CITY NIXES WHITE OAK MUSIC HALL’S DEJA-VU STAGE PERMIT PLAN 
The city isn’t planning to renew a permit for White Oak Music Hall’s temporary-but-kinda-not-temporary outdoor stage once it expires next month, Erin Mulvaney reports this week. Tickets have already been sold for concerts scheduled later in October and November, but the public works department now says that the temporary stage’s operating permit will expire on October 5th when the structure has been up for 180 days — and no, says Mayor Turner, the venue can’t just take the stage down and put it back up again to get a new one, as the developers told Mulvaney they were planning to do. Mulvaney writes that the White Oak folks applied for permits for a planned permanent outdoor stage several times in the winter and spring, but took a break from resubmitting after the plans failed code review a few times; another set of application materials was submitted last Wednesday. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo of White Oak Music Hall’s temporary stage during setup in April: Swamplot inbox
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But the real question is… why wouldn’t they want to build a permanent stage in the first place? Because then it would force them to comply with certain noise ordinances and parking regulations which they are currently not violating with a temporary stage. They have such great connections within city government to pull off major events that I’m surprised the city is even considering not re-newing their permit to have a temporary stage.
Good! The city should have never let that happen to that neighborhood. It’s about time a politician in this town sided with residents rather than tax revenue that drives away quality residents in good neighborhoods (see Terry Fisher monstrosities).
I’m glad to hear that Mayor Turner was able to ixnay the “let’s take it down, wait 5 minutes, and then put it up again” ploy to get another temporary permit. To his credit, he understands that the spirit of the law would be violated if not the letter by that move.
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And, I’m in agreement with others that the owners have had 6 months to get their act together to get a permanent stage designed and approved. Time is up.
Good, Afra and company are total trust fund douchers, who think they’re somehow above the law.
that is all