zoner

This goes both ways. There are many neighborhoods that are all Black, some that are all Asian, and we know that there are some all Hispanic neighborhoods in this town.

Diversity isn't for everyone obviously. I think there are many people of all colors/races/ethnicies/cultures/nationalities/sexual preferences/etc that feel most comfortable around other people similar to them. That's no crime is it?

My point exactly. I couldn't have said it any better myself. That's just the way it is.

Funny, I live in a planned community in Sugar Land and I see diversity everywhere I look--on my own street, walking or driving throughout the neighborhood, and shopping or dining in Sugar Land or throughout metro Houston. I'm white. My neighbors on one side are black, Indian on the other. There are two young African American families and one Asian family with teens across the street, a mixed race couple behind us, a white retired couple kitty-corner across the street. A white European woman and her white American husband down the street, a white couple across from them, a South African guy next to them, a Latino couple around the corner, etc. etc. Our daughter's school (also in Sugar Land) is no different. I see kids of every ethnicity, and diverse teachers, too. But thing is, except for the subject being brought up by people like some of those posting here, it's not something I really think about too much. And it's great to think that my daughter is growing up in a community where she won't have to think about it much either.

Amici is now open! I haven't been but it looks really cool, it's got an uptown, hip look to it. The outer walls of windows that face Town Square open completely so that the whole restaurant is open to the outdoors. The tables are right on the sidewalk much like some of the restaurants on Jackson Square in New Orleans.

It looked really promising to us, too, with a great setting where it sits--kinda like the setting European cafes near public squares have. But then we ate there. Horrible. The mayor of Sugar Land was there, and he and a lot of other beautiful people seemed to be enjoying themselves, so maybe we both ordered the wrong things, but everything was bland and poorly-prepared, and service was far below what you would expect for half the price. A big let-down. I'll give them a little time to get through their first few months, then I may try it again.

Fadi's is my favorite, Garson is my 2nd fave. Very different, though--Fadi's is a Lebanese counter service place, while Garson is a swanky Persian sit-down place. Both are very nice inside and have wonderful food, but I find myself in Fadi's much more often--lots of fresh choices and not as fussy.

I heard that Buca di Beppo was considering being one of the new restaurants to go in, but the city would not budge and let them differ their design--Buca wanted to use different materials, colors, signage, etc. for a more unique and less cookie-cutter design, but no lattitude was given. The Buca people finally gave up. Too bad.

Also, even when I lived inside the loop, I thought that Whole Foods was missing the boat by not having a presence in SL, and talked to managers at the Bellaire store and e-mailed the corporate website to tell them so. They say they have no plans to build a store in the area. I think they should close down that little old location in Westchase and replace it with a nice new one in the Town Center area. I know several people who would frequent it. Anybody agree?

I have one question. If lack of zoning were such as neat idea, why is Houston the ONLY major city to not have zoning?

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Don't get me wrong, I think zoning is a good thing. My aim with my post was to spark debate and discussion, and perhaps I chose provocative words to intentionally do that (seems it worked), but Houston, aside from some troubling problems, inspires me to question my own views of zoning. The previous poster was absolutely right about the dangers of buying a house in an older Houston neighborhood. I know people who right now are fighting the pending construction of a business going in on the one unrestricted lot in a beautiful 1930's residential neighborhood. This is a high-dollar, inner loop neighborhood, and the situation is a good example of the bad side of no zoning (although the lot has frontage on a busy section of Greenbriar, so one could question how much an impact it will have on values/character).

But on a broader scope, let's look at how Houston really differs from other big cities. Without the benefit of any zoning, Houston has managed to develop a theater district, a museum district, park areas, a medical district, multiple shopping districts, business districts and various ethnic districts. Residential neighborhoods, by and large, stay pretty much residential, except for along major streets where retail/commercial uses would make more sense, or in mixed areas where residential has recently been introduced. The city has sprawl, but not as bad as LA, and really no worse than any other large Southern city (even the ones that intentionally limit their city limit growth have the same kind of sprawl--it's just handled by other "bedroom" communities). Houston has distinct neighborhoods and areas with their own character and history. The downtown area is (finally) vibrant, with a brand new light rail system (late to the table, but still...). The cost of living is very good, traffic is just about the same as any other big city (and better than some), and the choices for food, entertainment, shopping, housing, career, recreation, etc. abound. At this point, what value will zoning add, other than perhaps a larger city planning staff (and therefore higher taxes) and slightly better protection of residential areas (some of which may actually find themselves zoned non-residential with the decision of a few)? I'd love to see some more great discussion. I love this site!

I am a native, and actually like a lot of the lack of zoning for the reasons I mentioned above.

It's actually park of Houston's charm IMHO.

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I should not be saying this, as I make a living from the fact zoning exists, but I sometimes wonder how relevant zoning is in a city as large as Houston. Someone once told me about a study that was done where maps of houston and dallas were made, with color-coding for the different land uses. When overlaid or placed side by side, the maps looked nearly identical. Anybody else hear about that or have a link?

There are some very good things zoning does for a community--uniformity of aesthetics, protection of property values, etc.--but zoning also has its drawbacks, too. Mid-size Cities, as they grow, are starting to popularize the development concept of "PD's"--planned development districts with multi-use buildings and higher-density development (think the new town centers in the Woodlands and Sugar Land), because their zoning restrictions created sprawl, encouraged disconnection, and would not grow with their increasingly urban character. Once a City gets as big as a Houston or a Chicago or a Dallas, does it really make anything better if you keep like uses clustered together? It's a big noisy, smelly, messy, fast city--that's what makes it great. And every city has areas where property values are higher and residences are nicer, and it has areas where neighborhoods are deteriorating and prices are going down--whether they have zoning or not. Houston has found a way to deal with this in part through sort of a privitized version of zoning--the developers are in the drivers seat, and through large-scale development projects, market demands, and extensive residential deed restrictions, a certain amount of predictability of uses and values is maintained.

Other posters had a good idea with the middle road approach in Houston--regulating the design and location of certain elements, but not instituting zoning regs. Actually, Houston already does this to some extent. Certain types of businesses and structures (bars, billbords, cell towers, etc.) cannot be certain distances away from residences, public schools, etc. The city could expand these regulations to include other types of uses, or further restrict the distances and types of uses these businesses must stay away from. Also, the city does have some regulations of setbacks, parking, driveways, etc., and has established some districts where more urban-oriented design standards exist. These sorts of things could be expanded without the need for zoning.

That's true, but it is hardly within walking distance of town square. I know it's unrealistic, but it would complete the package nicely.

I shared with other posters a somewhat cynical view of SLTS and other similar attempts in the Woodlands and Friendswood, until this weekend when I actually spent some time there. Residents and visitors were actually using the place like a real town center--there were people everywhere, shopping in the stores, dining in the restaurants, drinking in the bars and wine bar, snacking at Ben and Jerry's, milling about the hotel (there are always tons of people at that Marriott, and I cannot figure out why they are all there). Beyond all this, Saturday evening the City set up a big projection screen in front of City hall and showed an animated family movie on the town square. The square was quite full of families enjoying the show together. I must admit I was very impressed at how quickly SLTS has become a part of life in Sugar Land. We'll see what happens when summer hits. I'm still not sure if the success these mixed use projects have had on the west coast will translate so well to cities with climates such as Houston's. I think it would be a good idea to add a movie theater to the mix--perhaps a two-story job like the Edwards inside the loop to give that urban feel. Sugarland has always reminded me of Orange County, CA--particularly Irvine, and there are Edwards theaters everywhere you look there--some of them in very similar developments.