October 19, 2009 – 4:02 pm
The Chronicle sneaks a general question about “land-use restrictions” into its Zogby-run poll of likely voters for the city’s November elections. “Out of 601 people surveyed between Oct. 12 and 15, 71 percent said they strongly or somewhat agree that ‘Houston should enact tougher land use restrictions.’” [Houston Chronicle; details]
Read more about: Development Restrictions, Polls, Zoning
“West University Place’s Zoning and Planning Commission recommended a proposal Monday night to be sent to City Council, which includes a zoning ordinance amendment that would allow driveway stubs and parking areas in front of homes on Buffalo Speedway. A 2003 amendment allowed such driveways on Kirby, Bellaire/Holcombe and Bissonnet, but not Buffalo Speedway. Upon moving to West University Place from the Champions area, [Belma] de Berardinis immediately forecasted a traffic snarl in front of her home and tore up her front lawn with the intent of building a paved maneuvering area. City officials delivered the news that, under West U. law, this was not permitted. De Berardinis had the lawn replaced and every morning . . . confronted angry motorists as she made the dangerous drive in reverse onto traffic.” [West University Examiner]
Read more about: 77005, Development Restrictions, Parking, West University, Zoning
“You are the first line of defense against these deceptively beautiful, but deadly invaders in our midst,” warns the Bellaire Examiner.
Who is this evil interloper? The Chinese Tallow Tree. Don’t get caught harboring one of these nasties on your property.
Yeah, it’s a bad tree. Because it takes over and forces out other plants, right?
Chinese tallow alters light availability for other plant species. Fallen tallow leaves contain toxins that create unfavorable soil conditions for native plant species. Chinese tallow will outcompete native plant species, reducing habitat for wildlife as well as forage areas for livestock.
This alarming description is from a website on invasive species put together by the Houston Advanced Research Center and the TCEQ’s Galveston Bay Estuary Program. But read carefully between the lines and you’ll realize that to the authors, the Chinese Tallow isn’t just an alien invader—it’s proof that Houston needs land-use controls:
Chinese tallow will transform native habitats into monospecific (single species) tallow forests in the absence of land management practices.
Do these folks realize what they’re advocating? Let’s hope they stick to gardening and stay out of urban planning. No telling what they’d do if they got hold of Houston’s development regulations.
Photo: Flickr user ultraviolet_catastrophe
Read more about: Chinese Tallow, Gardening, Invasive Plants, Land Use Restrictions, Landscape, Trees, Zoning
Comment of the Day: How We Beat the Zoning Boards
“. . . I’ll have to plead the 5th as to how I came to understand this, but let it be known that city councils and P&Z boards can be bought over quite easily. All it takes is for a developer to contract the consulting services of a well-connected ex-councilmember at some ludicrious price and send him to town with a five-figure entertainment budget (which sounds like a lot, but isn’t in the scope of a $50 mil. project); meanwhile, the developer ensures that their first renderings contain a few blatantly offensive architectural features that the targeted politicians can criticize. The developer makes the changes requested (which they would’ve made anyway) so as that the targeted politicians can save face with their constituents. And the really dangerous part of all this is that once a politician is clearly in your pocket, it’s hard for them to say no to just about anything else in the future so long as the developer provides them with a mechanism to save face. . . .” [TheNiche, commenting on Ashby Highrise Loses Appeal]