heights_yankee

According to you. But are you a Wal-Mart executive or do you own Wal-Mart stock? Then I'd say it's a very safe bet your "opinion" carries no weight at Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters and that soon you'll be joining me and a whole lot of other people shopping at the Heights Wal-Mart. I can't wait. How about you?

Oh, certainly WM execs don't care about my opinions. HAIFers don't even care about my opinion, but I am still entitled to it. I haven't stepped foot in a WM in years and the only time I have in the past 20 years (since I was 18 and they built one in my hometown) is in rural Oklahoma or Texas where it was literally the only option. I am a long time Walmart hater. My hatred of WM is the only reason I even entertain the notion of Donald Trump as President because of his desire to bring back tariffs, but that's another message board...

My wife and I plan to meet friends at Revival on bicycles, pick up Noms and head to a local park for a picnic. I have a feeling this will be a common thing for many people. Maybe they could put togther some sort of picnic package with small portions of jams and etc. with their crackel bread and etc.

I went to this bakery in D.C. last time I was there called Le Pain, and they served picnic style baskets with a mix of fresh breads/jams/dips that were awesome. I wish I could find something like that somewhere in this city.

Love this idea. We do similar things with our kids in tow all the time and it would be really nice to grab a brown bag and eat at the park.

I received a Walmart grand opening announcement for the store at 1118 Silber in the mail today. Inside, there is a free $5 gift card.

I just wanted to suggest to S3MH and any Walmart haters that are too good to be seen shopping in a Walmart that they might want to donate their free $5 gift cards to charity instead of throwing them away or burning them with their bras or whatever.

I think that is a GREAT idea!

HOwever, I also think that if Heights residents are getting mailers enticing us to shop at the Silber store, it shows that the Silber store is close enough to the Heights and that a 3rd location within a 7 mile radius is unnecessary.

Yeah it is too niche of a market, just like you said for Jus' Mac...

= P

which is scouting a second location.

And to add to what others have said about Revival, both the owners had huge followings before the store front. I would say this was more a response to a demand from Morgan's existing customer base than any kind of novel idea.

I see what you're saying.

The net result would be that the site is remediated, but that is not the way it is normally done. The reason is that the contaminated soil must be disposed of properly, and it would be very expensive to dispose of an entire block 12 feet deep if it didn't all need to be remediated.

So they dug all the dirt out, technically making the site itself remediated but there is doubt that they disposed of it properly?

Don't disagree...but the construction is well past remediation now

Forgive my ignorance on the process, but wouldn't removing all the contaminated soil be at least partial remediation? I mean, what ground was there is certainly not there any more.

I live about 1/2 a block away from the development, my neighbor (who is three houses closer) said he talked to the foremen on site the other day. The foreman described it as an 8 story project, we surmise two stories for the ground floor retail and six stories for whatever else. Have to monitor site to see how big the excavation for the piers are. It seems pretty big from my vantage point, but I'd like to see drawings; wonder if they'll match colors with Someburger?

Another thought about the "new developer", wondering if it could be a front/spinoff for an established company, since I imagine a start up design firm might have a hard time getting the financial backing for a project this size right off the bat.

I heard it's the same guys who did 2727 Kirby. However, I am surprised if those guys have the capital considering I heard that high rise was kind of a flop??? On the other hand, there is another "developer" out of CT with the same name and it seems like this is a spin off of that group. Either that or these guys are 100% ripping off someone else's ideas.

http://www.vitanuova.net/index.php

4866 in Houston Pavilions. I bet there is one with 10,000 out there.

Didn't the one about the Target on Sawyer have 10k? If not, it was close but I swear it had 12k...

And yeah, this thread definitely jumped the shark.

Your explanation makes the most since to me. Come Monday it will go back to being the quasi waste dump big rig hangout that heights yankee more eloquently describes on her blog.

Well, someone on my FB page pulled the permit and looks like it is going to be mixed use. Someone on the blog commented that they heard six stories. I wonder if the Heights Assoc is going to address that like they did on White Oak.

I just blogged about this today, as well. I have no idea but I emailed a pic to Swamplot so maybe we'll have answers soon...

Agreed. It is hard to justify the half mile trek to Mamou, when only 1.9 miles further is Mardi Gras, one of the best in town.

Wasn't Mardi Gras sold in the last couple years? I heard the new owners don't treat their employees very well so I have stopped going...

Yank, did they state how many properties those consecutive properties counted as toward the total? We've known since early December that those consecutive properties only got one vote, but the total number of properties in a district seem to count them individually. The transparency problem you speak of has prevented us from getting an answer to this simple but critical question.

MAP said 3, but she said it by way of example so I don't know how official that number is.

Too bad that they didn't send out the "survey's",(ahem - BALLOTS) with the annual tax bills and asked that the survey be returned with my tax payment. Since they limited me to one vote, but still collected taxes on the multiple properties in my ownership, I wasn't able to vote with the weight of my ownership dollars(and tax dollars). They have gladly accepted all of my tax money, but they didn't offer me an equal say in this debacle representative to my ownership level. This tactic certainly benefited their vote totals and was another planned method by the politically saavy to sneak this ordinance by. Keep up the fight. Expose the lies. Speak at a minimum with your vote. Vote em out.

I actually asked about this at the meeting for Norhill on Saturday. I was told that if you own a tract of land, i.e. consecutive properties, you only get one vote. However, if you own multiple properties around the district, you get multiple votes. I'm pro-preservation, so I probably should keep this tidbit to myself. On the other hand, I am pretty discouraged with MAP and the City in general right now so I do desire to see truth and overall transparency that is brutally lacking right now. Anyway, double check the number of votes you may cast (unless you own consecutive lots, in which case your current evaluation is correct).

I call BS. They will screw everyone by turning it into valet.

Oh yeah. Just because they have the spaces doesn't mean just anyone will be able to park in them.

It looks like it's going to be two new bars. I saw two TABC notices in that area. One was "Patio Pub" and the other was "Kung Fu Saloon" (apparantly there's one of these in Austin?). Don't know much besides that. That lot is huge though, so not sure if all that extra space will be for parking.

It might be. I heard recently that a bunch of bars on Washington were kind of cheating the system by sharing parking spaces so ample parking has become a pretty big deal down there. There is an ongoing investigation according to the Heights rumor mill. I don't know if this is the case for this lot but having a huge parking lot there is not as far fetched as it might have been before. They can probably lease some of their spots for extra revenue as well .

Unless they just put up a new sign the "coming soon" sign has been there for months, if not over a year

Excellent news. Not only will this be a great addition for people who like to stuff their faces (like me) but it will be nice to not see that sad, vacant store front on the Blvd anymore

EXACTLY!!!

See what I am talking about? Planning flags everything in the Heights just so that they can see if they have control over it. I had to wait days for them to release their hold. At the time of the permit, my house was not in any proposed or existing district.

Because there will be a couple of Heights historic districts regardless what happens in South Heights, I am resigned to the fact that any permit I apply for will get flagged so that they can verify that HAHC does not have jurisdiction. But, I certainly do not wish to make it even worse by actually giving HAHC jurisdiction to run me through their wringer.

As for your architect friend, all that I can say is that he is less intimately aware than he claims. I saw the model. I saw the variance board. I signed the petition. I watched the neighbor go through it. Hope that's not your architect.

Well, the only conclusion that can be drawn without questioning your claims (and I am not. If you say it happened, I believe you) is that there is some issue specific to where you your block where you experienced these things, which is not a Historic District. I do live in a Historic district and none of these things apply other than variance requests when a project crosses the set back requirements.

Bear in mind that this HAHC approval is needed on ALL permits in historic districts. If you have an interior redo, you still must submit the plans to HAHC in order for them to certify that their approval is not needed.

So, I sent the above quote to an architect I know who is intimately aware of the process for a major renovation in a Historic District. He said this is patently false. He had also never heard of the scale model issue.

Red, I thought your house was all still the original foot print and that the only addition is the garage with gameroom?

Wow, someone needs to work at their organizational skills and/or stop hovering.

This is exactly what I keep telling my kids. You'd think at 3.5 years and 16 months they would get it but they just don't. Lazy, hovering slackers who depend on me to take care of them.

This is why I oppose historic district status for my neighborhood. Despite heights yankee's long explanation that began with, "I don't know why your neighbor had to go through this process...", the fact is that two of them have. I do not want to have heights yankee or anyone else tell me that they don't know why I had to go through this ridiculous process.

I might point out that Norhill is only designated as an historic district. The new onerous rules make Norhill, all 3 Heights districts, and all other districts the same as Old Sixth Ward's protected district. Those are much more restrictive rules. This is what my neighbors are trying to make permanent. And, while stay at home moms might find it "very easy" to plan around planning commission meetings, the rest of us get to plan an extra couple of days off work to do so, in addition to the two to three trips to permitting to deal with all of the usual rules for building in Houston. In fact, I already had Planning place a hold on my garage last year, simply because I have a Heights address. The contractor had to hold off for nearly a week while we waited on Planning to realize that my house was not in an historic district. I've already gotten a taste of their crap. It is clear to me that heights yankee has not attempted to remodel her house under these new rules (no, replacing one window is hardly a remodel).

BTW, this is what heights yankee calls "very easy".

http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Commissions/docs_pdfs/2010_HAHC_Meeting_Dates.pdf

The HAHC only meets once a month. It is at 3 pm on Thursdays. You must submit your plans at least 15 days in advance of the meeting to get on the agenda. Miss it by one day and your project just got extended by one month. That's just for permission to proceed to permitting. Bear in mind that this HAHC approval is needed on ALL permits in historic districts. If you have an interior redo, you still must submit the plans to HAHC in order for them to certify that their approval is not needed. Yeah, sounds easy.

Having been a working adult for much longer than I have been a mother, I can tell you that being a SAHM is certainly not easier from a planning stand point. In fact, it's much, much easier for my husband to make weekday meetings/appointments than it is for me. But I digress...

So with a set monthly date that a homeowner can know months before they even decide to do a project, having an open ended window of time until 15 days before the meeting is a hardship? Sure, if you plan something one night with the intention of starting the next day. I mean really, who doesn't know at least 2 weeks in advance that they are going to make major changes to their home?

I did not have to submit any plans for interior renovations to the HCAC. I do have to get proper construction permits from CoH, which is standard no matter where I live. Where are you getting that information?

Of course, you would have had to post a 4x8 foot sign giving notice of a Variance Request, ask your neighbors to sign a petition saying they do not mind, pay for an architect to not only draw plans for the porch, but to build a scale model of what the finished house and porch would look like, attend a hearing, present your case, and wait for an approval, plus the extra time involved if the HAHC denies or make suggestions for changes. This can take months to accomplish, and cost a bundle, since none of these architects and builders work for free. Time is money, and adding the HAHC to your porch project is plenty of time.

Those who think I am making this up need only wander to the corner of 10th and Oxford to see an example of this in action. My neighbor also had to do it (the scale model that he and his wife had to show me while asking for my approval on the petition was utterly ridiculous). Bear in mind South Heights is not even designated historic yet. But, because it is being considered, we already get to experience the joys of scrutiny by others who do not live here. And none of this extra time and money increases property value. It is simply added cost to the construction project that adds nothing more to the house than a porch without all the extra time and money would add.

I don't know why your neighbor had to go through this process but none of this was required for either of the porch projects in Norhill, especially not a scale model. I have never seen a scale model for any construction project in my HIstoric district. Ever. Also, the projects do NOT have to apply for a variance unless they violate the set back requirements. Only if you need a variance would even possibly have to attend a hearing. Again, a variance is only required if you are crossing a border of some sort on the property. Neither of the porch projects I am aware of required a variance and, therefore, the home owners/renovators were not required to do anything more than submit their plans.

The HCAC meetings are scheduled in advance so it is very easy to time your project around the hearings. I am currently in the process of doing this myself- I am removing a glass block window and replacing it with a wood one-over-one. I didn't even have to submit blue prints or design specs for this project, only a picture of the window and a letter of my (contractor's) intention to fill in the space with blonde, scratch face brick, which is the same as my home's exterior. The lead time on the window I want is 6 weeks, so my project will be approved by the HCAC long before all the materials to complete the bathroom redo are even available. As far as the guts of the bathroom, I do not have to provide the HCAC with any of those details as that is not their concern.

ETA: Variance requests may also vary depending on the project. We have a house in our neighborhood being moved right now and they didn't need to request a variance for that project. Admittedly, I am unsure if that is because their plans didn't pass the Board the 1st time (they were going to violate 2 set back requirements per our deed restrictions) and never made it to the HCAC- or- if the HCAC didn't require it before the plans were rejected by the Board. THat is kind of unclear but basically I am not sure if they submitted to the HCAC 1st and PPNA 2nd or the other way around. There is no set way you have to do it, although the deed restrictions are often tougher than the HCACs requirements, so most ppl submit to the neighborhood 1st.

Yes! Absolutely. I was one of those buyers. Of course we wanted a little, charming, beautifully fixed up bungalow with a clawfoot tub and a big front porch. And we got it.

But here's a dirty little secret - that big front porch isn't original to the house. A developer re-did a plan-jane boring flat-fronted bungalow and built out a lovely, "craftsmanesque" porch. Which the neighbors across the street somewhat copied when they did their new front porch.

And the stone fireplace in the living room? Not even "actual" stone. It's a concrete substitute.

Judging from the oohs and ahhs we get from visitors, no one is the wiser.

The renovation probably wouldn't have passed muster with the committee, and that would have been a shame. It's a perfect example of a neighborhood-appropriate (though not "historically accurate") fix that improved the aesthetics on the block.

The HCAC has approved 2 (that I know of, possibly more) front porch additions in my Historic District. They also do not control anything regarding the interior. Sounds like you could have bought your exact same home in Norhill, with the blessing of the HCAC.

I have to laugh. Took a bike ride around the Heights area yesterday and anecdotally at least 80% of the Anti-Walmart blue signs I saw were in yards of recent construction McVics and townhouses. So the pariahs of the Historic District's pros are now protesting the pariahs of the retail business. Who says this isn't about classism?

You should come to my neighborhood. Virtually no new construction. Plenty of no Walmart signs.