Tonight’s meeting was well-attended by several members of the neighborhood. All had the opportunity to listen to the Deed Restriction Committee’s case, as well as the affected homeowner. There were some very good discussions and questions raised regarding the situation. At the end of the meeting, the Board voted the following: 1 vote for granting the exception, 2 votes against the exemption and to uphold the deed restrictions, and 1 abstain. No majority from the Board. Next option for the homeowner is to appeal to the general neighborhood at our next General Meeting in August.
Ongoing Issues
1849 Portsmouth deed restriction appeal
From Rebekah El-Hakam, Deed Restriction Chair:
Dear RPCA Members,
REMINDER: The Board is having a special meeting this Wednesday, June 9, to consider a deed restriction appeal by the homeowner of 1849 Portsmouth who erected a fence in violation of the 20 foot setback in our deed restrictions. The homeowner is appealing enforcement of the setback restriction. His appeal is set for 7pm at the home of RPCA President Laura Mullen, 1922 Lexington. The Board meeting is open to all RPCA members. Before the hearing closes, members will have an opportunity to speak (2 minutes each.) If you have not paid your dues this year and are interested in speaking, RPCA treasurer, Larry Wood will be accepting dues payments ($25.) Please arrive early to sign up to speak. Your input is encouraged. The meeting will begin promptly at 7pm.
Thanks,
Rebekah
DRC Chair
2818042157
City of Houston Off-Street Parking Community Meetings next 3 weeks
Off-Street Parking Community Meetings
The Houston Planning Commission is examining off-street parking issues and whether changes to Chapter 26 of the Code of Ordinances are needed. Some of the topics that will be discussed include, but are not limited to shared parking, parking management areas, types of occupancy and intensity of use (i.e. bars, types of restaurants, etc.), parking incentives for development along transit corridors or for restoration of historic buildings, lifts and valet parking, just to name a few.
The community meetings are as follows:
Wednesday, April 7 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Havens Center1827 W. Alabama, Houston, TX 77098
Wednesday, April 14 from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Judson Robinson Jr. Community Center2020 Hermann Dr, Houston, TX 77004
Wednesday, April 21 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
United Way of Greater Houston
50 Waugh Drive, Houston, TX 77007
You may access the existing parking ordinance at
http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=10123&stateId=43&stateName=Texas; choose Chapter 26 in the left window.
If unable to attend one of the meetings, comments and ideas may be submitted by email to parkingcomments@cityofhouston.net or by mail to Dipti Mathur, City of Houston Planning Department, P.O. Box 1562, Houston, TX 77251. The process may be followed on the Planning and Development Department’s website at www.houstonplanning.com.
Alabama Theatre’s Future Uncertain
From KUHF:
Houston’s historic Alabama Theatre could soon undergo renovations. As Laurie Johnson reports — Weingarten Realty is considering a plan to gut the interior and lease the space as a big box retail store.
The Alabama Theatre on Shepherd is one of two surviving Art Deco theaters in Houston, along with the River Oaks Theatre.
It was built in 1939 and operated as a movie theatre until 1983. It was then converted into a Bookstop, but as David Bush with the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance points out, the bookstore maintained the theatre’s art deco interior.
You can read the full article on the KUHF web site.
Neartown Meeting — March 2010
I attended the March 2010 Neartown meeting this evening, hosted by David Robinson, the Neartown president, at the Cherryhurst Park Community Center. Richwood Place is now a member in good standing of the Neartown association. The meeting was attended by members and officers of Neartown Civic Associations as well as representatives from the offices of Council Member Wanda Adams, Council Member Stephen Costello, and Senator Rodney Ellis.
You can expect that minutes will be posted on the Neartown web site, but I have a few notes from the discussion topics:
Capital Improvement Planning
- The Neartown Association is working on a number of CIP requests on behalf of the superneighborhood and the 21 civic associations that Neartown represents. David Robinson, Neartown President, has complained to the city and our council members about the lack of transparency in this process and the difficulty of the request process.Richwood Place has submitted a request to Council Member Adams and I will forward that request to Neartown’s leadership. There are many other neighborhoods in our superneighborhood that are having severe sewage problems and other matters that need to be addressed by CIP as soon as possible.
Carnegie Vanguard High School
- Carnegie Vanguard High School (web site) is a HISD magnet school for gifted and talented students. It is currently located in South Houston and will be relocating to Taft and West Gray in 2012. They will have 600 students in 2012.
They are currently seeking a parking variance to prevent having to create an excess number of parking spots on a green lot. The city requires they have in excess of 300 parking spots, but they only have 104 in their current location and are requesting a variance to allow 225 parking spots.
HEB
- There has been a lot of talk in the neighborhood, in the news, and on this web site about a proposed HEB on the corner of Dunlavy and West Alabama, which by some is considered the most valuable piece of open property in the city. HEB has purchased the property. They have applied for a re-plat without variances. This does not require a vote before the planning commission.
The City has encouraged HEB to work with Neartown and the association President has met with HEB’s Director of Real Estate at HEB’s corporate headquarters. He reports that HEB has hired an arborist to assist with the tree-filled property and that HEB is pointing out that a supermarket would create new jobs, be an increase in the tax base, and that they could offer a green plan that is conservation oriented.
Representatives at the meeting discussed a number of potential layouts, traffic issues, and land use concerns. The property is on the agenda for the City of Houston Planning Committee on April 1st.
There will be a Neartown Development Forum at the end of May for residents to work together and with the city to discuss the development and planning of the Montrose area. I will post an update when there are more concrete details.
Have you paid your 2010 dues?
All residents of Richwood should become members of the Civic Association. The dues are only $25 annually per household. As a member, your dues will support the beauty, security, and historic preservation of the neighborhood. Additionally, members have voting rights at the quarterly association general meetings.
Please pay your dues online today — it only takes a minute. You can pay $25 for the year or subscribe to pay annually.
August 2009 deed restriction enforcement on Portsmouth
As promised, I’ve written a post about the deed restriction enforcement regarding a new fence on the 1800 block of Portsmouth. I realize this is a sensitive topic, with strong opinions on both sides of the argument, so I’d like to simply present the information here for those interested. Please also understand this matter is still being pursued, so it may not be appropriate for me to share details without the consent of the homeowner. If you have more questions, feel free to email me directly.
As you are probably aware, properties in Richwood Place are deed restricted. It is the responsibility of the Richwood Place Civic Association to enforce deed restrictions on behalf of the residents.
In August 2009, the Richwood Place Civic Association and the City of Houston found that a new fence constructed on the 1800 block of Portsmouth violated the Richwood Place deed restrictions (specifically, Article III, subsection 9 of the Declaration of Restricted Covenants) because it was built less than 20 feet from the front of the property line. A letter was sent to the homeowner noting the violation and requesting the property comply with the deed restrictions. The Civic Assocation received a letter from the resident’s attorney in September 2009. Eventually, a suit will be filed on behalf of the Civic Association to resolve the issue and that’s where it stands. This item is discussed in more detail our regular meetings. Members and residents that would like to join the discussion should attend the next meeting (scheduled for Tuesday, May 11, 2010).
Copies of our deed restrictions are given to owners at the time of purchase. I have also included them on the About Richwood Place page of the this website. If you have questions about your property, visit the City of Houston Deed Restriction information website, contact the Office of the City Attorney’s Deed Restriction Enforcement Team’ s Deed Restriction Hotline at 832-393-6333, or contact the City Services Help Line at 311.
I’d like to close this post by letting you know my philosophy for posting to this site; I’m only going to pass along information. Rarely, if ever, will I include my own personal bias. The web site and blog are intended to to pass along content I feel will interest you. And again, please feel free to comment here or email me directly with questions or concerns.
Mayor doubts funding for Uptown, University rail lines
Mayor Annise Parker cast doubt Wednesday on whether the Metropolitan Transit Authority has the money to pay for two planned light-rail lines that proponents say are critical to the success of the agency’s plans.
Parker said members of her transition team have “drilled down” into Metro’s finances and she now feels comfortable only with the funding plans of three rail lines: the East End, North and Southeast. Construction on those lines is under way.
The University Line would run on Richmond Avenue, just North of Richwood place.
CIP — Letter to Council Member Adams
The attached correspondence that was sent to Council Member Wanda Adams this evening regarding Capital Improvement Planning for RPCA. BIg thanks for Moustapha El-Hakam for his work on this.
