Demand a Vote!
The proposed Design Guidelines severely restrict what you can do with your property. That includes restoration, rehabilitation, additions, exterior alterations, new construction, relocation and even the demolition of what's known as "contributing structures," which are essentially the buildings that are preserved as playing a key role in maintaining the historic character of the district.
We
think you should have a vote in them. To that end, we have created an online
petition. We will take your affirmation by signature about wanting a vote,
and any comments, to City Council.
HISTORY
Back in 2010-11, the City of Houston's Historic Preservation Ordinance went into place, designating 19 different historic districts throughout the city. Now there are 22 districts. 5 of these historic districts are actually in the Heights: Houston Heights East, West, South, Norhill, and Woodland Heights, not including nearby Freeland and Germantown.
The goal is to have a reference for what specifically constitutes appropriate construction or alteration within the districts.
Well, after over a year and a half of working with the Heights community, the City of Houston's drafted design guidelines for Houston Heights Historic Districts (East, West, and South) are now available.
These guidelines will mean major changes for the Heights! In short, they will tighten additions, improvements, and new construction.
I encourage you to check out this post on our Rediscovering Houston blog for a detailed breakdown of the significance of the guidelines.
You should have gotten to review the guidelines to decide if you wanted these restrictions BEFORE you were asked to sign up for historic district. Since you were not given that opportunity, we hope Council will allow you to decide now that the restrictions are going to have a big impact on what you can do with your property.
Since your property is affected by the Guidelines, we think you should get a vote!
Updates
June 22, 2017
We have reached one hundred signatures. I am compiling this data to present as a formal request for a public vote at the upcoming City Council meeting.
Reached 100 supporters
June 20, 2017
77 Comments
historic district formation requires 67% property owners......we have not yet had a vote on the Heights South. City Council needs to redo the authorization. Without that, they should not have the power to commit the owners to guidelines.....since that violates districting requirements.
Address shown below is of the rental property I own in the Historic District - not my residence. I purchased it two years ago after reviewing the publicly available design guidelines, which did not address FAR or square footage limits. The new guidelines will cause my property value to decrease
Although a lot of the proposed guidelines are in-line, there are many flaws in these proposed guidelines that will hurt, not help, the look of the Heights. We are all for preservation, but there's a more natural way to make the segueway from our past to our present more seamless.
We live just outside the historic district in Woodland Heights and believe the people in the area should be allowed to vote. This affects property values for the entire neighborhood. Our 1925 home was once considered a tear-down and the changes we made to save it would not have passed the current guidelines.
We Heights residents want to preserve what's left of the historic aspects of our neighborhood. But we also believe we're the best judges of how to accomplish that, since we're the experts on what works, and doesn't, work here. In this instance, home rule is the best rule
I believe these guidelines are far too restrictive and will decrease my enjoyment of my property and property value.
I believe these guidelines are far too restrictive. We should be able to vote on any changes.
Sign Petition
We never post to your account. Social sign-in is used only to verify your signature.
Add a comment?
Your signature will be added via . Tell others why you're signing — it's optional.
By signing, you accept iPetitions Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Share Petition
Don't stop at signing, share the petition link with friends to multiply our impact
Copy link or share directly
Demand a Vote!
The proposed Design Guidelines severely restrict what you can do with your property. That includes restoration, rehabilitation, additions, exterior alterations, new construction, relocation and even the demolition of what's known as "contributing structures," which are essentially the buildings that are preserved as playing a key role in maintaining the historic character of the district.
We
think you should have a vote in them. To that end, we have created an online
petition. We will take your affirmation by signature about wanting a vote,
and any comments, to City Council.
HISTORY
Back in 2010-11, the City of Houston's Historic Preservation Ordinance went into place, designating 19 different historic districts throughout the city. Now there are 22 districts. 5 of these historic districts are actually in the Heights: Houston Heights East, West, South, Norhill, and Woodland Heights, not including nearby Freeland and Germantown.
The goal is to have a reference for what specifically constitutes appropriate construction or alteration within the districts.
Well, after over a year and a half of working with the Heights community, the City of Houston's drafted design guidelines for Houston Heights Historic Districts (East, West, and South) are now available.
These guidelines will mean major changes for the Heights! In short, they will tighten additions, improvements, and new construction.
I encourage you to check out this post on our Rediscovering Houston blog for a detailed breakdown of the significance of the guidelines.
You should have gotten to review the guidelines to decide if you wanted these restrictions BEFORE you were asked to sign up for historic district. Since you were not given that opportunity, we hope Council will allow you to decide now that the restrictions are going to have a big impact on what you can do with your property.
Since your property is affected by the Guidelines, we think you should get a vote!
Updates
June 22, 2017
We have reached one hundred signatures. I am compiling this data to present as a formal request for a public vote at the upcoming City Council meeting.
Reached 100 supporters
June 20, 2017
77 Comments
These new guidelines go far beyond defining the current historic guidelines. They create many more outrageous restrictions that we did not plan on when we moved here. We need to move beyond the fear of development and make sure it is done smartly, not by creating artificial size comstraints that will force out young families like mine that would like to stay in the heignts.
historic district formation requires 67% property owners......we have not yet had a vote on the Heights South. City Council needs to redo the authorization. Without that, they should not have the power to commit the owners to guidelines.....since that violates districting requirements.
Address shown below is of the rental property I own in the Historic District - not my residence. I purchased it two years ago after reviewing the publicly available design guidelines, which did not address FAR or square footage limits. The new guidelines will cause my property value to decrease
Although a lot of the proposed guidelines are in-line, there are many flaws in these proposed guidelines that will hurt, not help, the look of the Heights. We are all for preservation, but there's a more natural way to make the segueway from our past to our present more seamless.
We live just outside the historic district in Woodland Heights and believe the people in the area should be allowed to vote. This affects property values for the entire neighborhood. Our 1925 home was once considered a tear-down and the changes we made to save it would not have passed the current guidelines.
We Heights residents want to preserve what's left of the historic aspects of our neighborhood. But we also believe we're the best judges of how to accomplish that, since we're the experts on what works, and doesn't, work here. In this instance, home rule is the best rule
I believe these guidelines are far too restrictive and will decrease my enjoyment of my property and property value.
I believe these guidelines are far too restrictive. We should be able to vote on any changes.
Help this petition grow
Share it with friends to help reach 250 signatures.
Sign Petition
We never post to your account. Social sign-in is used only to verify your signature.
Add a comment?
Your signature will be added via .
Tell others why you're signing — it's optional.
Signing with Google or Facebook verifies your signature instantly — no email needed.
By signing, you accept iPetitions Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Share Petition
Don't stop at signing, share the petition link with friends to multiply our impact
Petitions like this
Other petitions you might want to support
Scan to share
Anyone who scans this can sign the petition.
These new guidelines go far beyond defining the current historic guidelines. They create many more outrageous restrictions that we did not plan on when we moved here. We need to move beyond the fear of development and make sure it is done smartly, not by creating artificial size comstraints that will force out young families like mine that would like to stay in the heignts.