RedScare

As soon as someone puts a supercenter in a neighborhood I'll be all over it. So far, though, that hasn't happened. They've only proposed a supercenter on Yale, on the site of a former steel mill. But, if they ever put one in a neighborhood, let me know.

It was actually Pecore, near Watson, but close enough. That isolated incident is the only one I have heard about in the last several months, too.

This is a bald-faced lie. There is overwhelming opposition in the community to this ordinance. In my neighborhood, 2/3 of the residents have signed petitions to overturn the ordinance. Let me repeat that for you. TWO THIRDS OF MY NEIGHBORS OPPOSE THE ORDINANCE! The re-vote process was crafted specifically to find a way around the overwhelming opposition. I don't mind you having a perverted view of property rights, believing that you are entitled to tell me what to do with my property. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. What offends me is that a small minority can inflict their views on the overwhelming majority through subterfuge. Since we are resorting to name-calling, let me state that you, Mayor Parker and Councilwoman Lovell appear un-American in supporting such an undemocratic vote process. There. I called you a name, too.

I see a couple of robberies back in Jan-Feb. Nothing recent.

Aren't you the poster who claims the City is underhanded and cannot do anything right in another thread about a Walmart? You're sounding a bit two-faced here.

The "inaction is a vote for the ordinance" tactic is Exhibit Number 1 for how the City and the preservationists will treat us if this ordinance remains in place. If there really was that much support for the ordinance, it would be a straight vote. Instead, Parker, Lovell and the 30 or so hardcore preservationists...some of whom live in new construction...realize that only subterfuge will accomplish their goals. Today is the deadline for turning in the petitions for a re-vote. However, we are still collecting signatures to show the depth of the opposition to this horribly crafted ordinance. Contact me to sign the petition. This is important to show City Council that the majority do not want this ordinance, despite Ms. Lovell's exercise in authoritarianism. Disclaimer: I am neither a realtor or a builder, nor a developer. I am simply a resident stuck in the middle of renovations to my 90 year old bungalow, when the rules were changed on me. I've also lived in the Heights longer than a year, unlike some posters to this thread.

http://documents.publicworks.houstontx.gov/document-center/guidelines-and-handouts/1075-building-demolition-guideline/details.htm Go to the Code Enforcement Building in Midtown, pull a numbered ticket, get in line, get a demilition permit application, fill it out, and present it to the person at the counter when your number is called. The form is pretty self-explanatory. They will send out an inspector to make sure that sewer and plumbing are disconnected, as well as gas, I believe. Once they approve you, you are good to go.

From HoustonHistory.com.... These 134 murders occurred in a city of roughly 600,000 residents, making for a homicide rate of 22.3 per 100,000. For comparison, Houston's homicide rate in 2008 was 13 per 100,000 (294 homicides). It dropped to 12 per 100,000 in 2009 (270 homicides). 2010 is running 9.7% below the total for 2009, a rate of approximately 10.8 per 100,000. Nice try, though. Lots of old people think the good ole days were idyllic.

If you'd take the time to read back through this long thread, you'd find that the majority of nearby residents don't mind the development being built as it is now. Even the Walmart haters cheered when the sign went up signaling the development of a shopping center on the Knights of Pytheus site. The only opposition at all is directed at the Walmart itself. Some of them (most of them?) even suggested that if another big box store (HEB) replaced the Walmart, they'd be happy...no, ecstatic. The neighbors have no problem with traffic, crime and rampant consumerism, as long as the traffic, crime and consumerism comes from Target, 'mom and pop' stores (whatever those are) and 'mixed use' developments. Only when a Walmart is in the mix, does the outrage start, which is amusing, since the only thing that zoning and other governmental controls CAN'T control is which retailers open up on the site. Either the site is suitable for retail or it's not...and this site is clearly suitable for a retail development, perhaps moreso than any other site near the Heights. Great access to freeways and major thoroughfares, not a residential neighborhood (despite claims to the contrary, an industrial site is not residential), and close to other restaurants and retail.

Perhaps, but no more misleading than claiming that Walmart is displacing a neighborhood, when in fact, it is being built on the site of a former steel mill. Not to mention that the residents complaining about Walmart think nothing of living in townhomes built after demolishing hundreds of single family homes down the street. s3mh is crying for the renters in the apartment building on Heights. Where was his outrage when the townhomes he's protecting displaced hundreds of residents? Where was his outrage that the Target development displaced longtime residents? There is none. Because they weren't Walmart. This is why his argument is hypocrisy.

Oh, but you are right that the Target does not abut a residential neighborhood. It REPLACED it.

Liar. Watson and Taylor have always served Woodland Heights and Norhill, due to the exit and entrance ramps to I-10 that feed the street. Since you just moved here, I seriously doubt that you know what traffic used to be like on those streets, but I can say that when I drove down Watson yesterday at 6 pm, it wasn't bad.

Sounds like you haven't read the vote totals. In Harris County, where Republican Ed Emmett garnered 60% of the vote, and the countywide races went almost universally 55-57% Republican, Democrat Bill White actually BEAT Rick Perry. And, that's in spite of a 50,000 vote lead Perry got from straight ticket Republican voters! Lots of Houston Republicans (roughly 90,000) voted for Bill White. When Bill White was mayor, he routinely got re-elected with 85-90% of the vote. Houstonians universally approved of Bill White.

That's some pretty serious NIMBY, considering that this proposed store is over 2 miles from the poster's back yard, on the other side of a hideous freeway overpass, on the site of a former steel mill, and fronting not one, but TWO 4 lane thoroughfares.. I guess some NIMBY's eyes are bigger than their back yards, to butcher a phrase.

Well, since he's a friend of mine, I feel that I can impugn him with impunity. Paul also gained immeasurable publicity fighting the cameras virtually since the first day that they were installed. It was a great move on his part, especially now that he can brag about his success. And, to be sure, I don't doubt his (and apparently your) queaziness about increased use of cameras and video by government for any reason. I am not crazy about it either. I am simply pointing out that much...or most...of the arguments on the anti-camera side is overstated or false. The "emotional appeal" in this debate was actually used to defeat the cameras, not support them. However, if you'd rather ignore the unstated motives of Paul and others, I neither care nor am I offended. I just happen to know a little behind the scenes info on the matter, and shared it. Feel free to ignore it.

Red light tickets don't go on your driving record so there is no incentive to fight it. The value of a traffic lawyer is keeping moving violations off your record

I don't find the statements by the anti-camera crowd to be any more truthful that the statements by the camera corporations. Frankly, in Houston, one group who was losing money on the camera tickets, traffic ticket lawyer Paul Kubosh and his bail bondsman brother, collected signatures from their former clients to fight aanother group who was making money on the cameras. There is nothing unconstitutional with using cameras to photograph law breakers on public streets. Virtually every police department in the area (other than HPD) uses dashboard cams to video drunk drivers and other law breaking motorists, every public facility uses cameras for security, and guess what, every criminal who pleads guilty to a crime is assessed a fine and court costs as part of his sentence. Why SHOULDN'T law breakers help pay for the cost of enforcing the law? However, despite the misleading statements on both sides of this issue, the voters have spoken. As a Houston resident, I will pay my share of the increased property taxes needed to replace the revenue lost from the cameras, and to hire more police to patrol the intersections formerly watched by the cameras. I will also pay extra attention at intersections, since despite the cameras, Houston and Harris County remain one of the deadliest driving cities in the country.

Complete and utter hogwash. The 10,000 vpd figure applies to a 200,000 square foot store, not the 152,000 that this proposed Walmart will be. And your "reality" is a complete fabrication. I guess since this is election day, exaggerations and complete fabrications are in vogue.

I was taking a shot at the very newcomer who I quoted, but if you feel it applies to you as well, so be it. And, for what it is worth, I have lived in BOTH affected neighborhoods, West End for 5 years, and Heights (closer to Walmart than either you or s3mh, apparently) for 7. I'm not sure what s3mh thinks gives him the authority to speak for "real" Heights residents, but having canvassed my neighborhood for votes against the historic district the last 2 weeks, I can safely conclude that he is in the extreme minority on both historic districts AND Walmarts (thankfully).

Really? Last time I checked, I AM the one who's lived in the Heights for years, and YOU are the one who just moved here, and doesn't have a clue what he is talking about, whether on this subject or the historic districts. As mentioned before, this store is a done deal. I'm done. You and Jesse can frighten each other with tales of traffic jams and shoplifters.

Since he said Memorial, I can only assume he meant Memorial. There are already exits at Durham, Studewood and Taylor. An exit at Yale would actually relieve congestion on the other exits, especially Studewood. Taylor, a 2 lane road, handles both a big box development and a freeway exit. Yale and Heights combined are 8 lanes. The claim that this area will become gridlock is a fiction. Besides, the only reason extra traffic would exit Yale is to save time getting downtown. If extra lights on Yale slows things down, they will not exit there. Your argument is self-defeating. I chuckle at the fixation on Yale by the Walmart haters. There is a suggestion that only Yale matters to Heights residents. Improved roadways at Yale and I-10 will improve traffic flow at other Heights area exits. Yet, some posters continue to fixate on Yale with over wrought claims of traffic armagedden. You don't have to drive on Yale. If you believe it will be congested, drive on one of the other dozens of streets in the area. You claim everyone else is looking for shortcuts, find one of your own.

And there you have it, folks! The latest installment of "Let's See What I Can Pull Outta My Butt", starring s3mh! Not only does he have no factual support for this whopper, it doesn't even make sense. But, that never stopped him before, and the fact that no one believes a word he types doesn't seem to faze him. I read this thread JUST to see what he'll type next. Since the Walmart is already approved, there's no other reason to continue this thread.

Absolutely.

I've got a bit left over, but admittedly, I have been out collecting signatures to oppose the historic district, so I've missed some of the kids coming by.

Yes, that is it. It seems to have disappeared on my post. It is a great example of the unitended consequences of this ordinance. Most people in the Heights are fans of old houses, and support preservation (including me), but this ordinance does not do it. I hope people will actually READ the ordinance, because, as they say, the devil is in the details. The friends of the preservationists at City Hall blew it.....Big Time.