City of Houston

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So exciting…these arrived in Richwood Place Today!

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We’re going greener! Way to go, everyone. Thanks, especially to our Recycle team who have been so faithful about putting the reminder signs out. A huge thank you to longtime resident and recycle extraordinaire Liuda Flores for making all of the signs.

Have a great weekend and make plans to join us at our final General meeting of 2013, Tuesday evening, 7-8pm at Zoes Kitchen.
We will elect board members for 2014. We are limited to 3 terms in any position. And, welcome new folks getting involved. See you all soon.

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It’s that time again…

Texas celebrates National Night Out in October again this year this coming Tuesday, October 1. And, Richwood Place is having a party in the 1800 block of Norfolk from 6-8pm.

Details on the card below. You should also receive one in your mailbox by the end of the week. Plan to come out…dance…eat…meet your neighbors and enjoy a good time. Please say a big thanks to our neighborhood sponsors: Papa Mio, Cliff Helmcamp (GREENWOOD KING PROPERTIES ), Jerry Blum (HERITAGE TEXAS PROPERTIES), REPRINT!, David Houston (NEW LEAF REAL ESTATE) and the Richwood Place Civic Association.

Richwood Place Natl Night Out

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How The Minimum Lot Size is working to better Richwood Place and why you should be working hard to protect your block

The following is an Opinion Piece written by current President of Richwood Place Civic Association, Rebekah Maddux El-Hakam
 
What is the Minimum Lot Size/ Setback?
The City of Houston allows for blocks and blockfaces to apply for minimum lot size and building line standards that will apply to ALL properties on the block by City Ordinance for a minimum of 20 years. The standard essentially takes a picture of the current block and makes a determination based on what the majority of the block looks like. Most of the blocks with this protection in our neighborhood have a minimum lot size of 6250 (meaning no lot can be subdivided to be smaller than 6250 sq. feet unless it is already smaller) and a setback of 20 feet (from the property line, which is on the house side of the sidewalk) 
 
Why did so many Richwood Place blocks (9 blockfaces) apply for this and receive this protection?
Many of the properties within Richwood Place are deed restricted, however some are not deed restricted.  Our deed restrictions allow for the original property to be subdivided and 2 homes built in it’s place. Typically, how we see this developed in our neighborhood is through 2 side-by-side townhouses. This offered us many protections and we were able to save much of the quality of life for our neighborhood. However, having some excluded properties did not give our neighborhood stability and assurances to be able to really improve on developments in our neighborhood and encourage high quality builders to invest here and build one home in the place of one home. A non-deed restricted property can be developed in many ways that are a detriment to the quality of life in a neighborhood, as long as they can obtain permits by the City of Houston. Meaning, if a car mechanic wanted to open in Richwood Place on a non-deed restricted, non-minimum lot size protected lot, they could do so, if they met the requirements for the necessary permits. This is too much of a question mark on our neighborhood. We had to do something.  
 
What impact does the Minimum Lot Size have? In recent years the city of Houston gave us another option. We were able to protect 9 blockfaces with the minimum lot size/ building line protection through the city of Houston planning department and by City of Houston Code of Ordinances. The protection effects use. Only Single Family homes can be developed in the place of a single family home or on a vacant lot, protecting the future of the non-deed restricted properties and those around them. We have seen the fruits of our labor. Property after property are being restored and/or torn down and replaced by homes selling for over 1 million dollars. As a whole, our neighborhood is happy with the majority of townhouse developments of the past, however, blocks that don’t have a minimum lot size standard have the potential to be developed as all townhouses, changing the fabric of our entire neighborhood, removing street parking, adding to drainage problems and lowering the values of the existing townhouses and homes.  We know that the minimum lot size has added substantial value to existing properties as it encourages developers to develop knowing that there is certainty in what can and can’t be built next door. 
 
Is my block protected under the Minimum Lot Size/ Setback Ordinance through the City of Houston?
If you live on a block in Richwood Place and are not sure if your property is protected with the minimum lot size/ building line, please contact Rebekah. My contact information is on this site. We have 1 block that is currently obtaining signatures and needs to act fast if they are going to receive this protection. Occasionally there are those who will argue that we should just let developers determine what they want to do and we shouldn’t tell anyone what to do with their property. I personally value my quality of life and that of my neighbors more than what some random developer may want to do with a lot to make a quick buck. Certainty, in this case, has improved on quality. Our actions have, in fact, made a huge positive impact on our neighborhood. 
 
Where is the proof? 
Look over the following properties to see what is and has been developed as a result of the minimum lot size. These developments are all a result of the minimum lot size/ building line protection. It is AMAZING to see what is happening with the blocks that are protected.

  

1853 Lexington- Inner Loop Architecture chose 2 lots to build one exquisite home. This home has a buyer and according to neighbors, is priced above 1.2 million
ImagePhoto from InnerLoopArchitecture.com -rendering of corner property under construction at corner of Hazard and Lexington
 
In the 1800 Block of Norfolk: 1850 Norfolk, Carol Isaak Barden chose our neighborhood to build the Suyama House sold for an undisclosed amount over 1 million
 
In the 1800 Block of Portsmouth : 1807 Portsmouth , new construction by Yigal Kass with Crestview Homes, 1.4 million listed price
 
In the 1900 Block of Norfolk : 1911 Norfolk, pending sale, 1.2 million
 
In the 1800 Block of Norfolk: 1811 Norfolk was an original home in terrible shape, completely gutted and redone from the studs resulting in a gorgeous, completely remodeled, original home
 
In the 1900 Block of Lexington: 1954 Lexington a completely restored original 1930s home
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A Reminder about Parking in Houston

We have recently experienced an increase in illegal parking within our neighborhood. The most common infraction is illegally blocking the sidewalk. (City of Houston, APK-13 Blocking or parking on sidewalk- $40) And, many cars are parking in City of Houston “no parking” zones, out of the street, but still in the public right-of-way. There have been increased patrols by Parking Management. If you have been parking illegally, now would be a good time to find a legal place to park in your driveway or on the public street. Remember, don’t block the sidewalk. If your neighbor parks illegally, send them to this post as a gentle reminder. The reminder here will be better than any citation. Hopefully they will thank you for it!

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National Night Out 2012 in Richwood Place

Thank you to all of you who participated, donated time to and came out to be a part of Texas National Night Out 2012. We had a great time! Special thanks to the Bakers and Stefaniaks for hosting. You are the best! And, to Eric for letting us use his driveway as the perfect “stage” for the second year in a row. Thank you to Ruth Adams and the Board of the Richwood Place Civic Association for planning, and reaching out to our local government and US government leaders and inviting them to our community event. Thank you to US Congressman, Ted Poe, for attending our event. Thank you to Ellen Cohen’s office for your attendance as well. Thank you to HFD Fire Station 16! We love having you in our neighborhood and really appreciate you taking the time to come out to our events. Many thanks to our great sponsors, Ash Rowell and Duff Beer. You are amazing! Zoes Kitchen. Thank you for the yummy bites. Reprint!- thanks for the great work you do. Here are a few pictures from tonight’s National Night Out in Richwood Place. Thank you again to all of you who came out tonight. Our community is better because of each of you. Thank you. 

National Night Out 2012

National Night Out 2012

National Night Out 2012

Fire Station 16 and Richwood Place Neighbors

Allen Oldies Band- 2012

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Planning Meeting Today at 230 City Hall Annex

Dear Neighbors,
The City of Houston deferred considering the request for a variance of the setback requirement for the Audi dealership along Greenbriar at Lexington until today. They are set to consider the variance request at 230 today at City Hall Annex.
If you are interested in how this development will impact our neighborhood, please attend or call let the city of Houston know your concerns.
Very sincerely,
Rebekah

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Neighborhood Block Party and Membership Drive this Monday night

RICHWOOD PLACE NEIGHBORHOOD

BLOCK PARTY

Monday, May 7, 2012

6pm-8pm

1800 Block of Lexington

Southeast Corner of Hazard and Lexington

*POTLUCK DINNER

Bring something yummy to share with your neighbors

*We will not be grilling this time

*bring lawn chairs if you would like to sit

RPCA will provide drinks

Current 2012 RPCA members will be entered to

win the raffle (drawing at 7:45pm)

2012 Dues are $50, please join today by visiting http://www.richwoodplace.org

Or, you can join by check at the event

We hope to see you and your neighbors Monday night!

RICHWOOD PLACE- Corner of Hazard and Lexington

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First General Meeting of the Year this Tuesday!

Please Join us this Tuesday, February 21 for our first General Meeting of the year at Zoe’s Kitchen. 7pm

I met with our District C Council Member, Ellen Cohen earlier this week about several ongoing and some new issues in our neighborhood. A few of these issues include: street reconstruction, drainage, sidewalks, graffiti, installation of proper drainage of the soccer field at Chew Park, crime, ongoing issues at Hazard and Richmond, and more. Please come to the meeting and be a part of the discussion and let us know how we can work together to make Richwood Place an even better neighborhood in 2012.

Meetings are open to all current members of the civic association. If you have not paid dues in 2012, please do so at the meeting OR online here: http://www.richwoodplace.org

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Rebekah Maddux El-Hakam
President, Richwood Place Civic Association