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Saturday, August 19, 2017 • Vol. 62 • No. 34
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Continuing saga
Greater Heights listed as tough spot to build By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
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Photo by Landan Kuhlmann The city went back to the proverbial drawing board and recently released their newest draft of the guidelines for building in the Heights Historic Districts. However, there remains some dissension over the latest attempt.
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The INDEX. Church....................................................... 5A Classifieds.............................................. 4B Coupons. ................................................. 6A Food/Drink/Art................................... 1B Obituaries.............................................. 5A Opinion. ................................................... 4A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 4A
By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com After more than a year of proposals and public meetings to create design guidelines for historic homes in the Heights, Houston’s mayor was less than satisfied with the result. So, back to the drawing board they went. Three specific districts in the Heights are classified as historic districts, stretching from 20th Street to the north and 4th Street to the south. These districts extend west to Ashland Street and Oxford to the east in some areas, and if owners want to make structural changes to their homes, they must gain approval from a board of commissioners appointed by the city of Houston. Following a meeting June 20 at the Historic Heights Fire Station, the city’s Planning and Development Department hoped to send a draft of the new Design Guidelines to the HAHC by June 30. That date came and went, however, after a meeting with Mayor Turner sent the city
back to the proverbial drawing board. The new guidelines, now available to view online on the project page, include several variations to the plans presented in June, and are tentatively scheduled to be presented again Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. at The United Way. “We aren’t going to move forward with this until there’s a stronger consensus,� Turner told The Leader in June. “We’re not sending anything to the [city] council until I approve what we’re sending, and we aren’t there yet.� Work continues A large portion of concern and confusion at the June meeting stemmed from the amount of space a home can take up on a lot. As initially written, the Guidelines said homes on a 5,000 square-foot lot could only be 2,300 square feet. The problem arises when those 2,300 square feet include garage space, which is usually unfinished and unliv-
able. Following internal evaluations, Historical Preservation Officer Diana DuCroz said city personnel agreed that the initial 250-foot exclusion proposal lacked real-time basis. “Obviously, some are bigger, but [a 400-foot garage] is pretty standard for most people. It was just more rational in a way,� DuCroz said of the new proposed exclusion. “We wanted to base it on something that’s actually real and practical. Even if someone wants to build a bigger garage, we would still exclude that standard measure.� However, while Heights homeowner and Commissioner Brie Kelman believes increasing the exclusion is a step in the right direction, she said the basically unchanged Floor Area Ratio is not adequate for many owners in the Heights. “There are a million qualifications for what counts as square See Guidelines P. 7A
In the wake of the ongoing design guidelines saga, it comes as no surprise that the Heights has been rated among the toughest places in which to set down roots. In a recent study by BuildZoom, zip code 77008 (Greater Heights) was deemed the 3rdtoughest area in which for developers to build housing in the Houston Metro area based upon data from 2011-2015. BuildZoom economist Israel Romem said places the study defines as “tough to build in� have seen large increases in demand for housing or people’s willingness to pay for that housing and have not seen a proportional response in terms of the amount of housing available. According to Buildzoom’s study, the toughest-tobuild places tend to be in the inner suburbs, such as the Heights. Local land use rules BuildZoom study considereds variety of data points that typically codify aputs The Historic Heights on as taboo dense the “tough to build� list for the c o n s t r u c t i o n Houston Metro area. outside of downtowns and in the vicinity of transit hubs. Because inner suburbs have been around longer than more distant suburbs, the inner suburbs are more likely to have depleted their supply of vacant lots, leaving no room for “acceptable� new construction. “The tell-tale signs are large increases in housing prices but small increases in amount of housing in the area while those spaces are expansive, and that’s agnostic to the reason it’s tough to build, whether it be geography or manmade with restrictions made at the local level,� Romem said. Seeing as much of the land in the Heights is covered by other housing or other land uses that do not permit new construction (such as parkland or non-residential land uses), Romem said builders are less likely to build in these spots, and will not stray from the norms of low-density construction when they do. In the case of 77008 lies a perfect example of local restrictions Romem referenced — the still-ongoing discussions over a set of guidelines for building in the Heights’ three historic districts, stretching from 20th Street to the north and 4th Street to the south, west to Ashland Street and Oxford to the east. “You’re not going to tear down single-family homes and build apartment buildings in their place. You’re limited to building in those few vacant lots that are still there,� he said. “In these areas, those vacant lots are either completely See Tough Build P. 7A
Piece of history makes its way to 34th and Ella By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader Two weeks ago, the Garden Oaks Facebook page caught fire. The new Willie Nelson mini mural was completed on an old, gray electric stoplight box at the northeast corner of Ella Boulevard and 34th Street, and the new public art was received with enormous enthusiasm. “It’s a lot more entertaining to look at Willie when your stuck in traffic than an awful, ugly utility box,� stated one Facebook poster. “The Willie mural is up-lifting and fun. Our kids love it!� added another. The painting, dubbed a mini mural by the city of Houston, is one of 175, all executed on large, unattractive, roadside electrical boxes. Some works are pretty, others abstract, and a few depict people relevant to the mural’s location. Willie Nelson performed for
several years in the early 1960s at the Esquire Ballroom on Hempstead Highway 2 miles away, (now called Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon). He composed “Night Life� after tending bar one night, and debuted his tune “Crazy� on the Esquire Ballroom’s stage. “Crazy� was later made famous by Patsy Cline. There’s more. For 40 years, the famous boot maker, Rocky Carroll, who died only two months ago, worked in the boot shop across the street from the new mural. Carroll often made boots for Nelson; they were long-time friends. Willie is an easy going, live-and-let-live sort with a great sense of humor, and a Texassized helping of talent. Basically, he is the human equivalent of the near northside. The murals are a public-private effort launched by the city in the charge of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the department of public works, the Houston
Arts Alliance and management districts. About 40 percent have been privately funded. Nelson is one of them. “We decided to tie our mural to Texas Music,� stated Chris Hotze, the underwriter and developer of the the new “33&1/3 @ Thirthyfourth� retail center at Ella and 34th (Hotze’s daughter took the photo of Willie used as the model for the work). When Nelson started his career, many records were designed to be played at 33&1/3rd RPMs – a reference to both the native son’s early albums and the physical address of the new development. “The project managers brought us the idea of Willie, and we loved it,� Hotze continued. “Still, I had no idea the feedback would be so positive.� Mural project mangers and married couple Elia and Noah See Mural P. 7A
Photo provided by UP Art Studio Shown here is the mural of Willie Nelson on the stoplight box at 34th and Ella, underwritten by Chris Hotze of 33 1/3 @ Thirtyfourth.
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