But when the Houston Chronicle recently requested the information the city has on those businesses, the city said no.
The city appealed the records request to Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In a letter to Paxton, assistant city attorney Nneka Kanu said, "the requested information reveals the location of hazardous chemicals that are more than likely to assist in the construction or assembly of an explosive weapon."
Kanu also said a terrorist or "other criminal element" could exploit the information to plan a mass attack or incite panic.
Paxton's office has not responded to Houston's request, though it has in the past allowed that type of information to be withheld, citing terror threats.
Those rulings counter the intent of a federal law that gives the public access to such information.
Janice Evans, the mayor's spokeswoman, defended the denial, saying "it is a matter of homeland security."
Juan Parras, a longtime environmental activist and director of Texas Environmental Advocacy Services or t.e.j.a.s, said it's more dangerous for communities not to know.
With the lack of zoning laws in Houston, a neighborhood could easily be in harm's way, Parras said.
"They shouldn't be permitted to operate a facility if they don't tell us what's in there," he said. "There should be full disclosure."
The fire that consumed Custom Packaging and Filling in May spewed chemicals into a neighboring creek and forced the evacuation of a nearby school.
A Houston firefighter suffered chemical burns and two other firefighters developed chemically induced bronchitis from fighting the flames, according to officials with the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association.
The warehouse had not had a fire inspection in eight years. Turner has called for more stringent reporting requirements and tougher penalties for companies that violate city fire code.
"At the very minimum, we should know what hazardous materials and the quantity that people are operating with when they're next door to you," Turner said.
In the aftermath of the fire, the Chronicle requested the name and address of every facility that files a hazardous material inventory form. It also requested the date of the last inspection, any complaints filed and any time the fire department responded to those facilities.
The Chronicle also requested details about the Spring Branch fire, and there, too, the city responded by asking the attorney general's office for the right to block release of the information.
City Councilwoman Brenda Stardig, who represents the Spring Branch neighborhood, would not comment on whether the city should be releasing information about chemical facilities.
She said the Houston Fire Department is making a presentation Tuesday to her Homeland Security committee about the warehouse fire. That meeting is open to the public.
"We need to know all the facts about what the city knows and what the public knows about these businesses," Stardig said.
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