Marksmu

I received another pro-ordinance mailer today this time from Annise Parker....nice color glossy printout telling everyone not to sign the repeal petition.

The mailer stated it was paid for by her campaign, and I truly hope that is true, and that not a cent of tax payer money, or labor went into its creation....the cynic in me says it was done by her staff, on the city time clock, and that the only thing paid for by the campaign was the printing/mailing....

While not illegal, or dishonest, It bothers me that she puts her office behind the ordinance....the Mayor supports it....not new news, but still some people who are not well informed may be swayed by such an "endorsement"

Yet more proof that the results of elections actually matter and can affect you directly! Vote em out!

The meeting is just to discuss the ballot process. What info do you have that the City will send the ballot out immediately following the meeting over the holidays? According to your leader, Bill Baldwin, the City hasn't even come up with a ballot yet. But the facts have never mattered. Any claim you all can make is fair game, like claiming that the City will have the power to determine what political signs you can put in your yard under the ordinance, regardless of whether the claim is actually true. Why don't you grow up and call Marlene Gafrick and ask her when the City plans to put the ballots out before you accuse the City of some great corrupt conspiracy?

s3mh got pretty quiet after everything he has made up has been debunked and the true colors of the city and the historic natzi's are really beginning to shine.

Dirty dirty dirty politics...We need to run everyone who voted in favor of this ordinance out of town. We dont need their kind here!

This is actually well known. Several of the preservationists are on the staffs of the mayor and our councilman. They do not even attempt to hide it. We've known what we are dealing with all along.

Did not mean to neg rep that...I meant to positive it, but missed....could not figure out how to un-neg-rep.

The meeting is just to discuss the ballot process. What info do you have that the City will send the ballot out immediately following the meeting over the holidays? According to your leader, Bill Baldwin, the City hasn't even come up with a ballot yet. But the facts have never mattered. Any claim you all can make is fair game, like claiming that the City will have the power to determine what political signs you can put in your yard under the ordinance, regardless of whether the claim is actually true. Why don't you grow up and call Marlene Gafrick and ask her when the City plans to put the ballots out before you accuse the City of some great corrupt conspiracy?

I believe the city is also in cohoots with the pro-ordinance crowd. Nobody who is anti-ordinance knew anything at all about the ballot, its contents, or when it was going to mailed. But on Saturday, one day after I received the ballot I received the pro-ordinance letter telling me not to sign the letter the city mailed (implies direct knowledge of its content)

That letter was post marked on December 3, and delivered December 4th. I'm not saying its impossible to have achieved that without advance notice, but I am saying its almost impossible. The letter even stated "By the time you see this letter you will have received a survey from the city"

This has been a very dirty process.

Check your mailboxes folks. I just got my ballot in the mail today. (I'm in Heights West). It is up to you to fill out your name, HCAD #, Block #, Subdivision, etc. Must be "postmarked or delivered" by December 23, 2010. The letter also mentions the public meeting for Dec 8th at 6:00pm at Reagan High School.

Mine is filled out already, with a photocopy to keep for my records. I wish there was a way for us to track the responses to repeal so that we'd know exactly who sent them in by lot/block, etc.

Being able to confirm your vote was counted or track others votes would entail some form of honesty, integrity, or openness from the city. You will not get that from this mayor/city council. This ordinance has been pushed in every single dirty way they could. I would not be one single bit surprised if they just decided not to count some of the votes and just declare that they were not received, or that the writing was ineligible, so they dont count it. Having not seen the ballot, if you have to fill it out yourself as opposed to them having filled the information out properly for you - it seems not much of a stretch to conclude that they want to be able to discard some ballots if it looks like its getting to close, or that a district may be dissolved.

Just the fact that NOT returning a ballot is a vote cast in support of the ordinance is enough to offend even the most basic notions of fair play, or good will towards the vote. The city is stealing our rights, and the only way to keep them, is to jump through the hoops that they get to set up however they would like to do so.

S3MH - I almost decided not to respond to you, but I cant do it....I have to. I need a calculator to count how many lies you have told on here....but you can go through all 350+ posts I have made on Haif, and I have one exaggeration....which was made to intentionally get people worked up. Seems it worked though. I got you worked up and you cant let it go.... if you read back on the other thread, there are about 3 times where I clarified my statement for you, but your tiny little brain has not allowed you to get past it. So without exaggeration, the ordinance is dishonest. It can control through delay or denial every single aspect that relates to the outside of your house. They say it cant control certain things, but they left the writing broad enough to back door whatever they want. We will have to just wait and see how unevenly it gets enforced in the areas that it remains.

So to make this really simple for you so you can understand. They can not control the political party of a yard sign. Happy? you can even make it your signature if you want. But your lies are outright lies, not exaggerations. You are a big part of the problem with our area....Its really a shame that such a TINY MINORITY of people can cause such a big problem for everyone else. Its sickening really.

HISTORIC DISTRICT RECONSIDERATION MEETING

The meeting schedule for the reconsideration hearings has been posted. This is the schedule. As predicted, the city intends to conduct these meetings and the ballot process during the holidays. 15 days from the 8th of December is December 22nd.

Avondale West and Boulevard Oaks: December 7, 2010, at 600 p.m. at

Montrose Counseling Center,

401 Branard Street.

Heights East, Heights West and Heights South: December 8, 2010, at 6:00 p.m. at

Reagan High School,

413 E. 13th Street.

First Montrose Commons To be determined

Norhill To be determined

http://www.houstontx...er_Meetings.pdf

So dishonest, and disingenuous....You have how many days again to return your ballot?? I and a huge number of others travel in/out of town from around the 20th to the 2nd each year having to goto different functions across the US....They know that their best chances for not getting ballots returned will be the holidays since people will be very busy, be in and out of town, and the amount of junk mail around the holidays triples, which will increase their chances of people not returning ballots.

I honestly do not think that this city council could be more dishonest if they tried. Following the letter of the law but blatantly attempting to skirt its spirit is the new way of the democrats....this whole group needs to be voted out. This process has been truly sickening.

Yeah, with sm3h and that whole stop the Walmart crowd, it's never really been about the traffic or the 380 or walkability or any of the other "issues" they throw around. It's always been about their blatant hatred of Walmart.

Not any other store. Only Walmart. And most of them say they've never been inside one.

I used to never shop Walmart mainly because there wasn't one nearby. It wasn't until HEB stopped carrying so many items that I liked/purchased that I ventured outside the loop to find that hated Arkansas chain. HEB in my area has gotten so bad that they've quit stocking many national brands in favor of their house brands.

And I agree with Red. How can folks in their townhomes (and McVics, imo) claim that Walmart will ruin their 'neighborhood'??

Bungalows are an important part of keeping the Heights personality, so I fully support people doing tasteful remodels and there will always be a strong market for a beautiful old bungalow, but the McVics as you like to call them are what is driving the growth and value of the Heights.

I do not think the McVics are ruining anything. Some are ugly, but most +/-90% are extremely attractive and well done.....I can tell you one thing for sure....the McVics as you like to call them are not ruining the neighborhood....they are the driving force behind its increase in quality from year to year.

Nor will the WalMart ruin the neighborhood. The only thing ruining the neighborhood in my opinion is a bunch of snobs who think they are better than everyone else who want to tell everyone else what to do with their money and their property. If the snobs, whether they be bungalow elitists, preservationist, or just some kind of Walmart hater, would just shut up and keep their opinion to themselves, the entire neighborhood would be a much better place.

Yeah, this is what I said about the historic districts. However, a few of my neighbors are advocately exactly that.

The Hypocrisy is killing me!!!! .

If S3MH is looking out for out best interests we are in much bigger trouble than I thought possible! My best interests are definitely served by being able to use my own property as I see fit....even if that means tearing down a house that you like solely because it is old, or shopping at a store that someone else despises...your best interests are NOT the same as mine. We do not share common values, political beliefs, or anything other than a zip code...So I would appreciate it if you would stop advocating as if the community as a whole is agreeing with you, and the city is just forging ahead against the will of the people.

There is a small group...very small, who oppose this Walmart, and support historic districts. They are loud, they are whiney, they are obnoxious. They think they get to tell us our business because they have nothing better in their life to do than be in everyone else's business. It is obnoxious...its like the small annoying clicks in High School who think they are better than everyone else.

No, it is showing that 8 of the 16 have reached the threshold.

Wishing don't make it so:

http://swamplot.com/...ion/2010-11-18/

Red is correct - I specifically said all the new districts in the heights....East, South, West all met the threshold.

My next door neighbor attended the meeting. Apparently, it was put on by the preservationists, or the City of Houston Planning Department. It was a Q&A about the ordinance. Surprisingly, according to my neighbor, they were fairly neutral, especially compared to the other meetings we attended in the summer. Several questions that were asked regarding whether minor alterations would require rather major remediation to comply with the wording of the ordinance were answered, "yes, you will have to do all that".

One issue that I have received conflicting answers on is regarding "remuddling", or remodels that put the wrong architectural elements on a house. A prime example (and a pet peeve of mine) is putting colonial columns on a craftsman house. Craftsman homes generally have tapered square columns. My understanding is that the ordinance will not allow you to replace those columns if they are already on the house. My neighbor said that they WANT you to go back to the original columns. However, it is still unclear whether the wording of the ordinance states that. It is also unclear how the HAHC will act.

Swamp lot is showing today that all of the new historic districts in the heights have met the 10% threshold for a new vote. I really hope that people go out there and get the word out to get the card mailed in!!!! Getting past the apathy and ensuring the cards are mailed to the correct address is going to be very difficult - especially with the multitude of absentee owners.

I am still trying to find out what this meeting was. Was it the City mandated meeting required once the petition process achieves a re-vote, or some other meeting? Did anyone go?

I never heard a word about this meeting, and I have even been scanning that freebie paper "The Leader" they litter my yard with watching to see if they try to sneak something past us by using that thing.

Bull. Did you have to through out your tenants? Are you unable to use the property as a residence? Grow up. We live in a complex society with many interrelated rights and responsibilities. We do not live in the wild west. Our community through their elected representatives have decided that the value of preserving historic properties outweighs the ultra-conservative right to do whatever you want, regardless of whether you crap on your neighbor or the community in the process. Yes, government bureaucracies are not fun and easy. But they are that way because there are piles of people out there who think they are better than everyone else and cannot be expected to follow the law. The funny thing is that I know people who live under historic preservation laws in Boston, and they thought this ordinance was a complete joke because it was so incredibly weak. They couldn't believe we were allowed to add a two story addition to a single story bungalow and only had to sumbit very basic documentation for approval and did not have to hire experts to certify the work before submitting for approval.

If you are looking for stupid idiots, look at the people who knock down bungalows and replace them with giant monsters, or the people who do idiotic crappy diy rennovations on bungalows, leaving them looking like a bad version of a KB home from the burbs. They are the ones that made this necessary.

Property rights are subject to reasonable regulation. Historic preservation ordinances have been upheld around the nation (and in Texas) against takings claims. It is only the reasonable investment backed expectations that are a protected property right, not your wildest dreams.

You are now in a historic district. If you don't like it, sell. We won't miss you at all.

Did I have to kick out my tenants - no. I did not. But I do not rent the house to make a profit....the rent only covers the payment on the house, the insurance, and $75/month that is set aside to future maintenance. ALL of the profit on this particular house, every single penny of it, will come from the sale of the land to a perspective builder...not from the rent. The lot is large, the house is small, the house is not-historic, and the house is not structurally in the best shape. Its not falling down and it has a nice appearance, but its the type of home (50's, vinyl siding, pre-manufactured home...It replaced a bungalow that burned in the late 40's) that needs to be torn down and a nicer one replace it. The expectations on the sale of this home were in appreciation of the lot...the home is worth less than, insured for, and is appraised for less than $30,000. It is a PRIME candidate for a bulldozer and I, or the next owner WILL eventually bulldoze it and replace it with a new home....ordinance or not. The ordinance can not stop the bulldozing of this home, but it can severely limit a builders profitability when putting up a new one, which greatly reduces the value of the lot upon which this old prefab house sits. The destruction of this house, will increase the value of the lots/homes of everyone on the block....

I have researched and found several cases dealing with historic ordinances, and private property rights...so far I can distinguish the ordinance passed here from every single one of them. This ordinance is not well thought out, and is not reasonable in its scope. Its over-reaching, and can be differentiated from all the others that have passed muster with the courts. Someone, possibly me will challenge this ordinance, and I believe whoever does challenge it has a very good chance of over turning it....It wont cost me much at all to sue the city, and I have enough time to do it...so if it stands, I will. In the mean time, its even better for everyone else if we can just get it removed altogether, so that is the route we are focusing on for the moment....

There are more people like me - who feel the way I feel than there are like you....so once we change it back - feel free to leave....we wont miss you or your type.

Did the homeowner contact the City and tell them that she was under an insurance deadline and needed to get her application in after the deadline? Did the homeowner contact her insurer and ask for an extension of the deadline? Did she contact the City and tell them she was only making repairs? Looks like she had a very good argument that it was just maintenance and should not have been red tagged.

This is another example of the "throw the baby out with the bathwater" logic of the realtors who want to smash every bungalow in the Heights so they can get bigger commissions. Just because one building inspector gets it wrong doesn't mean the entire preservation ordinance should be scrapped.

Do you really think you can do ANYTHING quickly with the city??? Are you that naive? Have you ever tried to get permits??? Have you ever dealt with an inspector? I rehabbed an older non-historic house in a newly formed historic district 3 years ago....it was very difficult to navigate the ins/outs of the inspections without having the added layer of Bureaucracy that the HAHC will bring....

The ordinance needs to be thrown out. There is no silver lining here, there is no good part to this ordinance....if the baby is the ordinance, I would take precaution to bulldoze the house the baby is in just to be sure that we kill it before we burn it, and then haul the debris and carcass of this baby to the deepest landfill we can find so that we never see that ugly deformed baby again.

All of your comments on this ordinance are just ridiculous...its all about realtors making more money by just bulldozing entire blocks....Im not a realtor and I hate the ordinance. I have two homes in the heights....one is an investment in a historic district, that was NOT a historic district when I bought it.....My rights and my reasonable expectations of being able to use my property as I please are being stolen from me by a bunch of idiots..actual stupid idiots....and that angers me greatly.

This is what I don't understand. What you are basically saying is that being involved in the affairs of your community is only worth it if there is a realistic chance you will get what you want. Otherwise, we all have to just shut up and trust Michael Ainbinder to do what is right for the community.

Frankly, no one who is against the walmart thinks that they have some silver bullet. We know much better than anyone on this message board what we are up against. But, the idea that a battle that cannot be won should not be fought is just the kind of idea that help make Walmart what it is and enables a land use system that allows one guy to determine the character of an entire area. I don't care whether I win or lose. What I care about is that people know that my community is organized and ready to fight developers that do not respect the community. We may lose against Walmart, but might win against the Rutland Highrise or whatever stupid idea comes up next.

I believe what you should be saying is you and your goons will protest, squeal, and make a big deal over whatever you and your very vocal minority of friends perceive as stupid. The Historic Ordinance is as stupid, over reaching, as and polarizing as anything I can think of since Health Care Reform, and you and your goons have thrown all your efforts behind that awful piece of legislation. As dumb as that ordinance is you actually support it....I dont really know what to say. You seem to be on the wrong side of every issue.

I don't understand how folks paying $650+/month on rent are a financial net loss to the city. Ultimately it's up to the owner of the complex to sell or not, but I don't think it's fair to attack affordable apartments as a drain on city finances. For one, these are the same folks who could be working at the retailers displacing them, and I don't think they need to be told where to live. Secondly, the strip mall may or may not increase the taxable value of the land, but regardless, that seems like a shallow way of looking at things. There's a reason we don't all live in River Oaks, or even the Heights. You seem to be rationalizing your revulsion of this affordable complex by making all kinds of assumptions, some false or unproven.

I dont have any problem with the complex at all. I have a problem with people trying to use the residents of this complex as another straw to clutch at to prevent the owners of the real estate its sitting on from doing what they want with it. They are renters - they do not have an interest in the building, so they don't get a say to what is done with it.

I also am not telling anyone where to live at all. I dont care where people live at all, I was merely pointing out that there are tons of choices in Houston, even for affordable housing....many of which are inside the loop, and on established metro bus lanes. These are the things low income renters care about, and there is not a shortage of these types of units in Houston at the moment.

However the development will with almost 100% certainty increase the taxable value of the land...thats not really a stretch to conclude. I doubt the appraised construction value of the Walmart & its strip center will be below the current appraised value of the complex. Furthermore, its almost a certainty that a store of almost any kind will bring in more money than a small apartment complex....if it did not, it would go out of business quickly. Very few new construction projects replace what was previously there with something that is worth less than what is currently there. So, while I can not with 100% certainty say that the tax revenues will increase, I feel it is an extremely safe bet to make. One I would be willing to actually put money on.

And, for those who were wondering how the apartments would be cleared for chef driven restaurants (apparently if you are against a Walmart you are elitist, but if you destroy affordable housing for retail space for boutiques and chef driven restaurants, you get a free pass), the developer is going to non-renew their leases. http://abclocal.go.c...ocal&id=7765524

This is how it played out at Allen House and is generally the way it is done, unless the developer has enough cash to pay people off and get an agreement to vacate early. Aside from the irony that the developer is kicking out the very people who are in the heart of Walmart's demographic, why doesn't the City use 380 agreements or other development assistance to build affordable housing inside the loop? Instead, the city is using development tools to kick low income people outside the loop and build expensive homes inside the loop (see Frank Liu's 20 million dollar 380 agreement to build homes in the 300-500k price range inside the loop). Now who is the elitist?

The owner of those awful apartments made in investment in them years ago which you did not contribute too, he likely took a large risk of getting paid his rent, by operating these low income units. He is now getting his payday by selling these apartments. His use of his money to invest in something he hoped would one day offer a large return is likely paying off now. You do not, and you should not have any say in any way about whether or not he demolishes this eyesore

Furthermore - the city wants tax revenue. Low income housing provides very little tax revenue. The people who live in low income housing pay little in taxes and contribute usually less to the taxbase than they take out of it. They tend to over utilize emergency rooms, and generally are a net loss financially for the city as a whole. Sure - some business gets to save a few dollars by paying a lower wage, but the city as a whole is a loser in this equation. In effect we taxpayers are subsidizing the lives of many of the low income residents.

That sounds harsh, but its true. The city now has the opportunity to bulldoze this awful complex, and replace it with a tax generating net gain for the city and the residents of near by neighborhoods. They can do this by not renewing the leases at ONE tiny low income apartment complex....that sounds like one heck of a good deal to the city if you ask just about anyone who cares about finances....you relocate a net loss and you add a contributing member to its place. Is that elitist? To not feel bad when progress is made? Maybe, if so, call me an elitist...I dont really care. This is progress...might not be your liberal utopian version of progress but we are taking something and replacing it with something else that it is better and contributes, rather than takes. Its a baby step, but its in the right direction.

Finally, there is no shortage of affordable housing inside the Houston 610 loop and on established bus lanes...just start looking off OST, Yellowstone, Cullen, etc....there is a plethora of low income housing that could not be more affordable. A lot costs less than $12,000 and the homes in the area sell in the range of $60-100K. Rent there is even more affordable. Its not as nice an area as where they are now, and it lacks alot of the amenities that come with living directly next door to a nice area....but it is housing and it is affordable, and inside the loop.

The people in these apartments may not want to relocate to that area because its not as nice as the area they are in now, but that is the risk you take when you rent. You can be evicted and have to move. I do not feel sorry for the people being relocated because of progress...they will not disappear, they will not become homeless, they will just have to find a different home. It may not be as convenient as the one they are in now, but the city,the taxpayers, and certainly private property owners should not have to spend their money on making sure the low income residents have all the luxuries of those who contribute much more to the base.

Your posts make it sound as if the Walmart is killing these people and then making sure they cannot live inside the loop. This is one tiny crappy complex, that nobody but the few residents who live in it will miss.

I don't think the laissez faire, bohemian attitudes were meant to attract big box suburban retailers to the area. And the arbitrary geographical distinction is the worst argument I have heard, second only to the elitist/racist one. So what if it isn't in within the plat for the heights as recorded in the Harris County real property records. And if you are so laissez faire, bohemian, you would equally support people's rights to speak out against what they consider to be a nuisance and detriment to their community. But you are not really Mr. Heights laissez faire/bohemain. You are just another right wing conservative who favors the rights of giant corporations to suck money out of a community over the right of the community to have some influence over the quality of life in their area.

Wow - you really believe that too....that is what is funny, or sad...or both....It's just hard to believe people really think this stuff!

The Chupacabra is probably part of the evil elite right wing conservatives plan to pilfer local money off into the pockets of giant bloodsucking corporations who plan to use that money for more evil bloodsucking....

what does walmart have to do with people cutting through on yale??? They were building those exit ramps anyway. Unless the Evil walmart Chupacabra was behind the contruction of the exits in the first place...

Darn that elusive Chupacabra!

Walmart will add 10,000 car trips a day. That is the number used by traffic engineers in their 8th edition whatever you call it manual. In reality, the number is closer to double, especially considering that the standard number reflects a Walmart in the burbs, not in a City center. To say that you can add 10,000-20,000 cars to a road that is already rated a C in level of service and have no effect on traffic is just ridiculous. But, of course the pro-development people get to say whatever they want without any authority, but when people in the community complain with real statistics in hand, it is just a pretext for an irrational hate of Walmart. The infrastructure around the Walmart site cannot support a supercenter. I have heard this from real estate professionals and traffic engineers. It is a completely over the top development that will ruin the area when combined with the additional burden of feeder traffic. We will regret it for decades or can stop it now.

For 4 years I lived only 2 miles from a Walmart Super Center in Pearland on 518....the Walmart did not effect traffic at all on 518. At the time the Walmart was built it was a 4 lane road, just exactly like Yale is now. 2 coming, 2 going. The west side of Pearland exploded, and traffic increased drastically...but my observation is that the Walmart was never the culprit. Rather, 288 was the culprit....The Walmart always had cars at it, but I definitely do not believe that 20,000 people ever shopped there in any single day other than on Black Friday, and even that seems like alot of people.

Granted, I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER, how many people actually shop at a Walmart on any given day, but 20,000 per day seems unrealistically high.

I have worked just 1 mile from a Second Walmart supercenter in Pearland on Hwy-35 since I was 16. It has also never contributed traffic to the area. It is also on a 4 lane road, and until just recently did not have a dedicated turn lane. After a while, Walmart actually paid to have a light put up right in front of the store with a protected left turn....that light has stopped traffic, but the store itself has not, and even at its worst, it is tolerable.

I have been near Walmart for the last 7 years every single day and I can honestly say that I have never (except big shopping holidays) seen anywhere near 20,000 trips per day to any of them.

The feeder is the enemy. The Walmart is not really going to do much. That is my opinion. It is based entirely on my own observations, and I do not expect this store to be any different than any of the other Walmarts just because its urban rather than suburban. In fact if all the heights people who oppose it, do not shop there, and cant stand to even drive by it, that will help reduce the trips per day down yale.

I just dont see the Walmart as the problem. The Target was not a problem and the infrastructure is very similar, why would the Walmart be a bigger problem?

It is clear that the people who are trying to tell the people in the Heights to just relax and let Walmart ruin the neighborhood have no clue about the neighborhood. Coming from I-10 W to downtown, the best option to avoid the traffic that build near 45 will be to exit the new Yale exit, take Yale down to Memorial and zip to downtown without a single traffic light until Bagby. Hieghts is no solution. You can get stuck at the train tracks, if you can get through the proposed light at the new Koehler cut through. You take the cloverleaf to get onto Memorial. No traffic light. Every other way has many long lights and traffic snarls. Shepherd to memorial has a combination of train traffic and a very long light to turn east on Memorial. Studemont has no access to memorial. Instead, you have to wait several cycles to go east on Allen Parkway. Yale to Washington to downtown is just stupid. Piles of traffic signals. Taylor has trains, Target intersections and little benefit as you still wait in the bulk of the traffic. Thus, everyone will take Yale to Memorial. Add a Walmart, a traffic signal on Koehler and Yale (just under 1/10 of a mile from the new feeder, and you have a monster of a traffic mess.

The traffic issue is real and substantial. If the traffic plan worked, it would have been approved by now.

Here is the problem with your argument. You are yelling and screaming that traffic will be massively disrupted because of this Walmart....but the truth is the Walmart is going to have very little effect on the traffic.

I can actually see truth in your argument that the feeder road will add people who cut through to memorial to get to downtown...that is feasible...Especially since I live in the Heights, and I use Yale-Memorial as my route to work every day not because its 5+ minutes faster than staying on I-10, but because it is predictable whereas I-10 is not. I prefer stability in my drive, not necessarily the fastest route from A to B. I use Memorial because it always takes about 7 minutes to get downtown, whereas I avoid I-10 because it can take as few as 5 minutes and as many as 30. Ill take the net +2 minutes every day to avoid the +23 once or twice a month.

The major problem with your argument though is that the Walmart is going to add negligible amounts of traffic, but the Feeder is going to add lots. You cant stop the feeder road, so you are opposing the Walmart. The feeder is your enemy in reality, the Walmart is your enemy in personal beliefs.

Thats what I think. You dont like Walmart, so you oppose it...fine, your right. But the traffic the walmart is going to draw is going to be completely negligible compared to the traffic the feeder will add when non-heights/downtown people realize that Yale goes under the train and has a direct shot to Memorial.

He said walmart bought the apartment complex. He did not say "I heard Walmart bought the apartment complex, anyone know whether this is true?" He gets on the historic ordinance thread and tells everyone the new ordinance could give the city the power to dictate which political yard signs could go on people's lawn (complete bull). You all give him a pass because he is pro-developer/anti-ordinance. But, you hold me to a near-peer review standard because I hold an opposing viewpoint.

I said one and only one thing that was not accurate pertaining to the historical ordinance. The ordinance as originally written allowed the city to control the yard. I used the political yard sign as an example of things they could control in the ordinance...(I did say which political party, and admittedly it was to stir up emotions of others...)it was too far. However the ordinance could potentially prohibit all political yard signs....that is still within the writing of the ordinance. The ordinance remains a terrible over-bearing unwanted ordinance...the vocal minority appears to be getting their way until we can vote out this city council. But that has nothing to do with Walmart....except that most people who support the ordinance are also against he Walmart.

I dont recall saying that I heard Walmart bought the complex. It was my understanding from the beginning that the complex was all part of the Ainbinder purchase...All the artist renditions I have seen have no ugly apartment complex in their background. However, I never said, or at least intentionally said (if I did say, I mis-spoke) WalMart bought anything...from the beginning I have known its Ainbinder running the show for Walmart.

"Heights elitist" Marksmu dismissed demolition concerns on account of them being ugly and unsafe in post #1028.

I'm an elitist....wow I've never been called an elitist....been called a lot of things, mostly a redneck, which goes well with elitist... but I'll just add this to my list of names...maybe Ill add a signature to my name...Marksmu -"redneck elitist"

WalMart bought the land the apartments on....they have every right to bulldoze them once they evict, buy out the tenants leases, or relocate them. Will I cry a tear for the loss of that lovely complex? No I will not. Progress is progress....I dont cry tears for run-down property being bulldozed. People get displaced by progress all the time...its called the real world...Its one of those things you know going in when you rent....you dont have any say at all about whether or not you will be there once your term is up. You don't own it, you don't get a say...your only vote is with your wallet. There is still plenty of affordable inner loop property to be rented or purchased... I wont cry a tear for this loss of this building. If that makes me an elitist in your book , then I guess to you I am an elitist.

I can imagine the time it takes to do something like that. I also have lots of respect for them if they can keep it properly maintained. That's gonna be a lot of work.

Seeing as they fail to maintain their yard on a consistent basis, the house is probably really in for it if that paint will require maintenance.

I thought the house looked awesome! at least the paint. very cool.

To each their own. If your interested in watching the progress of it, (its long from being complete) its being painted on the 1100 block of Waverly.

Its not to my taste, but I respect everyone's own opinions.

I spent most of my childhood living at 1629 Oxford street. This of course was only a block away from Eugene Fields Elementary. My first day in school my Grandmother walked me to the front door of the school and told me to pay attention to my surroundings because I would be walking home alone!. Well that was fine except she failed to notice both the front and back doors looked exactly alike, I walked around for an hour in the direction of N. Main and some kind lady saw me looking pretty distraught and asked me what was wrong so I told her I was lost. It wasn't too long before she found where I lived and walked me to the front door.

In those days life was so uncomplicated and easy, everyone looked after another. My Grandmother always did her shopping on Saturdays and we must have visited every store within 5 miles, there were stores everywhere in the Heights, Lewis and Coker, Studewood Market (later became Wiengartens), small mom and pop grocers, so many! I know there were kiddie corrals at just about every store, always had an area with a table and loaded with Comic books, we kids sat there and read comics while the grownups did the shopping. Every store usually had some kind of giveaway for the kids, usually a Indian feather band or something along that line. There was free products sent to every household in the mail, soap, Bread, Canned goods, just about anything the mailman could carry the stores and merchandisers sent out. One thing I particularly remember is an old Black man that came through the neighborhood once a week, he rode an old wooden wagon with two mules and sold fresh fruit from the wagon. Recently I read where Houston had banned any Horse Back riding and was really sad to see my home town turn into such a political ball park. Then there was an old man that always gave out candy to the kids, we actually called him the candy man!.. Try that now and someone would probably have you locked up, that old man was a great old man and a long time resident of the Heights, that's just how it was.

Christmas of 58 my Sister and I got new Schwin bicycles, I know we rode around that block so many times we couldn't stand. On our corner there was a family owned furniture reupholstering business, that building is still there. The opposite corner towards 20th was bare and vacant, there was a small wood frame church on the same lot just opposite the empty lot. For the longest time the church had the pews outside sitting on the vacant lot, I never knew why but I do remember laying on those long pews and napping in the sunlight. One of my classmates was Chinese and her name was Jenny G, they lived on the corner across from the vacant lot other side of the street. Her parents never let her out doors to play with any of us and our block was full of kids, there was Chuck, his Brother Bobby, Dennis, Paul, Casey. Kids everywhere! I started attending Baptist Temple in 56 and recently I was home for a short time and drove past the Church, it is all run down now and the window frames have rusted down the walls, the windows at the rear end of the block that came up into the Chaplin s office were broken and stuffed with trash! It pains me deeply to see this because the Church in my younger days was a show place in the Heights and it was so beautiful. The Church owned all the property across the street and it was strictly parking, because in the 50's every Church in Houston was full on Sundays.. I know of course they had to sale the property to just financially survive. I think perhaps we're living in those last of days, some of us just don't realize it.

Well I could ramble on for hours with memories of the Heights, next time I'll tell how great it was going down town and into those one of kind Movie Houses like the Metropolitan, the Majestic and so many movie houses.

gnight Houston

As a relatively young person, I cant help but think how much times have changed. I tell my wife all the time that the America of the past is not the America that we live in. From the old tv clips and old newspaper articles it seems to me that people used to be proud of being American, proud of the things we manufactured and invented, and just generally a proud people...Now, we are scared of our shadows and everything is dangerous and will kill you somehow....either through poisoning, cancer, or some slow fashion like global warming. None the less I enjoyed your reminiscence.

I think I would have enjoyed everything about the old days with the exception of the lack of Air Conditioning, and the internet. I still do not know how you could live in Houston in the summer without AC.