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Too close for comfort


Marcus Allen

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I have been reading some other topical posts on HAIF, and believe it or not, we are entering a period where high towers are being planned TOO CLOSE to one another. Oh, did I ever see the day when that was going to be a headache for Houston? My question is this, never living in any residence higher than 3 storeys I would not even know the answer or where to look for it. Say I buy a condo/ apt etc. On the 20th floor, and the selling point was the magnificent view of DT from my ( and my immediate neighbors) vantage point balcony. I am there for five years and low and behold a 35 storey tower is built, thus obstructing my view. Other than complain, is there ANY legal recourse i would have to try to block said new tower from being built?

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I have been reading some other topical posts on HAIF, and believe it or not, we are entering a period where high towers are being planned TOO CLOSE to one another. Oh, did I ever see the day when that was going to be a headache for Houston? My question is this, never living in any residence higher than 3 storeys I would not even know the answer or where to look for it. Say I buy a condo/ apt etc. On the 20th floor, and the selling point was the magnificent view of DT from my ( and my immediate neighbors) vantage point balcony. I am there for five years and low and behold a 35 storey tower is built, thus obstructing my view. Other than complain, is there ANY legal recourse i would have to try to block said new tower from being built?

 

Unless it was specifically stated in your purchase contract that you would always have an unobstructed view, you can't be guaranteed your view will not change....

 

 I can't believe any sales contract would include such a clause as nobody knows what will be built in the future

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About the only place I can think of where there's no possibility that your view would ever be changed by something built later is adjacent to a national forest.  Even there, you have the possibility of fire.

 

In Houston, with very limited restrictions on land use, the best one can do is look at what is in the neighborhood and try to read a crystal ball.

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Read in a book not to long ago that in England there is actually a law that is called the "Right to light" and it's aimed at future developments like ones such as Ashby or other possible obstructions. It simply states that citizens have a right to light from the sun so they can get a sufficient amount of it into their homes (or something like this). Then again the book was fairly sarcastic all the way through so it could have just said that as a strange architectural possibility. It's a dangerous precedent though because just imagine how hard it would be to build anything new EVER! When you move into a city period you are essentially signing a contract with an entire community and understand that a city can change at anytime both for it's individual citizens or the entire population and so you give up a little bit to be with everyone else. If you want complete unobstructed views then just move out to the suburban farms of houses or just go complete rural lol.

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New York City's zoning code has something similar to the "right to light" law; likewise, Austin has "view corridors."  The New York code is why setback buildings came about there; it's since been revised to allow public plazas instead.

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That's discouraging. I am thinking of my working affluent brother and sis in law, ( mortgage lender and geriatric doctor) . Say they purchase a high rise condo or such when they retire. They are looking to settle in the Post Oak or Midtown area. I suppose the rich and super rich just move if their view is obstructed. I know my bro will be locked into whatever residence he and his wife purchase. I just feel badly for them if they commit to a nice, posh 30 storey view, and then 5 years later, a 40/50 storey tower is built right next to them,blocking their 500k view. Anyway, thanks for all the info fellow HAIFers.

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