Houston19514
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Posts posted by Houston19514
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I guess I don't understand your question. I don't know why one would take a "stance" if they didn't intend to try to "justify" it. I would like to see your counterarguments showing me where I am wrong... What about Houston's development is different from other similarly-situated cities, that can reasonably be attributed to the lack of zoning. I am well aware of what zoning means. There has been nothing whatever in my posts to suggest otherwise. And regarding your statements that zoning can allow for mixed use, I already alluded to that fact in my earlier post, but thank you for the clarification. But again, a "mixed-use" zoning, without the proper building regulations, setback requirements, etc. will NOT necessarily result in a pedestrian-oriented urban environment. Montrose is already the epitome of mixed-use.
If I may add to my "stance", what I am saying is that zoning is neither necessary nor sufficient to achieve good urban planning. I want to make clear that I am NOT arguing against all land-use or building regulations or urban planning. I am not really even arguing against the concept of zoning. I am merely arguing for a realistic view of what zoning can and cannot achieve and also, more to the point, a realistic accounting of the results of the lack of zoning. If you will recall, this exchange was started by your statement: "Oh, so zoning lets you tear down houses -build a gas station and a pawn shop right next to an existing house in the middle of a residential area?" I am still waiting for your examples.
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I don't know why you are trying to justify your stance. Zoning and Urban planning can often work in unison. Here is the definition of zoning from Dictionary.com
ZONING: An area or a region distinguished from adjacent parts by a distinctive feature or characteristic.
If you want to zone mixed use projects in the zone you CAN- the zoning laws can be what ever you make of them. It's not always a straight residential/ Industrial/ Commercial Zone. Oh, and freeways can be zoned- stretches of 288 are- they must retain their natural apperance, 45, 59, 610 are not and you see what you get- ask anyone if this type of development is attractive.
And about the museum district- it is the only part of the city that actually has any true charm- the museums, the meacom fountain circle on axis with the statue of Sam Houston, etc. My point is that there is NOTHING stopping someone from buiding what ever they want assuming they purchase the land. Luckily the MFA owns some of the lots behind the Glassel but that 's not the point.
Nothing has been implemented to protect and preserve the Museum District by means of zoning or urban planning or whatever else you want to call it.
Yes, this city does have MANY urban planning projects in the works (Main Street Corridor, Bayou Plan, Downtown 2025, etc). Unfortunately, the city has no power to actually see any of it's visions implemented.
Exactly what "stance" is it you think I am trying to "justify"?
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Houston 19514, if you believe that Houston is a fine, shining, example of urban planning then that's fine- I respect your opinion. The truth is that most people who "actually" study and do this for a living actually cringe at what could have been and what has become reality for this city. And I'm not even going to go into the environmental implications. Frank Llyoyd Wright once likened our city to an STD- something that grossly grows out of control.
Now back to Montrose- It was originally created as a street car suburb (yes- tracks of mass transit went here) and was named after a town in Scotland. Most of the houses have since been torn down, some renovated, I'm not saying the ecclectic feel of today's "Montrose" is bad - I'm just saying the city has nothing in place to preserve the intended character of urban planning. A lot of hard work goes into trying to create this 'sense of place'
This is evident in Midtown- how can you design with an intention of pedestrian frieldy areas if there is nothing stopping someone from building a CVS that kills all momentum.
All of Houston should not be zoned- only a small portion to preserve the romanticism the area is trying to create. I mean do you think a giant discount furniture store should belong next to the MFA?
With regard to your first sentence, of course you know I never said any such thing. We were talking about zoning, not urban planning. There is a difference. A city can have either one without the other. What I do think, though, is that Houston is an example of how little real difference is made by the lack of zoning. The differences between Houston and other similarly-situated cities are more the result of frontage roads, billboards and signage ordinances and other non-zoning matters.
Regarding your tangential discussion of Montrose, I would like to see the city do a better job of encouraging pedestrian-quality development as well. But that is not really a matter of zoning. Zoning merely tells us what KIND of activity can be conducted on a certain property (and very often requires only ONE kind of activity per property, thus eliminating the mixed-use development that we'd like to see to create an urban, pedestrian-oriented environment). Other land-use regulations, building codes, etc. impose other requirements on developments, such as building setback requirements, parking-space requirements, etc. Houston has such regulations. Unfortunately, in areas such as Montrose, Medical Center, Midtown, the requirements often seem to be the WRONG requirements. You can overlay all the zoning you want, but if you don't change the parking and setback requirements, you aren't going to get any more of a pedestrian environment than you have now.
Regarding your last sentence... IS there a giant discount furniture store next to the MFAH? If there is, I've never noticed it. You are sort of making my point for me with that comment. One would think that only in a city with zoning could one have as lovely an area of town as the Museum District, with virtually no intrusion by discount stores. But there it is, right there in the middle of the nation's largest unzoned city, with nary a discount furniture store to be seen...
Overall, then, since you completely avoided the point, I guess I'll mark you done as agreeing that the myth that developers all over Houston tear down single family houses in the middle of residential neighborhoods to replace them with gasoline stations and pawn shops next door to homes is just that... a myth.
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Can you give me a specific example, or two or three, where houses were torn down, replaced with a gas station and pawn shop, right next to an existing house in the middle of a residential area?
I'm not saying it has never happened, but I personally can't think of any. (But I am handicapped by not living in Houston).
It would seem rather odd for any businessman to think that the middle of a residential area would be a good place to operate a gas station, or a pawn shop for that matter.
If by "in the middle of a residential area" you really meant "on an arterial street at the edge of a residential area", well, yes, that is allowed in zoned cities, and happens quite regularly.
Would it be fair to presume that, since nobody (including Shasta) has posted even ONE example, perhaps this is more urban myth than fact? I wish we could put these myths about the effects of no-zoning to rest.
Another one that deserves a decent burial is the myth that Houston has high-rise office towers rising next door to single-family residences. I have previously asked for examples of this phenomenon (which is oft-repeated in the Houston media AND on GlassSteelandSone.com).
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You need to check out the west wing of Memorial City Mall. The only place you'll find more designer names is the Galleria. If that's not upper end, then please educate me.
What designer names are you referring to? I just looked over the directory for Memorial City Mall and none jumped out at me.
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What is the source of this drawing? Just because someone has a map posted on the internet with some possible highway routes drawn on it does not mean that any "highway planners" have actually made plans for such a road.
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Oh, so zoning lets you tear down houses -build a gas station and a pawn shop right next to an existing house in the middle of a residential area?
Please educate me???
Can you give me a specific example, or two or three, where houses were torn down, replaced with a gas station and pawn shop, right next to an existing house in the middle of a residential area?
I'm not saying it has never happened, but I personally can't think of any. (But I am handicapped by not living in Houston).
It would seem rather odd for any businessman to think that the middle of a residential area would be a good place to operate a gas station, or a pawn shop for that matter.
If by "in the middle of a residential area" you really meant "on an arterial street at the edge of a residential area", well, yes, that is allowed in zoned cities, and happens quite regularly.
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I just ran across the latest occupancy numbers for downtown Houston hotels:
For the month of May: 63.9%, up from 50.8% one year ago.
For the year to date (through May 31): 58.3%, up from 55.1% in 2004.
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I admit that the Shoppes name is obnoxious and purile. I'm not a big fan of the name Times Square either. I would've prefered something more indigenous to the area, like Grand Parkway Square, Kingsland Square or something similar. Not all that exciting maybe but more a propos to the area.
I can't find the word "purile" in my dictionary. Can you define for us please?
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It would be nice if some of the older smaller buildings that may have low occupancy or are abandoned could be converted to resonably priced units. This could possibly create a strong residential base and possibly more retail which could make these larger buildings possible. This could also possibly help save older buildings. Houston has already torn down enough of its history.
I'm curious; what abandoned and low-occupancy buildings do you have in mind for conversion to residential?
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Some of you need to try actually reading the article. Nowhere does it say that this system will attempt to predict the occurrence or location of accidents. It merely attempts to predict congestion based on evaluations of historical and recurring trends. Seems very reasonable and do-able.
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I currently live in Oklahoma
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Okay, why is Foley's still opening new stores? I know they're also opening a new one in The Shops at La Cantera in SA and plan on opening one in some new retail project in Austin. Is Macy's keeping the Foley's brand around now? I thought they were converting some Foley's to Macy's and closing the rest.
The merger is not complete yet. So in the meantime, it's business as usual for both companies. If everything goes as scheduled, this new "Foley's" store will probably never open as a "Foley's" but will be a Macy's on opening day.
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I am a corporate/business transactional attorney (contracts, mergers, acquisitions, etc). I want to relocate to Houston to continue my practice, either in-house or in a law firm.
Any leads or contacts anyone can offer would be appreciated.
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Weiner's was headquartered in Houston... the company went out of business in 2000
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Foley's parent company (May Company) is merging with Macy's parent company (Federated Department Stores).
I'm not sure exactly how certain it is, but everyone presumes that all Foley's stores will be converted to the Macy's name. As we all know, there is already a Macy's in the Galleria, so there is speculation of what will become of either the current Foley's or the current Macy's. Hopefully, they will bring in Bloomingdale's (also owned by Federated Department Stores) to use the surplus property. The big questions are... will they convert the current Foley's into Macy's and the current Macy's (with its inferior location) to Bloomingdales, or will they keep Macy's where it is and convert the current Foley's into a Bloomingdale's?
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I read somewhere that the Lord and Taylor space at the Galleria will be re-configured into dining and smaller retail shops. The L&T space seems too small to be a Bloomingdale's.
I found it: "The former Lord & Taylor space will feature 100,000 square feet of varied new restaurants, specialty shops and a children's soft play area, according to the Galleria.
The remodeled area, which is expected to be complete by April 2006, will be designed in the same look and feel of the mall, including fixtures, colors and lighting enhancements. "
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I read somewhere that the Lord and Taylor space at the Galleria will be re-configured into dining and smaller retail shops. The L&T space seems too small to be a Bloomingdale's.
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At the very least, Reliant Park should build a pedestrian-friendly walkway between the MetroRail station and the facilities. A pathway lined with shade trees, fountains and sculpture. I think someone on this board suggested moving walkways. That would be excellent and very "Houston-ish". Lining the walkway with retail/residential and hotels would be even better.
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Does anyone else recall this building having been converted to low income housing in the mid-90s? Are you sure you are not thinking of the other former Holiday Inn that is just west of downtown along the Memorial/Allen Parkway corridor? I believe it was converted to housing for the elderly sometime in the mid-to-late 90s. As far as I can remember, the former Holiday Inn/Days Inn/Heaven on Earth Inn has been empty since it was last a hotel, and has never been converted into anything.
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Perhaps Churrascos is not "authentic" Brazilian because it does not even purport to be a Brazilian restaurant.
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As far as the Ritz coming back to Houston, according to Mr. Rehmann, "This will be the only Ritz-Carlton in Texas." (http://www.hotelonline.com/News/2005_May_26/k.DAR.1117204644.html)
LOL So, do you really think Mr. Rehmann meant that "this will be the only Ritz-Carlton in Texas". . . for all time? Or do you suppose he MIGHT have meant "this will be the only Ritz-Carlton in Texas" at the time of its opening. ???
It seems rather obvious that he most probably meant the latter.
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It's growth rates people.
The amount of people that moved into the loop versus the existing population is a greater percentage than that areas outside of the loop.
It would have helped matters a bit had you said that the first time. ;-) Nevertheless, I would still love to see some supporting links, or at least some numbers to back this up.
Historic Houston Visionaries & Most Prominent Socialites
in General Houston Discussions
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Really? Next-door? I could be wrong, but I think you exaggerate. (I just checked on Google satellite, and at least as to the towers on San Felipe and 5 Post Oak Plaza, I don't see any houses next door.)
And are they "60-story" towers as the GlassSteelandStone" website claims? And would it really be fair to say (as "GlassSteelandStone" says) that such an occurrence is "not uncommon?"
There may be occasional single-family residences across the street from a high-rise building, but I see that in zoned cities all over America. Again, the differences between unzoned Houston and zoned cities generally don't seem to be caused by the lack of zoning.