk of their investment in the community.

Can the two compromise? Do you have any input?