poyea

After reading Outfield Dan's post, I thought I'd post what I wrote to city council members last night, since I cannot attend tomorrow. I'm largely on the same page with OD, but thought I'd post what I wrote and maybe encourage others to write to city council tonight as well. And I agree there is no way Annise Parker will get my vote next time after her blatant disregard for the opinions of the majority of her constituents. Using Lovell as the point person on this is brilliant since Lovell can't run for re-election. "City Council Members, We live in the Heights West district and live in a 1915 bungalow. Since I’m aware you will probably be inundated with emails this week, I will start with our position which is that we absolutely want a re-vote on the ordinance. Not an opportunity to go door to door to collect signatures with the hope of having the chance to re-vote. The people already stated very, very clearly during the town hall meetings that we wanted to re-vote once the final ordinance was passed by city council and CM Lovell clearly stated that we would get that. This new proposal seems extremely shady and politically motivated. The original ordinance that was passed had drastically different provisions from what is now being considered, and the residents deserve to have a say on something that is very personal and financially important. This should not be something that is forced upon us. Let the people vote on it. This is a democracy last time I checked and that is the only fair way to truly hear what the residents want. PLEASE READ::::: We love our home and our neighborhood. We have already gone through an expansion, the COA process, HAHC guidelines, etc, and had our home on the Spring Home Tour in 2009. We were approved by HAHC/COA on the first pass for two separate projects, so we really shouldn’t care, right....except that we do care. We care about our neighbors and wouldn’t want them to lose the ability to do what they want to do with their land, their houses, their investments, their property. The sad part is that everyone talks about “loving the Heights”...but for us, what makes the Heights special aren’t the houses. It is the people who live in those houses, and open their doors to neighbors and strangers alike. It isn’t about windows that look like they did 100 years ago, or siding that matches. People are getting lost in the details. The Heights is great because of the people who have made it great, and you know what; it was made over time and without any of these controlling ordinances. Let us be the way we have been, and continue to evolve. Great houses will “find” great people to maintain them, and to adapt them to fit their uses today, and again tomorrow. This ordinance will ruin that ability. Please let us vote!"

For those of you who don't know, here is a reminder about the city council vote this week: The proposed amendments to the historic preservation ordinance are on next week's city council agenda. If you want to be heard, you can show up for Tuesday's public council session. You can sign up to speak for 1, 2, or 3 minutes. The meeting begins at 2 p.m. To reserve a spot on the speaker's list call the City Secretary at 832-393-1100 on Monday. If you cannot attend, please email all council members and tell them your position. districta@houstontx.gov; districtb@houstontx.gov; districtc@houstontx.gov; districtd@houstontx.gov; districte@houstontx.gov; districtf@houstontx.gov; districtg@houstontx.gov; districth@houstontx.gov; districti@houstontx.gov; atlarge1@houstontx.gov; atlarge2@houstontx.gov; atlarge3@houstontx.gov; atlarge4@houstontx.gov; atlarge5@houstontx.gov; historicpreservation@houstontx.gov

Unfortunately, I think I recall Lovell saying (at the Heights Town Hall meeting) that either she isn't running or is term limited and can't run for re-election again. So she is a perfect candidate to head up this cram-down ordinance. She has NOTHING to lose.

I sent a email last week to City Council Members about the ordinance. I got this email back from CM Lovell (both emails are below). Needless to say, they are ticking me off. I sent a reply, again requesting a re-vote, since that is what we were promised and what we all "voted" on at the last town hall meeting. Just thought some might want to read it. Please email them yourselves and tell them what you think. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Ms. Lovell's response] Dear XXXXX, We are keeping our word. We have put in place a process that will allow property owners to reconsider their decision. Currently in the ordinance a vote of 25 percent of property owners (this number could go higher or lower, depending on the vote of City Council) in a historic district can request an opportunity to reconsider their decision. We kept our promise to the property owners that they would have the opportunity to reconsider, and this is the process that we have recommended. In order to be fair to everyone, there must be a uniform process put in place. When the preservation ordinance is passed by City Council, the passage will automatically trigger this procedure. Thank you for contacting my office and for caring about your neighborhood and your city. Best regards, Council Member Lovell At-large, Position 2 From: Sent: Friday, September 17, 2010 11:24 AM To: COH - Mayor; Gafrick, Marlene - PD; CNL District H; CNL District A; CNL District B; CNL District C; CNL District D; CNL District E; CNL District F; CNL District G; CNL District I; CNL At Large 1; CNL At Large 2; CNL At Large 3; CNL At Large 4; CNL At Large 5 Subject: Historic District Ordinances Mayor Parker and Houston City Council Members, I am writing regarding the proposed amendments to the Historic Preservation Ordinance which was recently posted. I live in the Heights West District. If what I’m reading is correct, I believe we were misled on what we should have expected when we attended the public meetings over the past several weeks. During the last meeting for the Heights districts, CM Lovell took a vote of those in attendance to determine if we, the citizens of the city and district, wanted a re-vote and overwhelmingly, all three districts voted “yes”. I was in attendance and heard Ms. Lovell speak very clearly that cards would be mailed out once the new ordinance was finalized and posted. However, based on my reading, it appears that we would have to collect signatures constituting 25% of the tract owners within the district requesting this re-vote (which was already promised to us), and it must be done within 15 days. If I am misreading this, I apologize and look forward to hearing the explanation. If this is the correct procedures that you’ve created, I feel you have deliberately misled your constituents, and forced your own beliefs upon the citizens who voted you into office. This is not a minor change and affects the property values on what is our largest investment. During the last Heights meeting, you provided the opportunity for the peoples’ voices to be heard and you are now changing what you said. Let the people vote. You promised us that option, we voted on having that option, and we deserve that opportunity, and without having to gather any signatures. If anyone would like to contact me, please feel free to contact me directly at 713.xxx.xxxx. Sincerely,

I sent an email to Councilman Gonzalez as well as the Historic Preservation Planning and Development group (see email address below), to explain that the people have already spoken up that they would like a re-vote and that we shouldn't have to gather signatures in order to "earn" the ability to re-vote. Can't hurt to have a few hundred similar emails sent to them with this same point. Let us vote. If the majority wants it, then I guess I will have to live with it. My guess is that it wouldn't pass a re-vote however. Notice of Public Hearing The City of Houston Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on proposed amendments to the Historic Preservation Ordinance (Chapter 33), Thursday, September 23, at 6:30 p.m. at the George Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de Las Americas, General Assembly Room on the 3rd Floor. For a map and directions to the George R. Brown, please go to www.houstonconventionctr.com/Home/MapsParking.aspx. Some street parking may be available or attendees can park in the Hilton/George R. Brown parking garage located on Polk Street subject to availability. Attendees can submit their parking stub for validation (from that garage only). Speakers will be allowed one minute to make their comments at the public hearing. To view the proposed amendments and other information about the process, please to the following web page: www.houstontx.gov/planning/HistoricPres/hist_pres_amend.html. If you cannot attend the meetings, but would like to comment please email historicpreservation@houstontx.gov or mail your comments to Historic Preservation, City of Houston, Planning and Development Department, P.O. Box 1562, Houston, Texas 77251-1562 by September 22, 2010.

I recorded the same thing but unfortunately, I deleted mine off of my phone. I say you call the Chronicle and the news stations, and email the mayor and council members (and specifically CM Gonzalez). I agree that this is absolute BS. And in the end, if they stick to this draft, I would be willing to sacrifice a day to at least hit the houses with the "blue signs" for signatures for the 25% limit.

So, to be clear, they are not mailing out cards for a re-vote (I'm in Heights West), unless we gather 25% of the owners' signatures requesting a re-vote? If so, they just lied to our faces at all of those meetings, especially the last one where we all "voted" to have a re-vote. To say I'm p_ssed off if such an understatement. And we've already done all of our remodel work! Friggin' politicians. They ALL need to go. Vote them all out and let them go find real jobs with accountability. So ticked off.....

That is great news, except that I cross at 15th street. I s'pose I could walk 12 blocks south to safely cross at Koehler, then 12 blocks back to get where I was trying to get. Heck, I could pick up some water at the convenient Wal-Mart to avoid the dehydration. (All tongue in cheek here). Bottom line, I just wish 30 mph meant 30 mph on Yale. And, in my opinion, this portion of Yale/Heights (north of I-10) is highly residential. I believe you were stating you opinion for the area near the proposed WM, which I largely agree with. SLOW DOWN ON YALE.....people, dogs, strollers.

I'm not sure what the correct numbers are, but from someone who lives one block west of Yale, and crosses Yale on a bike or with a dog multiple times per week, I'd say there are already too many cars on Yale for what SHOULD be considered a residential neighborhood. It's like running the gauntlet. There are too many speeders and too much traffic to cross safely during most times of the week. They need to put in more signals and NOT synchronize them, or synchronize them for the speed limit, which is 30 mpg (for reference, Heights Blvd is 35 mph). HPD could make their monthly quota on a daily basis on Yale, and frankly, I'm ticked off about it. So, more traffic on Yale? Any more equals too many.

I am only trying to reap the benefits of the ordinance that I SIGNED UP FOR....not the one that others are attempting to change after the fact....(not very neighborly). Or the ones who try to put words in my mouth that "the people who signed the original ordinance would have signed up for a "No Means No" if we had it available"....(also, not very neighborly). Or the ones who tell me that yes, under the new ordinance, you would be able to use Hardiplank. But oh, by the way, if Hardy doesn't come in the style of siding that is already on your house, you actually cannot use Hardy, followed up with a "maybe you would need to contact Hardy yourself". And for what it's worth, I already said that I might be willing to give up the tax benefit, just so that my neighbors wouldn't have this additional burden because I don't think it is right. Seriously though, thank you for the feedback about the tax abatement...wasn't sure about it. And by the way, we live in a 1920 bungalow and we love it. Spent a ton on it initially, and a ton more on the expansion. Easily could have purchased a big 'ol McVic with more square footage, but we happen to love the old homes.

The area that pops into my head is the stretch of 59 around Buffalo Speedway and Weslayan, where you have Westpark that runs ~parallel...and yes, it can get quite bottled up along those intersections. I say let them pay for it themselves if it is such a great location. Let them figure out how to get their 18-wheelers down those skinny streets for deliveries. It would seem to me that those residents on those side streets would have the best chance at having a decent case against development. Of course, an HEB would also need access for deliveries too. Side topic: Are there any Wal-Marts that are NOT open 24hr/day? Just curious.

Here's another question that I haven't seen discussed yet. What happens to the tax incentives that are in place if you do work on your house in a historic district, and then you are suddenly no longer in a historic district due to the re-vote? We did work on our house, went through the HAHC/COA process retroactively, and qualified for the City of Houston 15-yr tax break. Then, after about a year of working with the city's finance group to determine the amount spent, prior improvement values, etc, we were able to claim the tax break last year. (We are in Heights West HD). I'm assuming that if the re-vote turns up a big NO, that I would then lose this benefit. I'm still undecided on this and the work on my house is already done, even though I'd lose ~$1,000/yr for the next 14 years. Tough to weigh the pros/cons, but I don't think it is right for me to vote for it simply because my work is already done. Some of the supporters have even said this to me "you're already done, why do you care?"....umm, because I'm a good neighbor maybe. I didn't want anyone telling me what I could and couldn't do with our addition, so we purposely didn't sign the original petition until we were done with the work. I have a hard time giving the HAHC committee the ability to control my neighbor...doesn't seem right? Sorry for the soapbox...I really intended to ask about the tax break and what would/could happen...got a bit sidetracked and fired up.

Wal-Mart?

................... I list it based on price, I list it based on price/sq ft....what do you want? All I was trying to say was there are SOME bungalows out there that are going for more than $75/sq ft. You accused me of cherry picking since I chose the list based on the highest asking price. So I re-sort based on highest price per sq ft to prove my point that I wasn't cherry picking. Listen, I know there are homes for LESS than $150/ft, and who knows, some even less. .....................

If I really wanted to try to cherry pick data, I would have done this, and sorted by $/sq ft. You'll see that the highest $/sq ft homes aren't necessarily the highest PRICED homes...I just originally picked those since they were the easiest (as I clearly explained). If I need to explain this data any further, don't bother asking. (sorry about the formatting) Price Rank Price Sq Ft $/sq ft $/sq ft Rank 1 $410,000 1197 $342.52 1 2 $389,000 1224 $317.81 2 14 $312,500 1014 $308.19 3 10 $325,000 1093 $297.35 4 11 $324,900 1150 $282.52 5 3 $365,000 1341 $272.18 6 12 $319,900 1180 $271.10 7 9 $325,000 1217 $267.05 8 4 $364,900 1382 $264.04 9 5 $359,900 1372 $262.32 10

Listen, I don't have the time to tear through the data, nor do I care to. Since I live in an old bungalow, I regularly search HAR for other old bungalows to see what the going rate is. So, when Red mentioned $75/sq ft in his post, I knew there was a misunderstanding of what was being said. And I didn't cherry pick the data. As I stated, I took the output as it came across, did 5 simple calcs, and realized there must have been a misunderstanding. I did NOT cherry pick the $/sq ft data. I just looked at the first five, which happened to be the most expensive in raw dollars. I'm sure there were others that were even more expensive per sq ft, especially as you get to the smaller houses (1000-1100 sq ft). Why is it that you consistently try to elevate everything into such ugliness? I think the name calling and stereo-typing is tired and unnecessary incidentally.

Curious if homes outside of historic districts would be enjoying a boost in market value due to these proposed changes? Seems that way under these arguments. Signed, Just trying to post some facts with real data points (a change for some on this thread)...not you Red

I think he was saying 1000-1500 sq ft, for $275-$300 PER SQ FT. I did a quick search too and found many in the 77008 zip. Here are the top 5 based on asking price. FWIW, I am against these changes to the ordinance, but I also don't think property values are going to crash if it gets signed. People do want to live in these bungalows because some people just like the character of them (and some don't). $410,000, 1200 sq ft, $341/ft $389,000, 1224 sq ft, $317/ft (Option Pending) $365,000, 1341 sq ft, $272/ft (Option Pending, Continue to Show) $365,000, 1382 sq ft, $264/ft $360,000, 1372 sq ft, $262/ft Signed, Not making up crap

Well, for me, it actually is about traffic among other things. For one, I don't shop at WalMart and don't care to. Not that I wouldn't or haven't ever, but it just isn't high on my list of places to go if I need something. For me, I'd rather see something go in there that I would actually utilize. And yes, we do drive to HEB fairly often, since it is right next to Costco on I-10. My wife likes the new Kroger, but even Kroger is overpriced and their veggies/fruits are not up to par with HEB, so we hit each about half the time. Elitist? Not so much. On the traffic argument, compared to Target, there is a huge difference in location. I NEVER drive thru the Target area to get somewhere else, so I am not inconvenienced by the incremental traffic from Target. On the other hand, I drive past the Walmart location every day to go to work, to go to the bank, to go to restaurants on Washington, and as a cut through to other places in the area to the south and west. Every Day. Oh, and I live one block off of Yale, and it is already a speedway on Yale, making a crossing on foot or with dogs a challenge. So, yes, traffic is an issue. Elitist? Not so much. The one thing that I do believe is that the taxpayers should not be footing any bills of any sort to make WalMart's economics look better. That would apply to HEB, Costco, Target, or anyone else. Make your business model fly on its' own, and don't pretend like you're doing us a favor by offering to re-pave or expand our streets, when we know it's because you can't fit all of your 18-wheelers down the two-lane residential streets. Soapbox...off.

I just read in the Chronicle today (August 8, Heights Neartown Section) about a contest sponsored by Beneful Dog Food. The winning entry gets $500,000 to renovate or build a dog park. They are down to 10 finalists nationwide, and a Houston resident is one of them. The dog park is already existing, (just north of 610 loop, near TC Jester). You can vote once per day and the voting ends August 11th (only 3 days left). All the details are on their website. http://www.dreamdogpark.wagworld.com/ViewFinalists.aspx I know this isn't "in the Heights", but this is probably the closest dog park to us. I thought it was worth a shot to get some last minute votes for her.

Marksmu, I hope you and others like you show up next Tuesday night. I agree with your thoughts exactly. I want there to be some control, but concrete objective guidelines. Not things open to interpretation by a weighted panel. Lot size, set backs, etc. Not to mention, there would be no need for this panel of 13 if the rules were clearly defined. And one more thing: we need to REMOVE their ability to change the ordinance in the future without some sort of vote or they'll bait and switch us again. One other thing from last week's meeting that chapped me was if your house wereto burn down, you wouldn't be able to rebuild it as it was without it meeting the new guidelines. Talk about over reaching.

Why can't there be a middle ground with lot size limits, setback limits, etc. Tangible, objective characteristics so that there is no need for a weighted 13-member panel to decide what we can and can't do with OUR properties. People, all I know is that if you don't want this, you had better show up on the 10th and speak out and demand a new vote once the rules are set. Also, is there a way to lock down this ordinance so that no changes can be made in the future without another vote (serious question)?

The problem with this is that, as Sue Lovell pointed out Tuesday night, is all city ordinances are "fluid", and they all change over time. THAT to me is the largest problem. I signed up for a 90-day wait period and I'd guess most people try to adapt to what HAHC suggests and/or make a good initial attempt to come up with compatable additions, etc. But, this potential to amend ordinances over time bothers the heck out of me. Another problem that I have is that Lovell said they would gauge the opposition at the various district meetings and IF they sensed enough opposition, she said they would be willing to go through with the mailings process for another vote. How many people is that? 2, 5, 10, 100? How do WE demand that another vote be taken? Because my guess is that it wouldn't pass with these currect provisions. And, if they do water them down now, they can always change them later. Let the residents vote on it initially, and let them vote again for any proposed amendments in the future. One last question for you HAIFers: Is there some sort of financial incentives for the City to enlarge the historic districts? (i.e. Federal grants, funding, etc). Just curious, but it sure smells like money around here.

One other thing I just noticed is who would make up the 13 member HAHC panel. This is straight from the proposed amendment: 1. Professional achaeologist 2. Professional historian 3. Achitectural historian 4. Representative of a cultural history organization 5. Registered architect 6. Landscape architect or an urgan planner 7. Professional real estate appraiser certified to perform appraisals for the city. 8. Remodeler or builder registered withthe TRCC, with knowledge of and interest in restoration, historic building renovation and compatible new construction. 9-13. Citizen representatives If you didn't think this was weighted in any way, read on.... Positions 1-9 shall be appointed by the MAYOR, subject to confirmation by city council. Postions 10-13 shall be appointed by city council. If you need 7 votes, good luck.

Go to this site, and at the top they have all of the districts listed. If you click on them, a map pops up. Based on your screen name and past posts about Mam's, my guess is you're in Heights West. http://www.preservehouston.org/