Some neighbors of the Annunciation Orthodox School and cathedral in Montrose are not too happy about the institutions’ plans to build a parking lot on the site of an apartment complex at the corner of Yoakum and Marshall it tore down a year or so ago. But Clifford Pugh suspects even more pavement may be on the horizon:
Even though the lot is prohibited under the deed restrictions, representatives from the school told residents at a meeting last week they plan to proceed anyway. “Our interpretation is that the deed restrictions are not valid and not enforceable,†a school official said.
Actually, the deed restrictions allow the school to petition residents for an exemption. But that would set a precedent I believe the school doesn’t want to acknowledge. It owns several other homes in the area and I suspect officials are itching to tear them down in the future, too. Between the school and the church, they’ve already torn down the equivalent of a block-and-a-half of housing to make way for parking lots — but there’s always room for more.
Photo: Clifford Pugh
“Our interpretation is that the deed restrictions are not valid and not enforceable,†a school official said.
HA! Good way to foster good will!
AOS is no friend to The Montrose. Their cars block the roads and they disregard pedestrians and residents.
Once, at one of the WAMM/AOS meetings an AOS momma said “I know it must be hard for you in the neighborhood to see us coming through in our cars. You probably feel like puppies with your noses pressed up against the glass”
“Let them eat cake” in other words.
AOS is probably moving forward seeing if anybody will enforce the deed restrictions in court (or at the Planning Commission if the project has to go there).
This is the major downfall to deed restrictions, but also it’s good side. It forces the community to defend itself and it punishes apathy.
Yoakum and Marshall is not exactly in the middle of a residential neighborhood. No one objected when La Colombe d’Or put in a parking lot a couple of blocks north so why would anyone object to this? The University of St. Thomas has done the same thing. As di the Menil on West Alabama. No one complained about houses being torn down. But apparently
are going to complain about an apartment complex being torn down for a parking lot.
Amazing. It will probably be the last for the church and the next major project will probably be a hirise parking garage which is what the university finally put up. You cano only expand just so much. And both the university and the church are what you call “landlocked” at this point.
As for the deed restrictions, well if they begi to move into the residential neighborhood I would imagine they will find the deed restrictions do matter.
As for the obnoxious drivers, well, some are heading to and from the university as well.
Yoakum isn’t exactly pedestrian friendly between Richmond and Westheimer. As anyone who walks and crosses Yoakum at any point already knows.
Matt-
Deed restrictions are the key. AOS wants to ignore restrictions that are already in place, on that plot of land! It doesn’t matter if the plot is empty, a house, or on the moon. The restrictions must be enforced.
I have no idea if the Colombe D’Or lot was deed restricted or not. St Thomas is not in WAMM (That is Westehimer, Alabama, Montrose, Mulberry) so they would not be covered by these deed restrictions in any case.
Once you stop enforcing some deed restrictions without getting neighborhood approval, (It is only a parking lot for a Church!) you lose the ability to enforce any deed restrictions.
As to the drivers, they are waiting for their little brats to come out of school. As to the comment, it was the mother of one of the aforementioned brats.
Actually Yoakum and Marshall is in the middle of a residential neighborhood. No one is ‘complaining’ about the demolition of the apartment complex, that’s already been done. The complaint is the potential disregard of the restrictive covenants of a deed restricted piece of land. Deed restrictions do matter since this property is part of the neighborhood.
Parents dropping off their brats are the worst, clear the streets….seriously??? In our neighborhood the cars pass in slow motion as pedestrian parents and children near the school.
Can anybody state what exact violation of the deed restrictions will occur?
There is a difference between not liking what’s happening on a piece a property and whether it’s violating deed restrictions.
It was mentioned above the parking lot is prohibited, but before it was an apartment complex that would likely be prohibited if the restrictions were in place prior to the apartments being constructed. It also may be something in regards to who it building the parking lot. There may be an exemption for tax exempt entities such as a school and particularly a religious school.
Here are the deed restrictions:
http://www.wammcivic.org/documents/deedrestrictions.pdf
AOS is not saying they are exempt from the deed restrictions, they are saying that the deeed restrictions are invalid because the required majority of property owners did not sign the petition.
From what I understand from my WAMM friends, AOS is wrong. But it sounds like they are going to force WAMM to take legal action.
Such good neighbors!
The apartment building was extant when the deed restrictions were filed.
Since the apartment complex was their prior to the creation of the deed restrictions, then they would have had to be a signer of the original petition to be included. If the property owner didn’t sign the restrictions, then restriction don’t apply. At least that’s what I get out of actually reading the deed restrictions. Some correct me if I’m wrong.
kbj-
Yes, that is correct. That lot needs a replatting, which requires a public hearing. It is not a deed restriction issue.
vr
Ok,
So all the deed restriction barking is useless because it doesn’t apply.
Pretty much it’ll just be a rowdy Planning Commission meeting if they have to re-plat.
I don’t think they necessarily have to replat unless they are changing driveways.
Oh wait, just found out they are re-platting.
So a rowdy Planning Commission session will follow.
kjb-
There are two issues:
1. AOS wants to put in a parking lot. This is prohibited by the deed restrictions. AOS is not replating.
2. The Childcare place wants to replat. This needs a Planning Commission meeting.
I agree, the meeting should be interesting.
vr
Make them give the street back before allowing them to build a parking lot.,
And what in the world does this ridiculous woman mean?
AOS momma said “I know it must be hard for you in the neighborhood to see us coming through in our cars. You probably feel like puppies with your noses pressed up against the glassâ€
Never have I seen a single person picking up students there that I would ever consider worth envy. They seem a fairly common bunch.
Hey just like the Hans Bier Haus was there so was the Church which the school grew from. I remember when the neighborhood was going down and people were leaving Montrose by the droves. That’s when all the apartments went up. As for the Ashby high-rise, well do you think the developers are going to build it in the worst part of Houston and charge high rent.They want the well helled tenents. Get real! Our city, which we live in does not have zoning laws, they did this to stop corruption. Stop signaling out AOS! They have been good neighbors to you and they have helped in improving the neighborhood, talk to people who have lived there during the down times.