A Bright Spot In My Day: From the Planning Director |
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This week, the Planning Department said good-bye to a beloved member of our team. Assistant Director Michael Kramer retired after 33 years with us. Mike began his career with the City after earning a Bachelor of Architecture from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in Planning from the University of Virginia. Mike contributed to our long-range planning efforts and led an urban design initiative before settling into the Development Services section of our department. He immediately established his potential for leadership and ultimately became an Assistant Director. As such, he improved its operation by clarifying policies, establishing time-saving protocols and prioritizing staff training, all of which continue to serve our team and our customers. Mike’s professional legacy includes the ability to balance the need for organized growth while preserving the quality of neighborhoods. His personal legacy includes his humor, razor-sharp wit and kindness. Both will be missed. Tune into the first few minutes of the July 22 Planning Commission meeting video to hear more about Mike's legacy in our Department and the City.
Margaret Wallace Brown, A.I.C.P.
Director, Planning and Development Department
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Bikeways Safety Improvement Projects Are Moving Forward |
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Houston’s future as a multimodal city starts with projects that make streets safer and more comfortable for all modes. One big part of that is building out the City’s Bike Plan which outlines 1,800 miles of high comfort bike facilities all throughout the City. In July, we focused on three bikeway projects, on which PD is working with Harris County Precinct One:
Cavalcade-Homestead Healthy Connection Corridor: Road users on these streets experience crashes at a rate five times higher than the Texas average, and 25% of fatal crashes involve people walking and biking. The project will improve streets in Kashmere Gardens (a Houston Complete Community) and Trinity Gardens, including improved sidewalks, crosswalks, traffic signals, bus stops, and a new bikeway.
Blodgett and Cleburne Bikeways
Following up on nearly a dozen public engagement events since 2018, design concepts are now being developed for bikeways on one or both of Blodgett Street and Cleburne Street based on community input to improve east-west access in the Greater Third Ward, especially between TSU, Contemporary Learning High School, MacGregor Elementary school, and the Wheeler Transit Center.
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Calhoun-Griggs-MLK Healthy Connections Corridor The corridor is currently proposed as an approximately 7-mile street redesign encompassing three street segments: Calhoun Rd from Wheeler Ave. to Griggs Rd.; Griggs Rd. from Tierwester St. to Beekman Rd.; Martin Luther King Blvd. from Griggs Rd. to the Sims Bayou. Read more on the Let's Talk Houston engagement page.
The proposed corridor redesign is aligned with the City's Vision Zero commitment to end traffic deaths and serious injuries and improve street safety for everyone who walks, bikes, uses a wheelchair and drives. This includes street redesign to slow vehicle speeds, a barrier-protected bikeway, intersection enhancements to make it safer for people walking and biking to cross the street, and transit improvements to make bus stops more comfortable and to improve route efficiency.
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Survey says? Deadline To Share Your Feedback Extended to August 16 |
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The Livable Places Action Committee took a break for July, but in the meantime, the Single-Family Residential Survey has gained momentum and captured interest of many Houstonians. The survey seeks feedback on the number of units that should be allowed on a lot, parking requirements, and related challenges and benefits of "missing middle housing" such as stacked duplexes, triplexes, quadraplexes, and accessory dwelling units. The survey deadline has been extended to Monday, August 16.
More ways learn about Livable Places:
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AARP Awards Grant To Fund Accessory Dwelling Unit Design Contest |
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For the second consecutive year, AARP awarded the City of Houston Planning and Development Department a Community Challenge grant to implement fast-track projects that work toward long-term progress and support of residents of all ages. The City of Houston is one of only six grant recipients in Texas and 244 in the nation.
The $5,000 AARP Community Challenge grant will enable PD to launch the ADU-HOU Design Competition, which will ultimately make plans available for City of Houston homeowners to build an accessory dwelling unit on single-family residential lots where development regulations and deed restrictions allow.
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A call for submissions will be issued in early August. Submissions will be due in September, and all qualifying designs will be entered into an online poll for a public voting period in October. All qualifying designs will also be featured and fully credited to the participating designers and teams in a virtual ADU design book. Look for upcoming contest details, requirements and registration on houstonplanning.com.
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Houston GIS Map Earns National Acclaim, Gets Published in Esri Map Book |
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A Single-Family Platting Activity map created by GIS Supervisor Sona (Sunny) Zechariah received national attention from the Environmental Systems Research Institute for the second consecutive year. The map was published in Esri Map Book 2021, Vol. 36, and shows the 2019 Single-Family Residential Platting Activity within Houston’s city limits and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. The data was collected using the City of Houston’s Plat Tracker application, and is used to visualize where the development and growth is occurring.
The map was also recognized last year when Esri President Jack Dangermond showed the map during his opening comments of the 2020 Esri conference.
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Geographic Information Officer Larry Nierth applauded Zechariah by saying, "Sona continues to push the boundaries in the latest Pro symbology, and (Esri) certainly took notice." |
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Historic District Guidelines Underway for Norhill, Woodland Heights |
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- preserve the historic character
- maintain the traditional building scale in front
- maintain the traditional lot coverage
- develop context sensitive design
- clarify the existing historic preservation ordinance
- provide a user-friendly design guidelines document
Visit the Lets Talk Houston engagement platforms for Norhill and Woodland Heights, where you can view draft guidelines and participate in online workshops and surveys until August 15.
A live online question and answer session will be held for each historic district to answer questions about the draft guidelines.
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One-time Live Q&A Session:
Woodland Heights Historic District:
5:30-6:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 4
Norhill Historic District:
5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 10
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Department Calendar and Information
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611 Walker Street, 6th Floor,
Houston, TX 77002
832-393-6600
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