Month: May 2011

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Cilantro Dip Recipe!

Many of you requested the recipe for the cilantro dip shared by Jim Sampson at the neighborhood block party.  By popular demand, here it is.  Enjoy!

Cilantro Dip

2             *Bunches cilantro (3 if they are small)
1             Cup corn oil
1             Slice onion
1 or 2     Garlic pods
1             Egg (raw)
8             Teaspoons vinegar
1 ½         **Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
1             Pinch sugar

Just put it all in a blender and mixed at high speed

*Break off the long ends of the stalks just below the leaves and put the rest in (too much stalk will make it bitter)

**The Knorr product comes in a little yellow box and can be found at Fiesta.  The original recipe called for 2 cubes, but this was too salty for my taste.

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Richwood Place, A Post about Deed Restrictions

According to the City of Houston Planning Department, our neighborhood was originally platted in 1924. At that time, and as the neighborhood developed, there were deed restrictions encumbering  most, if not all of the properties that had an improvement, i.e. a single family home built. There have been many changes since that time. Most notably, the vast majority of the original deed restrictions lapsed according to their terms.  Recently, in the early 90s, neighbors and particularly the Civic Association began working to again form deed restrictions that would apply to the properties within our boundaries indefinitely and ultimately preserve the residential character of the neighborhood. They did this under Chapter 201 of the Texas Property Code. http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Neighborhood/docs_pdfs/Chapter201Chart.pdf

Because this process allowed property owners to exclude their properties from the restrictions, we do have a handful of properties within our neighborhood that are not deed restricted. We have entire blocks that are 100% deed restricted and other blocks that have 2 or 3 excluded properties. One of our goals as a Civic Association outlined in our bylaws is to encourage property owners to sign on to the deed restrictions, which offers certainty and security to themselves, future owners and neighbors. If you are concerned about an activity that may violate deed restrictions, do not hesitate to contact the deed restriction committee chair, Brian Kilpatrick (brianbkil@gmail.com) or the President of the Civic Association, Rebekah Maddux El-Hakam (elrebekah@gmail.com).

As a side note, the majority of our neighborhood now has both the minimum lot size protection and the minimum building line protection through the Houston Planning Department. This sets a standard for the entire block for twenty years concerning what can be developed and where. Properties on blocks that have been approved for this ordinance are not able to opt out of this protection. Our deed restrictions do not allow for structures of any kind, including fences, to be built closer than 20 feet from the front property line. However, a property that is not deed restricted, but is subject to a 20 foot setback by the Minimum Building Line Ordinance can build a fence as long as it does not require a permit (currently, permits are required for fences 8 feet tall or taller or built with masonry) Again, please let Brian or Rebekah know if you have any questions specifically about deed restrictions or any other neighborhood concerns.

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Neighborhood Block Party- May 10, 2011

Thank you to all of the residents who came out last night for the RPCA block party. It was a huge success!

Special thanks to:

the Stefaniaks for co-hosting and grilling some very tasty burgers!

the Bakers for co-hosting and letting us party in your driveway!

my husband for making countless delivery runs between Lexington and Norfolk and helping me with party shopping!

Sue Bailey for designing, printing and distributing the flyers. And, the Board for helping to distribute the flyers.

Jeron Ravin from Councilmember Adams’ Office for attending.

Firestation 16 for making a special trip for the kids and the kid in all of us after a very long day of fighting fires. We are very grateful to you!

And, to each of you for attending and bringing so much food to share! Thanks for paying your 2011 dues. If you would like to pay online visit www.richwoodplace.org and choose “Join Today!” You can pay the minimum of $26 to join online for 2011 or select a larger donation amount. Remember that it is voluntary to join the civic association. By becoming a member you have voting rights and are supporting the civic association by funding neighborhood events, beautification projects, deed restriction enforcement, security and various projects that come up throughout the year.

We appreciate your support. Thank you to all of the Board members for volunteering your time to make a successful party! We hope to see you all again soon.

Sincerely,

Rebekah Maddux El-Hakam

President, Richwood Place Civic Association

*If you have additional photos, please send them to me and I will post them.