Where Are The Curbs?

[TexAggie2000]

It seems that the area sout of 11th St has significantly less curbs lining the streets then the area to the North of E 1tth (in between Heights and Studemont).

The curb coverage in the area to the South of 11tt seems to be about 50% and I can't see a pattern why some sections have curbs and others do not.

It seems to me that every street in the Heights used to have been lined with curbs?

What happened to them?

Can we get the city to re-install them?

[Heights2Bastrop]

Having grown up in the Heights, I can assure you not all streets had curbs. In fact, very few did years ago as I recall. I can

[musicman]

It seems to me that every street in the Heights used to have been lined with curbs?

What happened to them?

Can we get the city to re-install them?

You have two options to get curbs. Work with your Councilperson to get your specific street/neighborhood on the Captial Improvement Plan (CIP) budget for a certain yr. It would provide monies for the construction of curbs. CIP provides money for various projects. that is why it is important for your civic club to work closely with your councilperson. I believe CIPs are on 7 yr cycles so your neighborhood can't get something every year but every 7 yrs or so.

Another option is that your specific street can circulate a petitiion usually generated by the city which cites the project you want completed along with an additional assessment on your taxes. i.e. you'll be paying for it directly. You can get project done more quickly this way but you will be paying for it directly.

Edited July 29, 2006 by musicman

[patimel]

You have two options to get curbs. Work with your Councilperson to get your specific street/neighborhood on the Captial Improvement Plan (CIP) budget for a certain yr. It would provide monies for the construction of curbs. CIP provides money for various projects. that is why it is important for your civic club to work closely with your councilperson. I believe CIPs are on 7 yr cycles so your neighborhood can't get something every year but every 7 yrs or so.

Another option is that your specific street can circculate a petitiion usually generated by the city which cites the project you want completed along with an additional assessment on your taxes. i.e. you'll be paying for it directly. You can get project done more quickly this way but you will be paying for it directly.

Can you do the same petition thing to get help resufacing an alley?

[musicman]

Can you do the same petition thing to get help resufacing an alley?

I"d assume so. We did it to get city water in the 70's and i've also seen it for addition of curbs and gutters, topping of streets, etc. The petition process is usually easy if it IS a project everyone wants like city water. Topping of an alley might not be a project on everyone's wish list. Good luck.

[nmainguy]

It seems that the area sout of 11th St has significantly less curbs lining the streets then the area to the North of E 1tth (in between Heights and Studemont).

The curb coverage in the area to the South of 11tt seems to be about 50% and I can't see a pattern why some sections have curbs and others do not.

It seems to me that every street in the Heights used to have been lined with curbs?

What happened to them?

Can we get the city to re-install them?

Streets with curbs for the most part got them because the city had come in and put in new drainage and/or water lines. Like H2B, when I was growing up about the only streets with curbs were Heights, 11th and Yale.

The city won't pave the alleys for you. If you want to pave it they do have standards, however. You also don't need to have your neighbors approval [although if you keep on their good side, they might split the cost with you].

They also will not patrol them.

[musicman]

The city won't pave the alleys for you. If you want to pave it they do have standards, however. You also don't need to have your neighbors approval [although if you keep on their good side, they might split the cost with you].

They also will not patrol them.

I know MANY neighborhoods who would love to have you as a neighbor if you're going to pave the entire alley out of your pocket!

I know that about 6 yrs ago in the neighborhood by Rice Village that they did have the alley blacktopped behind their home. We used to cut through the alley on skates when the blacktop was smooth.

I would contact your Councilmember to determine what the process is.

[nmainguy]

I know MANY neighborhoods who would love to have you as a neighbor if you're going to pave the entire alley out of your pocket!

I would contact your Councilmember to determine what the process is.

I never said I'd pave it all.

Here's the process: http://www.houstontx.gov/codes/codes40-13to19.pdf

[musicman]

I never said I'd pave it all.

Here's the process: http://www.houstontx.gov/codes/codes40-13to19.pdf

That confirms what i said about the petition process. looks like the magic number is 75% to sign the petition. This is a doable figure especially if you're just talking about a block as long as most of the properties are resident owned. otherwise you'll be doing a little more research to locate the property owner.

Edited July 31, 2006 by musicman

[RedScare]

I just got some more information about the alley requirements. As the city ordinance states, an alley may be opened if someone makes application to do so. It must be opened for the entire block. If it is 20 feet or less in width, it must be a one-way drive.

As for structures abutting the alley, city planning told a friend of mine that NEW alleys in Houston must be 20 feet wide. Structures (garages) may be placed at zero lot line, assuming no deed restrictions or other ordinances prohibit it. If the alley is less than 20 feet, such as most Heights alleys, the structure can be no closer than 10 feet from the alley centerline. My alley is 15 feet wide, so my garage must be set back 2.5 feet from the property line, to satisfy the city. Additionally, a deed restriction requires a 3 foot setback for any structure, so my garage must be 3 feet from the property line. Note that many residences are not deed restricted, so you may only have the 10 foot centerline rule.

The city has been fairly aggressive in protecting its ROW. If you make application and live adjacent to the alley, the city will notify the neighbors to remove encroachments. However, the city will not pay to improve or pave the alley, though they have requirements for what must be done if you and your neighbors do it. Also, once the city tells everyone to move their fences, your neighbors will incur the expense, so it goes without saying that talking to the affected neighbors first will go a long way toward avoiding a civil war on your block.

Good luck to anyone who moves on this, and please report on your progress.

[musicman]

Additionally, a deed restriction requires a 3 foot setback for any structure, so my garage must be 3 feet from the property line. Note that many residences are not deed restricted, so you may only have the 10 foot centerline rule.

However, the city will not pay to improve or pave the alley, though they have requirements for what must be done if you and your neighbors do it.

Deed restrictions are neighborhood specific. To say it requires a 3 ft setback is a misnomer. it varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. For instance. My parents' neighborhood is 10 ft and i own some property where it is 5ft. There are no GENERIC DEED RESTRICTIONS.

Plus if you read the ordinance (article XV) there is specific information about improving alleys. It clearly says that they can be improved and that the City WILL do the work.

Edited July 31, 2006 by musicman

[TheNiche]

Deed restrictions are neighborhood specific. To say it requires a 3 ft setback is a misnomer. it varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. For instance. My parents' neighborhood is 10 ft and i own some property where it is 5ft. There are no GENERIC DEED RESTRICTIONS.

Plus if you read the ordinance (article XV) there is specific information about improving alleys. It clearly says that they can be improved and that the City WILL do the work.

My understanding was that the 3-foot rule is a miniumum setback that provides the City with an easement within which they could place utilities if they so chose. Deed restrictions, of course, can add on as many feet as the developer considers necessary.

I could be wrong, though.

[musicman]

My understanding was that the 3-foot rule is a miniumum setback that provides the City with an easement within which they could place utilities if they so chose. Deed restrictions, of course, can add on as many feet as the developer considers necessary.

I could be wrong, though.

Concur. An easement and deed restrictions are two different beasts.

[TexAggie2000]

It seems that re-claiming an alley can be a very costly proposition.

The applicant will have to pay for the paving work and potentially for re-location of public utilities (unless you chose not to pave or 75% of abuting property owner want to share the costs).

Interestingly an alley is always a on-way street and therefore it has to be opened up accross the entire block.

[RedScare]

Deed restrictions are neighborhood specific. To say it requires a 3 ft setback is a misnomer. it varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. For instance. My parents' neighborhood is 10 ft and i own some property where it is 5ft. There are no GENERIC DEED RESTRICTIONS.

Plus if you read the ordinance (article XV) there is specific information about improving alleys. It clearly says that they can be improved and that the City WILL do the work.

I may not have been clear in my remark about deed restrictions. MY lot is deed restricted, requiring 3 foot setbacks. My point was that deed restrictions may require additional setbacks IN ADDITION to the city's requirements. Each lot owner must check to see if he/she has a deed restriction. I agree that they are not uniform, and many lots have none.

Additionally, Section 40-342(a)(2) does address the city performing the work to improve the alley. However, the residents must pay for the improvement. I never said the city will not pave it, merely that you must pay for it.

Finally, easements, deed restrictions AND setbacks are THREE different beasts. The easement provides access through a property. It could be for utilities or even alley access to a property that has no street access.. Even though use of the easement is restricted, the landowner still owns the easement It merely allows others to use the property for a limited purpose. Setbacks are the distance from the edge of the property where building is restricted. They may be for aesthetics, as the Heights setbacks are, to maintain a particular look, or they may be for other reasons. The City, for example, employs setbacks for fire prevention, so that fires will not jump from building to building. If the walls of a building are built to withstand a fire, the setback may be waived. Deed restrictions are the legal vehicle for documenting setbacks, easements or other restrictions on the use of the property.

Hope this cleared up my previous post.

It seems that re-claiming an alley can be a very costly proposition.

The applicant will have to pay for the paving work and potentially for re-location of public utilities (unless you chose not to pave or 75% of abuting property owner want to share the costs).

Interestingly an alley is always a on-way street and therefore it has to be opened up accross the entire block.

You probably won't have to relocate any utilities. The city runs sewer lines in the alley, and those can be paved over. Most of the time, the power company puts their poles on the side of the alley, so they don't have to be moved.

Section 40-346 gives the requirements for an alley for private use. I don't know if this can be done on the city's alley. It sounds like it. If so, it only talks of access from a public street to your lot, not all the way through. Hopefully, someone knows that answer.

Edited July 31, 2006 by RedScare

[musicman]

Deed restrictions are the legal vehicle for documenting setbacks, easements or other restrictions on the use of the property.

The easements are usually shown on the plat for those parcels that aren't restricted. They may or may not be shown in the actual deed restrictions. The easements in my neighborhood are not documented in the deed restrictions.

Edited July 31, 2006 by musicman

[Guest Malvoe]

How can I find out who my council person is? Apparently my block did a petition to get curbs installed before I moved in. I'd like to know what the status is. I would imagine curbs would increase property values a bit.

[TexAggie2000]

Has any of you experience of re-locating above ground utilities (electric, cable TV and phone) to below ground (buried) in the Heights? Any idea of the costs involved ($/ linear ft)? Who would you have to talk to get this done?

[musicman]

How can I find out who my council person is? Apparently my block did a petition to get curbs installed before I moved in. I'd like to know what the status is. I would imagine curbs would increase property values a bit.

Council districts

[TheJudge]

Still think the setback is wrong on garages against alleys. City approved my new construction of a garage on the back property line with no setback, and the alley is only 15 ft. Said no setback requirement as long as it was a firewall.

[Guest Malvoe]

Thx

[Guest Malvoe]

OK, check out the response...

"According to the Public Works Department this project is scheduled for design in 2011 and reconstruction in 2013"

Wow.

[RedScare]

OK, check out the response...

"According to the Public Works Department this project is scheduled for design in 2011 and reconstruction in 2013"

Wow.

What project did you ask about?

[Guest Malvoe]

Getting curbs added to my street. It was petitioned for before I bought the house.

[RedScare]

Getting curbs added to my street. It was petitioned for before I bought the house.

What street is that? And, did they expand their response, i.e., how many blocks, or any other streets?

[musicman]

What project did you ask about?

sounds like a CIP project whose funding can be taken away or rescheduled. does your neighborhood work with your district councilmember?

[RedScare]

sounds like a CIP project whose funding can be taken away or rescheduled. does your neighborhood work with your district councilmember?

Yeah, I'm in the Heights, like Malvoe is. I just want to know what streets he's talking about, since I live on a non-curbed street, too. He just won't answer my question. That's why I keep asking.

[Guest Malvoe]

Le Green, west of Studewood. I have no idea how they got it scheduled, other than the previous owner said they had everyone on the block sign a petition and it would cost me some small amount when it finally got done. She thought it would only be a year or two. Ha!