According to the Houston Chronicle, the owner/developer partnership for the Sonoma project, in Rice Village, has decided to put the project on hold. In the Galleria area, two other projects have been canceled by separate developers.

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On September 4, 2008, the City of Houston rejected–for the sixth time–Buckhead Investment Partners’ application for an Ashby High Rise site development permit.  The City’s comments to the application posted on the Department of Public Works’ website indicate that the City’s rejection again arises from the traffic-related impacts of the project.  If you would like to see the City’s comments to the developers’ most recent submittal, go to http://www.pdinet.pd.houstontx.gov/cohilms/webs/Plan_LookUp.asp and enter the Ashby High Rise project # 07042588, then select “Display Plan Check Comment Information.”

One of the Ashby High Rise developers was quoted in the most recent edition of a neighborhood newspaper saying that “I’m prepared to try and address [the City’s] concerns as long as it takes to get a permit.”  It appears, however, that Buckhead did not make any significant changes to its earlier permit application, choosing instead to seek one or more variances from the City’s policies, which the City has declined to grant.   We are gratified that the City continues to use the permitting process to force Buckhead to mitigate the traffic burden that its unwanted, high-density project would impose on our single family neighborhood.  We are preparing a letter to City representatives explaining why we believe that the variance being sought by the developers should not be granted, as well as bringing other matters to the attention of the City that should be considered in the evaluation of any future permit submittals.  We will post this letter on our website when it has been delivered.

We can only speculate why Buckhead’s strategy appears to be to string the permitting process along indefinitely by making incremental changes that are destined to be rejected by the City.  However, we remain committed to continue our opposition until the developers abandon their plans or propose an alternative project that is acceptable to our community.

We encourage you to continue to proudly display your Stop Ashby High Rise yard signs and bumper stickers/magnets, which are one of the most effective tools we have to keep this issue in front of our friends, neighbors, elected representatives and the media.   These signs remain very effective, but Stop Ashby signs continue to disappear mysteriously.  If your yard signs or bumper stickers/magnets have gone missing or are beginning to show their age, please replace them.  Bumper magnets are available at Picnic, as are replacement yard signs.  Or, simply reply to this message and one of our volunteers will deliver a sign to your home.  And if you see anyone stealing or defacing these signs, please contact the Southampton/BOCA Patrol at (713) 825-5555 immediately.

We also encourage you to communicate to your elected City of Houston representatives that you remain strongly opposed to such an ill-conceived project in our neighborhood.  A complete list of the Mayor’s and council members’ email and mailing addresses can be found here.

September 20 will mark the one-year anniversary of the town hall meeting at Poe Elementary School that gave rise to the Stop Ashby High Rise effort.   As we approach this anniversary, the Stop Ashby High Rise Task Force salutes the effort and dedication of our neighborhood to oppose this project.

The Regulation & Development Committee, chaired by Council Member Toni Lawrence, met on Monday, July 21 to hear recommendations from the High Density Stakeholder Committee.   Andy Icken,  deputy director for Planning and Development, reported that instead of creating a new ordinance, the city will rely on the authority of Chapter 40.86 (the Curb Cut Ordinance) with the addition of guidelines to the city’s Infrastructure Design Manual, Chapter 15.

Mr. Icken cited the following advantages of this recommendation:

• Provides guidance to developers but retains judicious professional judgment
• Guidelines reduce widely divergent variances when staff or circumstances change
• Allow collaborative efforts between the City Engineer and developers in unique circumstances
• Guidelines can be refined as real experiences provide additional data
• Current practice for all other infrastructure standards

Changes to the Infrastructure Design Manual and Mr. Icken’s presentation on the decision process and pros and cons of the three options that were considered are posted online at http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/HDO/HDO_home.html

So what is the impact of this recommendation? The recommendation is consistent with the Administration’s stance earlier this year when the Mayor said the city would rely on the discretion allowed in the  Curb Cut Ordinance, Ch. 40.86. The design manual changes clarify review criteria.

The developer’s plans have been rejected five times.  The most recent comments from the Plan Review section are posted at http://www.pdinet.pd.houstontx.gov/cohilms/webs/Plan_Comments2.asp?ProjectNo=07042588&NoteID=00432358
It is unknown if the plans will be resubmitted a sixth time.

Sign campaign
The theft of our StopAshbyHighRise yard signs and banners continues. Please be vigilant and report any incidents that you may witness to the Southampton/BOCA Patrol Service at 713-825-5555 and to the Civic Club Office at 713-523-7422.  Let’s keep our strong opposition to this project in the public’s view.  If your yard sign is missing or broken, please request a replacement.

Since our last communication, plans for the 23-story 1717 Bissonnet project were resubmitted to the city for the fifth time and for the fifth time permitting approval was not granted. Despite the apparent enthusiasm of the developers in obtaining “partial approval,” this project cannot be permitted until ALL criteria are met.

The plans were rejected pursuant to existing City of Houston policies that regulate vehicle and delivery access to the proposed project. The City has urged the developers to redesign their project to reduce the vehicle impact on Bissonnet and Ashby streets.

At this point, the City appears resolute in enforcing the traffic and curb cut ordinances that are currently available.  Without approval of the traffic and driveway issues, final permitting is not possible.

We encourage you to view the timeline and the City’s comments on each of the five permit applications which are available online at http://www.houstonpermits.org.  The project number for the 1717 Bissonnet project is 7042588.

Another factor of interest is the apparent failure of several local high rise projects to meet their pre-sales quotas. Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal reiterate the tenuous nature of the apartment and condo markets.

One final note, the theft of our StopAshbyHighRise yard signs and banners continues. Please be vigilant and report any incidents that you may witness to the Southampton/BOCA Patrol Service at 713-825-5555 and to the BOCA Office at 713-528-BOCA (2622).  Let’s keep our strong opposition to this project in the public’s view.

If your yard sign is missing or broken, please request a replacement by emailing boca@airmail.net.