Marksmu

I call BS too - I spoke with 5 people, all in the new historic districts at a party the other night. One was very frustrated about not getting approved for his second go around. I had told him prior to the HD being finalized that he needed to pay attention and get involved. He was too busy to be bothered. Now he has a newborn, and the 1100sq ft well maintained shack is not cutting it. He has been denied his improvement twice and now he cares. The other 4 folks were not even aware that they were in historic districts at all....One just completely redid his front porch without a COA 2 sundays ago, and apparently got away with it. He had no idea that he was even in a district let alone that what he did to his porch would never pass approval. Lucky for him he got it done without getting caught. When they finally found out what the district and the ordinance was, nobody wanted it, and all 4 of these folks are big government liberal lawyers.... There is pretty much nobody with a brain left supporting this thing. Anyone who is paying attention knows it bad. Those who wont admit it are willfully blind, or one of the folks who want it b/c without it they wont be able to afford to stay in their house much longer because of the pace of improvements prior to it.

Its funny how short sighted, or just flat uninformed, misinformed, and in many cases just flat out dumb so many of the ordinance supporters really are...did they really think it would never apply to them? All because of the alleged townhome monster about to eat the heights! So many people supported the ordinance only to find it now contains things that they don't approve of....Pretty much followed the exact trend of the current state of politics. The government is no longer working for the people. The vocal minority has too much power.

That video is sickening....Clearly property owners are not as learned as those who sit on that board. With all the crime in the neighborhood, one can only hope and pray that a bunch of thugs dont rent a bulldozer and destroy this home in its entirety over a weekend! The crime has gotten so bad, that I fear that once they have removed everything of value the only thing left to do that would shock people anymore would be to totally destroy the house to prevent those nice, wealthy families from improving the entire neighborhood with a great addition. Damn criminals.

Recently there have been alot of very snobby, liberal know it all hypocrites, ruining the reputation of the Heights....we are rapidly becoming, if we have not already become the snotty, snobby, whiney, brothers kid that everyone makes fun of.

I believe a realtor (and I am also a realtor) would describe such a lot as a blank slate, ready for your dream home. No realtor would ever use the wording clear cut...your not selling property, your selling a lifestyle, a dream, and real estate is all about an individual persons perception of that lot/home. A realtor writes: Cute bungalow on a full sized 6600 sq ft lot in need of a little TLC. You perceive that as: historic house that needs a little grunt work and government intervention to one day become a cut little house that makes me feel special because its old and small and I am so environmentally conscious that I don't need new and big and I can finally stick my nose up in the air at all those arrogant Houstonians that dont live in a cute little bungalow like me!! I am so special!!! I see a shack that needs a bulldozer on a lot big enough for a pool! A realtor sees an opportunity to appeal to both sides.

Poor SM3H - when attempting to play gotcha games with semantics, it is very important that you have good reading comprehension skills. Words have meanings! Clear cutting a lot - is removing all trees on the lot. Right of way = Not part of lot.

I owned rental property in West U years ago. You just needed permission to cut trees down, they cant prevent it from being cut down...if the tree was in the area of the house, the permission was granted and you had to replant new young trees....I believe at the time, they required an 8" minimum diameter for a replanted tree, I cant recall, but the people I sold to bulldozed the house and the 100 year old in the back yard. The oak was cleared out for a pool - permission was granted I am building in Memorial right now - Bunker Hill also requires permission but cant prevent you from cutting trees down if its the footprint of the house, or it poses a danger to the house. I removed alot of mature trees, without issue at all. Build up a site plan, state the trees that are getting removed, cut, pile, haul. Bye bye tree. I had a triple trunk oak that was over 70 inches in diameter at its base (not circumference) that I took out to build my house. I spent about 3 months trying to work around removing that tree b/c it was way over 100' tall and beautiful, but the builders opinion and the arborist opinion was that I would have spent in excess of $60,000 working around it, installing root protection, and babying the tree through the build and b/c it was so old it had a 50/50 chance of surviving and I would probably have to remove it in less than 25 years anyways. I was not about to let a tree stand in the way of the house I wanted, so I cut it down and built the exact house I wanted without compromising over a tree. I love trees and wanted that tree but the house was more important. I think everyone agrees that a tree is an asset, and that neighborhoods should TRY to preserve them, but trees have a very finite life, and the huge old, brittle trees are very dangerous....just because its old and pretty does not mean its worth saving. You know how many of my neighbors complained about my removal of the trees? Big beautiful trees? NONE - b/c its not their property and they are not busy bodies.

I have recently heard the Pearland walmart ad, the Heights Walmart Ad, a Kingwood Walmart ad, and a Spring walmart ad.....so while you may THINK that they don't do location specific ads you would be wrong...in fact I cant remember the last time I heard a generic one....I believe the entire new campaign is local. Even the TV add says where they are - Hi were here with XXXXXX from YYYYY who normally shops at Krogers to see how much she could be saving on the same products at Walmart....

Is this TEXAS and the USA or some communist country with community ownership of everything? Seriously WTF are the people and politicians thinking? ITS NOT YOUR DARN TREE...YOU DONT GET TO SAY WHAT HAPPENS TO IT! You people are seriously greedy, nosy, deranged individuals. Every freaking half tard who signed that stupid thing needs to get deported to Russia or China or somewhere you dont actually have rights and private property so you can start to understand why your rights and private property are so important. The historic ordinance is bad enough, but telling people what they can and cant do to a tree, a limited life, renewable, replaceable piece of landscaping is sickening. People who believe they should have a say over a tree not on their property literally make me sick. I suspect S3MH's name is at the top of that list.

Or just buy an unrestricted lot in the Heights and do whatever you want b/c it really does not matter what your nosy neighbors think. I doubt very seriously the neighbor was willing to split the costs of any repairs needed in the event that the tree broke or fell on the house or the construction....if they are not willing to share in the risk, they get no say. Trees are an enormous asset to real estate no matter where they are located. I guarantee this builder would not have taken down this tree if it were not in the way of the construction, a driveway, or a danger. Trees add more value to lots than anyone realizes. That said, there are instances where the tree is just an impediment. The house at 14th and Ashland that looks ridiciulous b/c it built around that giant tree is a perfect example. That tree probably does not have 25 years of life left, maybe less since the root zone was encroached....yet they still built a house around it. Talk about stupid...was it a huge beautiful oak tree? Yes it was, but the efforts taken to keep that tree made the house look ridiculous. When the tree is dead and destroys part of the house and $4000 later the stump is removed and the hole is filled that house will still look stupid.

I know a guy that can get that done. I have a lot in Memorial that required the removal of about 8 mature trees for a house I am building....I had a guy cut them down and leave about 3' sticking up (needed leverage for the excavator to get the stumps). He did it all in one day, cut it into 3-5' sections and stacked it neatly so that I could have it hauled off...All 8 cost about $800...It would have been another $300 or so to have it hauled away, but we were having a bonfire soon so I kept the wood. I can also give you a company to steer clear from. Same lot, prior to me deciding which trees were coming and going I actually had a 50' magnolia tree stolen...Yes stolen. Neighbor saw the whole thing and let me know. They forested a lot in the corner of the neighborhood and were 1 tree short of a full load...so they just drove over to my lot and stole a 50' established magnolia tree....cut it down, loaded it up for lumber, cleaned up the site, and even vacuumed the stump so as to remove the shavings and what not from the saws....I guess they thought I would not notice? Turns out I was going to have to cut the tree down anyway, but the fact that they were brazen enough to do it, is very unnerving. If I was not taking that tree down, it could potentially have been a high dollar theft. Trees that size dont come cheap.

It seems that there are just too many folks in the Heights who think that their opinion on someone elses property is most important. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9142322 http://www.chron.com/news/gallery/Heights-neighbors-protest-Sycamore-tree-cut-down-64744.php Yet another example of folks trying to tell someone what to do with their own property. At least this lady was smart enough to know she could not stop it, and was better off trying to convince the builder to save it rather than force him. In the end it didnt matter - the tree fell b/c the developer wanted it too. I love a huge beautiful tree, but if its in the way, its in the way. I look at the new house on Ashland at 14th that built around that giant live oak & I laugh b/c the house is as stupid looking as it could be, and it was all done to avoid cutting down a tree that is probably going to die, or destroy the house in the next few years.

Wasn't me! Once I found out that it had COA from the HAHC I was satisfied that it must be antique yarn and thus it deserved to stay! I think we should be on the lookout for Rapunzel, as I recall from the recent movies she was quite a weaver.

Not even Portland, Chicago, London, or Paris?! Wow...I guess there is something Houston does right!

Actually, a tallow tree will lose to native plants, but it takes time and it must be cared for properly, something parks do not usually do. I took 250 acres of tallow trees and pine tree stumps that had been ignored for 10+ years and restored it to native prairie pasture 3 or 4 years ago for a Ducks Unlimited Project....The key to getting rid of tallow trees to to get the root balls too. If you just remove the trunks but leave the roots you will accomplish nothing...the tallow seed dies quickly and is not fertile after 1 growing season, so its not really that difficult to get rid of. When I did it we bull dozed the stumps and roots and burned them, drug the pasture twice with a root plow to get all the roots up, then we disced, cross disced, leveled, built leaves, flooded, slowly drained, and then planted the pasture....it took off like wildfire and we have seen very few tallow trees even sprout back up....the ones that do are usually trampled by the cattle in the summer and they can be counted on one hand. Tallow trees also die quickly when exposed to Grazon P+D...or just flat out P+D (if you can find it) but Grazon will setback hardwood trees and other desirable woody plants....Im somewhat of an expert at this....I did this basically as a second career until I had kids...now, well, now I live vicariously through my dad who picked up where I left off....all I still work on out there are the cattle.

There is a place on durham headed towards washington just behind the Krogers called "tanning clearner nails" I am pretty sure you can get a massage there too, while you tan, get your nails done, and drop off your dry cleaning.

While the developer had no right whatsoever to do that, and should pay full restitution - getting rid of tallow trees, and mulching underbrush is very good for the ecosystem in our area. Part of the reason the drought was so rough on memorial park is b/c the convinced the city to stop doing partial underbrush thinning many years ago. The mulching of the underbrush is exceedingly good for desirable plants/trees/shrubs and allows water that is available in the soil to be used by beneficial plants and not the dang ole good for nothing tallow tree...I really hate that tallow tree.

My can may not always be full each week, but I assure - 7 days of diapers outside in the heat, along with 7 days of picking up dog waste from two 70lb dogs and putting it in the trash can is enough to ensure that my can makes it to the curb EVERY week without fail....though admittedly my can is full 90% of the time.

Not me, I have no use for those places, but if ONLY there were somewhere to get a Title Loan...

If there was even an ounce of credibility remaining in your posts, calling CHICAGO, a world class city went ahead and wiped that out. Is Detroit also world class? Chicago is a hell hole of a city that I will never go back to. Houston is one of the most dynamic cities in the world. It has so much more to offer than any of the awful places you mentioned....Paris?? Its beautiful but France is an awful place to live, NY? Dirtiest place Ive ever been...London (havent been there yet) Houston on the other hand is great! The only city I have ever visited that I enjoyed as much as I have enjoyed Houston is Calgary - Calgary is Houston but, cleaner, and with a more pleasant summer.

Someone needs to report this obvious vandalism to the Constable! If we can't get the constable to remove it immediately we must enlist RUDE & the HAHC, as I am certain that they do not have a COA to have made such a modification in our glorious historic district.

You can't please these people. You are gosh darned if you, gosh darned if you dont. The only thing that will make them happy is if we literally freeze time and stop allowing development of any kind. I'm surprised they even allow us to live in these historic museums we call home. Just think of all the day to day wear/tear we cause these places!

I understand your point, I am well versed in tax calculations, but I care ONLY about 2 numbers. Amount of taxes paid to government $49.6 Amount of money I have after taxes. $101 Your last sentence is the way I look at it, which I understand is different than the way others are accustomed to looking at it. I have always thought that no taxes should be taken from a paycheck...every person should have their taxes withheld in a separate account they can't access, but then on tax day each person should be REQUIRED to write that check...currently nobody cares...heck 50% of the US thinks 4/15 is a payday.

Its not revenue, its profit...its profit from the business being reinvested back into the business. Its not depreciable, expensable or deductible until its spent...When it is cash in the business bank accounts, its profit subject to the top tax brackets when filed on your personal income taxes. I could easily say, hmmm, I need to buy a car this month and just write myself a check for the car from the business account to my account. That is not a taxable event b/c my business taxes are paid on my personal taxes. Its not that complicated.

You are incorrect. The 2013 top tax bracket is now 39.6% not 35%. Look it up. Same with new capital gains tax rate of 20% SS & Medicare stops collecting at $113,000 I think. When you have business income that is filed on your personal taxes as a K-1, the business income & profit is reported to you personally....there is an allusion that you have the money even though you do not. I use, and my accountant supports a rule of thumb - 40% taxes, 35% reinvestment, 25% pay out as expendable income. So while the business may show a profit of $400,000 - taxes will take $158,400 of that - reinvestment into the business will take $140,000 and my "salary" would be $101,600. The business is increasing in value, but to be successful in business you have to have capital available to take advantage of opportunities....this is why increasing the top tax brackets impacts small businesses so drastically.