Houston Earns Scenic City Certification
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Mayor Turner and representatives from the 13 other Scenic Cities |
Scenic Houston announced that Houston is among 13 cities to earn certification for the 2017-2022 period. Houston earned its second Silver Scenic City certification in 2017, with points awarded for codes and ordinances that support public infrastructure, parks, trails, open spaces, and sign regulation, all of which shape high quality public roadways and public spaces. This Scenic City assessment took special note of the evolving Complete Communities program to revitalize under-resourced areas while allowing residents to stay in their neighborhood. Learn more at the Scenic City's website.
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Division Highlight: Historic Preservation
The Historic Planning professionals within Planning and Development (P&D) have many important architectural and contextual details to analyze regularly while reviewing applications for Certificate of Appropriateness. Staff reviews architectural plans when considering if historic properties can be changed or updated. They work to help property owners preserve important facets of our City's cultural context. When asked about a unique historic district in Houston, they concur: Glenbrook Valley stands out.
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Planners Matt Kriegl, Kathleen Taus, and Diana DuCroz staff the Historic Preservation Office, along with Amanda Barry, Lorelei Willet, and Adam Train (not pictured) |
Among 22 Historic Districts recognized by the Houston Archeological and Historic Commission (HAHC), Glenbrook Valley showcases mid-century heritage like no other. Glenbrook Valley is a planned community of 1,254 single-family homes in southwest Houston near Hobby Airport. The homes in this master planned neighborhood reflect a cohesive plan, yet individual shape, detail and style for the dwelling units. Most homes within the historic district are one-story and have common architectural features. Typically, roofs on these homes have lower pitches with deep eaves. Fenestration, or elements such as window openings, tends to be horizontal, unlike homes from the pre-war years that tended to have vertical window configurations.
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This mid-century ranch home in Glenbrook Valley Historic District is representative of the district
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For more information about Glenbrook Valley and Houston's Historic Districts, including instructions for obtaining a Certificate of Appropriateness for historic properties, visit the City's online
Historic Preservation Manual
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Hurricane Harvey: Flood and Disaster Related Resources for Historic Properties
Were you affected by Hurricane Harvey, and are you also in a historic district? Although recovery initiatives and solutions can cross jurisdictional lines, our historic planning staff has put together a primer for flood recovery issues unique to historic homes. Click here for the reference guide.
The City of Houston's Historic Preservation Office reports that most repairs in historic districts and designated landmarks will not require a Certificate of Appropriateness however a building permit may be required. For questions or assistance, call the historic hotline phone number at 832-393-6556.
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| Departmental Updates
P&D Cares: Every year City employees raise money for various charities through the Combined Municipal Campaign.The Department was recognized for its outstanding efforts in 2016 to help others, measured in amount of donations in relation to our Department's size. This year our collective effort is being directed to the Hurricane Harvey flood relief effort.
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This year's CMC efforts concluded with a Halloween Spooktacular costume contest
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Post Harvey, public meeting preparations are in full swing. Visit the program
website
for more details and sign up for
CC Newsletter
emails and updates.
Around 300 people attended the first Complete Communities Kick-Off Meeting in Acres Home on October 18. Mayor Sylvester Turner delivered welcoming remarks and Planning Director Patrick Walsh provided a brief overview of the program. Planner Christa Stoneham, lead planner for Acres Home, led attendees through a visioning workshop. Acres Home Public Meeting #2 will be held on November 16, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm at Eisenhower High School.
| Third Ward |
Near Northside |
Second Ward |
Gulfton |
Acres Home |
Monday, Oct 30th
6 - 8 pm
Emancipation Park Cultural Center
3018 Emancipation Ave.
Houston, TX 77004 |
Thursday, Nov 2nd
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Marshall Middle School
1115 Noble Street
Houston, TX 77009
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Monday, Nov 6th
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Doors open at 6:00
Ripley House Neighborhood Center
4410 Navigation Blvd Houston, TX 77011
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Thursday, Nov 9th
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Southwest Multi-Service Center
6400 High Star Drive
Houston, TX 77074 |
Thursday, Nov 16th
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Eisenhower High School
7922 Antoine Drive
Houston, TX 77088 |
Fast Facts
Community Projects Needed: The Emancipation Economic Development Council's (EEDC) Faith-in-Action Workgroup is partnering with the ELCA Youth Gathering, to bring 30,000 high school youths to Houston next summer for worship, fellowship and service. As part of the youth's service, the EEDC and ELCA are gathering ideas for general neighborhood improvement projects in the five Complete Communities pilot neighborhoods and need community input. Each neighborhood will have 450 students available each day from June 28-30. If you have any project ideas or any questions, please reach out with email to
faithinaction@emancipationhouston.org, Dolores Rodgers-EEDC
dbrodg@me.com, or Cody Miller-ELCA
cody.miller@elca.org.
PSEFI Platting Workshop: Over 100 land development professionals gathered on October 4 for the annual educational workshop hosted by the Professional Surveyor's Educational Foundation, Inc.
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Julian Boxill from Harris County Engineering (left) is joined in the first row by Dorianne Powe-Phlegm, Arica Bailey, Lyndy Morris, Devin Crittle, Dipti Mathur-Ghorpade, and Suvidha Bandi of P&D's Development Services Division.
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City Disaster Recovery Resources:
HoustonRecovers.org, the main web page for City-wide Harvey response information, has a new component.
Harvey by the Numbers has interesting statistics that captures some key information about what happened, and how we're responding.
Permitting office extends business hours, and offers more online resources: Can't make it out to one of the City's offices? No problem. You can now apply online for floodplain development and storm damage repair permits via the
iPermits Portal.
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STAY CONNECTED
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