HOUSTON—In a touch of irony, the Houston City Council’s vote to relax the city’s controversial floodway rules came as a forecast of heavy rain hung overhead.

The original rules, which took effect in 2006, bar any construction or major home improvement in land along bayous prone to flooding.

Wednesday's vote effectively reverses that decision with the caveats that the city must approve of new construction, inspect it regularly, and that new buildings in the floodway must be elevated.

So, did the original rules go too far?

“It wasn’t a mistake to have done something bold and something new nor was it something that was crazy,” said Mayor Bill White.

The “floodway ordinance” was, officials say, designed to discourage further building along those bayous.

According to the Public Works Department, debris from structures washed away during a storm tend to block drainage downstream, which worsens flooding for residents upstream.

That’s why the city council originally voted to ban all improvements of existing structures in the floodway —stopping the “encroachment” problem from getting worse.

Thousands of people own homes in those zones.

Most of them say they never knew the Council was planning such a ban until days before it passed.

Since the rules took effect, those residents have become better organized—and launched an effective campaign to turn public opinion against the ordinance. Just last week, HCAD notified the residents that their buildings are now worth just 10 percent of what they were a year ago.

Wednesday's revision seeks to satisfy the needs of (a) the residents who say their rights have been infringed and (b) FEMA, which has been encouraging the city to be more proactive in its flood-control efforts. (as a side note, the more the city does, the more likely it becomes that FEMA would lower the flood-insurance rates for all Houstonians)

The revisions would allow construction along the floodway as long as it follows some guidelines: namely, that structures be built on piers a foot or two above ground level, and that the plans be first approved by the city—and then the finished structure must be re-inspected every year. There would be a recurring fee for all this. The goal would be to build structures that could withstand flooding.

After weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the City Council passed the changes with little discussion.

Why does it matter to all of us?

Consider this, FEMA sets your flood insurance rates according to what a city is doing to help control flooding.

Some engineers are concerned that what happened today could make Houston’s score a bit worse.

John Kleiber said that who owns land in a local floodway likes Wednesday’s decision.

“Anything that brings balance to this ordinance and gets the burden off the backs of a specific group of people is just fantastic,” he said.

But Kleiber isn’t quite satisfied. He says the new rules could allow the city to block construction.

“We’re just trying to get where it’s not an incredible burden,” he said.

A balance between those who live in the floodway and those who count on the bayous to keep the city dry.