Marksmu

Except the already increasing number of restaurants in the neighborhood. 

 

Witchcraft is not within shepard and durham, but basically on the corner of 11th and shep.  Not too hard to imagine something similar inbetween them being successful.  Lifting the alchohol ban (which is rediculous in the first place) would definitely open opportunity for people to open some nice(and successful) bars/restaurants between shepard and durham. 

Nobody expects some miracle... but one or two more options sure would be nice.    I also think your disdain for the "cruddy booze barns" just shows what kind of person you are.  You afriad of "Ice house" patrons?

For once I agree with S3MH - we don't need more BARS in the Heights, we need nice places that have good food & can serve alcohol.  The up till 2am crowd is seldom good for property values, and the parking problems that follow them are not fun to deal with either.

I also loathe the loud motorcycle butt-clowns who think the whole world needs to know that they are coming/going.  Each/Every time the dip-wad down the street comes home at 2am with his loud motorcycle and wakes both my kids up with his blaring music and even louder tailpipes - I contemplate setting his house on fire...If I did not have other neighbors that it would annoy I would get up a 5am and mow my yard and toss in an extra 20 minutes of leaf blowing just to tick him off...alas - I am polite so I just get annoyed, but still - we don't need more bars - we need more nice places...Witchcraft seems to be a nice compromise a place with a nice crowd...but we need an ice-house like we need a hole in our heads.

Really, Mark? The EPA?

The EPA in conjunction with the NRCS dictate what can/cant be built in wetlands, floodways, etc...

I had the joy of navigating the NRCS/EPA while building Ducks Unlimited ponds in what the NRCS considers farmed wetlands...its a process, and I was able to navigate it by not building any permanent structures.

However, after IKE - the county lost a bridge that is on my property - they could not get the NRCS to give them permission to sink new piers for the bridge to replace the broken ones so the county ended up having to replace the bridge with a span bridge.  It was significantly more expensive than the wood one it replaced.  On a side note, I have a nice brand new 102' bridge and steel bulkhead that is 26' wide and solid concrete and steel....The county told me it cost $1,200,000 to build and it is built entirely on my property....the county has only an access easement that lets them maintain the flood districts ditch banks.  Its probably crossed 200x a year....you want to find government waste?  Lets start here.

Its not creative and unique so heights snobs dont like it.....Could it be better?  Yes - absolutely.  I would think someone could, if they could get, State, Federal permission, build something cool near the bayou, but that is a BIG if...the bayou is a floodway, and thus according to our current EPA you cant build a permanent structure on it...so any nice outdoors place like rainbow lodge, would probably never get permits to build something unique and neat by the bayou...

Then you have the freeway, with the traffic/noise - nothing but chains, stores, gas stations ever make it on busy streets like that b/c of the traffic counts and outrageous rents so - you pretty much wipe out any unique stores that way as well.  What are you left with?  Generic strip malls built by someone who can afford to build them, chopped into tiny storefronts, occupied by the highest bidder.

Its a financial decision - You can't build a super expensive, awesome unique place, and then get sporatic patronage...I think the Heights demographics are changing for the better economically speaking, but much of that income demographic change is from families with kids, who dont frequently dine without children - so you get what you get...fast food, gas stations, banks, and at least one mattress, check cashing, auto title place. 

Terrible location.  Share the building with Texas Dry Clean, a chiro's office and whatever no name businesses are there. Not co-located with the other businesses on 19th.  Pedestrian and bike traffic? I don't think so...

I agree - the heights needs a good ice cream place, but that location is awful.  That area between Shepherd/Durham is dead to me.  I have only been to the Kroger shopping center & Tommie Vaughn - everything else has been completely ignored by pretty much everyone I know.  I dont know of anybody who has gone into any store north of 11th in between shepherd & durham.

Congrats!  I wish I could have been able to help you out.  I am just ecstatic for you that you won.  It would be helpful to everyone in the future if you would post, or at the very least memorialize exactly how much extra time and money it cost you to fight the fascists.  That way future individuals doing searches on this topic will know exactly what they are getting themselves into.  Being as subjective as the ordinance is it would be very useful information to others.  I would guess you spent quite a bit of extra money and countless hours...but I would still think it would help others if you can count those countless hours and the dollars!

Congrats again!

I told you so. I have always said that all the effort made to try to destroy the preservation ordinance took away from the opportunity to craft a better ordinance. As a result, too much was left to subjective determination by the HAHC. The HAHC was way too permissive at first. Builders and realtors who only see value in square feet put up giant additions in the back of tiny bungalows. Those "humper house" designs have gotten out of control and now HAHC is trying to reign them back into something that is appropriate for the scale of the historic archictecture. That determination could have and should have been made when the ordinance was amended. But that discussion did not take place because a noisy minority dominated the discussion with their demand for complete abolition of historic preservation. But for those of you who live in the anti-preservation echo chamber, this action by the HAHC did not happen in a vacuum. A lot of people support the historic ordinance. Another district was created next to Woodland Heights recently. If the HAHC was such an awful boogey man, this district would have never happened. But it did. Reality check moment for anti-historic district folks again. People who support the districts are not going to sit on their hands and let realtors and builders define what the neighborhood will look like. It is now a political process. A lot of pressure is being put on HAHC to take into consideration scale. I think this could and should be put in objective terms (% expansion of original foot print or other relevant guidelines). But it never was because last time the ordinance was adressed by council, it was all about killing it off. So, the HAHC is now taking into account scale in response to what the community has demanded. It is the right thing to do, but not the best way to go about it. But, the best way to go about it was never an option because so much energy was expended dealing with the small minority that has been trying to get rid of the districts altogether. For those of you who think this is the beginning of the end of the districts, you woefully underestimate the support of the districts and what this episode really brings to light. The argument right now against the districts is that people should be able to build giant houses behind bungalows. But those giant houses behind bungalows that have already been built just make an excellent argument for stricter protection. The "humper house" was named the design cliche of the year on swamplot. If anything, the proliferation of the humper houses has galvanized support for the districts and for stronger enforcement of the historic preservation ordinance. The real overreach here is coming from the builders and realtors. When the 90 day waiting period was enacted, the idea was that 90 days would give people enough time to find someone willing to renovate instead of demolish a building. But the 90 day waiting period just became a cost of doing business. Builders continued to demolish and build anything fake New Orleans looking thing they wanted as if there was no ordinance at all. Now, with some teeth in the ordinance, the builders are again overreaching by putting up the giant humper houses instead of actually trying to expand the square footage without disturbing the visual scale of the original architecture. But this overreach will again result in an equal and opposite reaction--a more restrictive ordinance. So, the more people try to get rid of the ordinance, the stronger it gets.

You don't get to turn this around on us.  We stated long ago that the ordinance was far too vague and that because of its being so vague it was subject to abuse and favortism.  It seems to me now that the only folks getting approvals now are the folks who have been deemed worthy by the HAHC, and that its not a property by property basis. 

The HAHC is making up the rules as they apply to individuals.  Any ordinance that is so vauge that it can be interpreted should be void on its face. This is a travesty and its application is inexcusable.  The HAHC has literally stolen these individuals property rights from under them....(assuming they owned before the ordinance)

Either way, its a travesty.  A small shack does not support the lifestyle of a growing family.  The HAHC does not care.  This is going to reverberate throughout the heights and only hasten the depreciation of the rest of the remaining shacks property values.  This should not be happening in the name of preservation.  I can only hope that a bulldozer accidentally, and in the middle of the night, flattens this property.  If it were my house, I would allow it to crumble to nothing just to spite the gestappo.   

I'd like to hear the opinion of the HAHC Apologist who regularly chastises us for daring criticize the historic district ordinance...and who regularly applauds houses with massive additions added to the back...even posting HAR.com links bragging about the asking prices. I wonder what he thinks of this denial.

He/She/It has not chimed in on this thread one time since this perfect example of over-reaching started...its funny how indefensible stances often garner silence from the opposition.

It wasn't an "outright refusal" as you describe it. However, because I have taken statins for cholesterol in the past, I was told I have a pre-existing condition and denied. Keep in mind that as many as 52 million Americans are claimed to have high cholesterol, and it is easily controlled with statins, but it was still enough for me to get kicked to the curb by a traditional health insurance company. So, now I am officially covered by Obamacare. And, yes, even though I am thankful for Obamacare (I am not patriotic enough to go without insurance), I would also welcome more choices than one. Of course, Wlamart's offerings might refuse me as well, so it may not be a choice at all, but we'll see.

What is currently occurring in the health insurance industry in Texas right now is the insurers are excluding all pre-existing conditions without regard to the likelihood of a problem.  They are doing this to maximize income the last few years as the baseline numbers for full blown Obamacare are based on the last 3-5 years of Historical data...if they can show that they received xx% before the law, and now are getting XX-10% then they can petition to recoup that 10% saying its all b/c the government is forcing them to cover people who are obvious risks.

Its all a statistical game with them....its sick.  People who are supporting Obamacare don't realize all the BS and games being done in the background to manipulate the numbers that will become the baseline in 2014.  In 2014, there will be an option for you that can't exclude pre-existing conditions...the insruance industry is broken, but the logical fixes have been outright ignored in place of partisan bickering...like the Walmart.  Its one persons view of what is appropriate versus anothers. 

At least they didnt tell them what color to paint it.

YET - they still have not even let them fix it up.  Its pure political garbage and its an anchor on the whole area!

I'll tell you what this small businessman who was refused insurance coverage by the current insurance industry thinks. I am happy to have another option to look at for insurance coverage. I wonder, do you look at health insurance like you do retail, that we should all agree to pay more so that we can run Walmart out of business?

Outright refused?  I've never heard of anyone getting refused coverage....being quoted astronomical rates?  Yes - total refusal, that would be a first....unless you were looking for life insurance...then I get it.

Regular old health insurance should be nothing more than an actuarial chart,  pre-existing condition exclusions, and a check.

I buy the health insurance for my company and in doing so have dealt with every major carrier operating in Texas.... I feel that I've seen just about everything they can throw at you - but outright refusal would be the first Ive seen.

I got a message this morning that said the HAHC again told them to shove it and completely disregarded the petition.  They apparently (this is 3rd hand information) did not budge on their requirement to make the camelback larger and to move it back 3 or 4 feet thereby rendering the garage useless.

285 signatures in a few days....that must be representative of the overwhelming support for the HAHC...especially since this thing is barely making its online debut, and is doing so using one of the worst most liberal petition sites on the net....I almost quit when I had to click through the other 4 petitions - tell Obama I love him and want a lifetime dictator, Ban assault rifles, ban high capacity magazines, tell the government global warming is man made - BARF- but alas for the sake of the family, I completed the petition, and skipped the other liberal trash on that site.

This story needs to go mainstream.  It is time to call out each member of the HAHC personally and expose these elitists for the political power pigs they are.  They have their tea and crumpets over at the GHPA in River Oaks laughing at likes of the Kelmans just trying to get by on a budget......can't wait till SM weighs in on this one.

I don't see the media picking up a story about how the city abuses the power that it dishonestly vested in a bunch of know it all snots....I have found the media to be pretty much worthless at covering anything at all that actually matters....well at least in an unbiased way.

You have well connected snots controlling every day people.  Its sickening but it is exactly what we knew would happen.  A few builders/architects who these well connected snots have wine/cheese with will have their process go smoothly - everyone else - well you should have picked their friends to do your project!  Everyone else just go ahead and get your checkbook out and prepare to design your house to the whims/desires of the snots who make up the HAHC.

Apparently the HAHC is doing exactly what we said it was going to do, and is denying extremely reasonable requests just to flex its muscles...This petition is going around asking folks to sign it b/c the HAHC is refusing to approve their addittion.  The HAHC apparently wants a bigger Camelback and has no regard whatsoever for the costs that it is imposing upon the family.  200 signatures and about 1/4 of them have had unpleasant dealings with the HAHC already.

http://www.change.org/petitions/houston-archaeological-and-historical-commission-hahc-approve-application-to-restore-my-1920-home-that-has-been-neglected-for-yrs?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=url_share&utm_campaign=url_share_before_sign

Shocking!  Apparently this family's only mistake was not choosing the city/HAHC preferred contractor/architect....I would bet that this same exact plan if submitted by an architect who supported the ordinance would have sailed through....It is infuriating to me that some group like the HAHC has the authority to prevent this property owner from repairing their home how they see fit.  This is PRECISELY why the ordinance must be repealed and the HAHC done away with in its entirety.  Good ole boy politics has no place in individuals private property rights!  GTHO of the Heights HAHC!

So, here we go again. When you can't make a good argument against the HDs, set up a strawman argument that you can hit out of the park to claim victory.

Here is what I said:

What you are seeing in the HDs is a lot of very high end redevelopment. Outside the HDs, you are seeing the add water Italiante-ish boxes that make a quick buck for a builder, but provide no lasting value for the neighborhood.

You take that statement and apply your own meaning to it to try to defeat an argument that I have not made. Strawman. I never said anything about townhomes (although I could have as they are becoming prevalent on the west side on streets like Alexander and Dorothy, which you include in your area that is "outperforming the HDs"). I never said anything about the quality of construction either. I was talking about architecture. That is why I reference Italianate (and misspelled it too) design. Builders in the Heights have taken the New Orleans version (like this one: http://www.crt.state...Color/Ital5.jpg) and made it their "go to" design because they can build the same simple box over and over that can fill up a small lot (usually two or three full sized lots that get chopped into 3-5 3000 sq ft lots) with as much sq footage as possible and create "individuality" by putting up silly looking different ornaments on the front exterior of the house like those goofy pre-fab corinthian columns that are usually mixed in with another style on the front porches. It is that lack of architectural integrity, the lot-line construction, and the mish mash with other odd random styles that keep the non-HDs from realizing the same value as the HDs (compare http://search.har.co...HAR86133472.htm with http://search.har.co...HAR60853497.htm). Packing in houses like sardines is great for a builder in the short run, but having a front yard, separation between houses, and original craftsman architecture provides real value to the neighborhood that will last beyond the current boom in the residential market.

Its not a straw man argument. You said that the new builders and building the cheapest houses to make a quick buck and get out. Its not true. It is a lie. The quality is identical, the building materials are identical, the craftsman ship is identical. What you do not like is the look of them. It's your right not to like the look of everyone's property...its not your right to force them to change their house to meet your approval.

I personally do not like the smaller lot sizes and I would never own one...I live on a 6600 sq ft lot and it is way too small...I think the subdividing of lots smaller than the original platted 4400sqft should be stopped...The streets really can't handle the density in their current widths - especially across most of the west side of the Heights where the streets are extremely narrow....So I reckon we can agree on one point. Too many houses tucked in together does not look bad - but all those cars parked on the street does look bad. So we will agree on one point. - Subdividing lots is bad.

The price discrepancy between the two homes you have posted there are quite simple when viewed with an open mind and without the mental gymnastics of your personal preferences...1) Lot size. The dirt value alone represents approximately $140,000 in price difference (3300sqft lot vs 6600sqft)...$550 vs. $799 --(add $140K for dirt) were now at $690 vs $799. 2) square footage....2400 sqft vs 2900 sqft....average cost of new construction $140-$160/ft (avg $150 *500 sqft) = $75,000 so now were at $765,000 vs $799K....3) - a remodel costs more than new construction...there is demolition and then the cost of bringing old up to new standards. 4) Location. The Columbia house is zoned to the better schools and in the more developed (less transitional) side of the Heights....easily making up the $30K remaining difference in asking price.

When its all said and done the two houses actual value are nearly identical...the differences are not architecture, or preference, they are PURELY economic. One has more yard, more square footage, and a better location. You prefer the look of the awful McCamelback, and I prefer the look of the other....Why should your preference win over mine? That seems VERY selfish.

Im still awaiting the names of some of the evil builders who are building "add water Italiante-ish boxes" b/c I do not know where these are being constructed. I walked nicholson from 19th to Heights and saw only a few townhomes that I know you would object too....

Please, if these awful homes are so prevalent I would like to know who is building them so I can invest some cash in them - b/c they obviously have figured out how to big junk and still manage to charge $600K for them...thats a hell of a awesome business model in a state where the builder mandated warranties are only 1 year.

Please do let us know (with the exception of the townhomes near 6th and Nicholson) the names of these evil builders who are building the terrible boxes..Just go ahead and name a few...the builders I see building on the west side are.

1) Sullivan (not low end)

2) Whitestone (not low end)

3) Ansari (not low end)

4) Distinctive Living (dont know much about)

5) Bungalow Revival

Im sure there are more but I cant think of them all...suffice it to say that I do not see many of these "very low end" new builds you seem to think exist. The new construction is usually, not always, but usually of a very high caliber.

EDIT - There is only one set of townhomes that I know to be of poor construction...the rest are just townhomes, which I am not a fan of personally, but even they are not poorly made.

There is just no real evidence that appreciation in the HDs have been negatively affected. Areas outside the HDs generally have way more room for appreciation and are no basis for comparison.

So I can't compare two properties less than 1/10th of a mile from each other? My rental property is less than 2 full blocks away from my house...rental on Ashland, house on Waverly...the two streets share an alley for god's sake....they are completely comparable.

The southwest quadrant of the Heights has been way behind the rest of the Heights in terms of redevelopment. As the HDs get built out, the SW corner of the Heights is now in play much more than it has ever been. Same thing is happening with Oak Forrest and Garden Oaks. Garden Oaks saw a lot of renovations and new builds in the 2000s. Oak Forrest saw very little. The past few years, Oak Forrest has taken off in a big way while Garden Oaks has not seen anywhere near the same pace of appreciation.

I can grant you that the Heights in general west of Yale were more ignored than the East side, but its not because there was or wasn't preserved bungalows, new construction, or even ugly undesirable houses, it had to do with schools and the fact that the East side of the Heights attends Harvard and the West side attends Yale....A huge number of the new residents moving in have young children and want better schools - the West side is behind the 8-ball in that regard....in the last 24 months the West side has obliterated the East side and it would be intellectually dishonest to say that the massive differences between the two sides is not due to the ordinance. The growth in the Heights was driven by a mix of builders and residents. You took 50% of the investment out of the game. The west side had more room to improve, but its improvement has not been incremental...Prices went from $330K-$400K for a new build to $650K in less than 24 months as the new builds all shifted out of the historic areas.

HCAD is arbitrary and meaningless. I have not had my HCAD appraisal go up in 4 years. But, my house has definitely appreciated by at least 10% (according to refi appraisal) and is probably closer to 15% looking at recent sale activity in the neighborhood. The only downside from the districts is what I have always conceded: the owner of a beat up house that has not been maintained will no longer be rewarded with a generous lot value offer from a builder. But I am fine with that and the neighborhood is better off as result. Rental owners now have an incentive to keep their properties in reasonable condition so that they can be marketed as "live here now, renovate later" if they have to sell. They will also be able to get their money back if they make substantial upgrades instead of seeing all that investment get the wrecking ball for lot value.

HCAD can be arbitrary and often inaccurate, but its not totally meaningless....in the last 5 years they have made it a point to get the most desirable areas of Houston into nearly standardized appraised values...lots are almost all appraised exactly the same, and price per sq/ft has been equalizing rapidly.....The bottom line is that whether you can admit it or not - the spec builders and families with children are looking outside of the district to build new construction so they can get what they want...that is driving the values in those areas up disproportionately faster than the areas inside the districts where the prices are much more stable. It does not mean that the HD is losing value - rather it just means that they are worth less than they would have been if it were not for the HD's.

I've never complained about any of your posts. I like it when you start with your childish name calling. It is a sure sign that I am right and you are wrong. Also, given the ideological slant of the majority of those posting on this message board, I have the definition of thick skin to be posting on here.

The non-encumbered West Side of the Heights is out appreciating the rest of the Heights quite rapidly at the moment. The only thing holding the West side down is the schools. If the schools were equivalent there would be no competition at all.

The Heights is desirable PERIOD. No historic ordinance is going to change that. It is developed, it has great bars/restaurants/trails...the ordinance is not going to change that. The only thing the ordinance has achieved is to slow the appreciation. It is not going to stop it - but it is slowing it.

My rental house is in the historic district, and it had no change in its 2012 market value per hcad. My actual house I live in is out of the historic district and its appraised value rose $137,000...the only "improvement" done to my house was a $38,000 pool - so roughly $99,000 is appreciation out of the district, while the well maintained shack we rent saw zero change.

The proximity of the Heights to downtown and the places around it make the Heights desirable to everyone, ordinance or not....but there really is no comparison when comparing East/West side appreciation over the last 24 months. The west side obliterated the east side.

They will need all of your luck to navigate the minefields. Im sure everyone in favor of the ordinance will be comforted knowing that they are living in a Historic Home-(all 500 square feet of it)

Wow - what a waste of time/effort. It would cost 50% less to just start from scratch, turn out 50% better, 90% more efficient, and look just as historic. But by god we must save the OLD to prevent real progress! Cant somebody please think of the children!!!

They need a new showroom...its a tiny showroom. Also worth noting as you come over the old rail-road track bridge where 6th would be, they have parked all their superduty trucks in the shape of a Christmas tree, with a red truck being the topper...

I just thought it was cool to see, so I thought I'd share.

Load enforcement truck

While driving in this morning - I came to a funny realization as I crossed the bridge of death...the HPD load enforcement trucks which have been pulling over all the people like me who consistently flaunt the dangers of the bridge of death - are indeed over the limit of the bridges themselves.

Each load enforcement truck is a F350 or Chevy 3500 - both of which are 3/4 ton trucks, which are both over the load limit....so the bridge must not be as bad as its been made out to be b/c the very people we are paying to keep us evil doers like myself off the bridge - cross the bridge over and over and over again, in pursuit of a $200 ticket.

Just a thought. Double Standard? If its really that bad perhaps the police should not be crossing...just sayin...

Load enforcement truck

Load enforcement police truck at the bridge of death again this morning

HPD said they were only going to pull over bigger trucks. Was it SUVs, or what?

When I passed by this morning they had a black Tahoe pulled over and a waste management garbage truck pulled over on front of the new Starbucks....

Normally I would have crossed but the wife was sick so I had the kids on the way to daycare...they had 3 load enforcement trucks out there though.