Agenda
- Monthly Financial Report
- Mayor’s Report
- Consent Agenda (items that require a vote, like purchases, resolutions, ordinances, etc)
- Council Member Pop-Off
**Special Note**
This week I had some ~Wednesday things~ to do, so I am only going to cover the discussion and vote on Conservation Districts.
If you want to know what else happened for yourself – you can watch the meeting at:
https://www.houstontx.gov/htv/HTVLIVE.html
(scroll down to “archived videos”)
Item 39 – Conservation Districts
Council Member Kubosh Takes on the World
(and by “the world” I mean … Conservation Districts)
Item 39 approved an ordinance that paves the way for the creation of Conservation Districts in Independence Heights, Freedmen’s Town, Acres Homes, Magnolia Park/Manchester, Pleasantville, and Piney Point. These six neighborhoods will make up the pilot program, helping the city to develop it further. Unlike Historic Districts, Conservation Districts are tailored to specific neighborhoods, led by the people who live there.
The supporting document lists some benefits of a Conservation District:
- “Protecting the character, look and feel of an area or neighborhood.
- Supporting compatible development and new construction.
- This is designed to be simpler to establish than other forms of neighborhood protection, such as deed restrictions or historic districts.
- This district can include structures of any age and is primarily focused on bulk and scale of buildings, not architectural details like historic districts.”
Last week, Council Member Kubosh tagged this item and a long discussion ensued. CMs Kubosh and Knox raised questions about how these neighborhoods were chosen, how Conservation Districts affect deed restrictions, and what people who don’t want to be in them can do about it.
Today, CM Gallegos repeated many of his supportive statements from last week, but he specifically said he wants to protect historic neighborhoods “within the 610 loop.” He said it twice, with intention. IDK what that was about. Pleasantville is outside 610 and I thought it was strange of him to make such an exclusionary statement. But no one else said anything about it so maybe I’m being sensitive.
CM Kubosh proposed an amendment to the ordinance that would allow a property owner in a Conservation District to remove themselves. Mayor Turner said this amendment dilutes the intention of the ordinance and did not support it. The amendment failed, only CMs Kubosh and Knox voted for it.
CM Gallegos pointed out that CMs Kubosh and Knox both live in deed restricted neighborhoods which provide a high level of neighborhood-character protection. Gallegos questioned why they are interfering in neighborhoods that don’t have deed restrictions. He said, “Your neighborhood is protected … you don’t have to worry about someone coming in next door and destroying the character.”
CM Knox said he is proud to live in a deed restricted neighborhood, which needs 75% of property owners to approve changes. He suggested that Conservation Districts only need 51% approval (this is not entirely true but CM Kamin will get into that later) which will pit neighbor against neighbor. He said, “It’s about liberty, it’s about freedom to choose.” I don’t follow the logic, as “deed restrictions” literally has the word “restrictions” in it, but okay.
CM Thomas suggested opponents of Conservation Districts are leading with the wrong assumption (that people in these communities don’t want preservation help). She suggested we listen to the residents of these neighborhoods who have been “very clear” and asking for this for a long time. She pointed out that these people voted for the council, who owe it to them to honor their wishes. She said, “I just want to remind you, if they’re good enough to get their vote, they should be good enough for us to carry their voice. And they’re asking for us to carry their voice in this horseshoe, today.” (the horseshoe is what they call the council table, it’s roughly U shaped)
Mayor Turner asked people to imagine if someone bought a home in River Oaks and then wanted to turn it into a barbershop. He said that working class people in other historic communities want the same quality of life, that they don’t want people coming in to destroy their culture. “They deserve the same sort of protections, and we are here to give it to them.”
CM Plummer pointed out that for Black and Brown communities, their homes are often their biggest investment and that getting deed restrictions is expensive because of attorney fees and more. Under-resourced communities don’t always have the resources to get that process going, and Conservation Districts can help.
CM Kamin cleared up the 51% thing that CM Knox brought up. He alleged that this ordinance requires 51% of a neighborhood’s property owners to agree to become a Conservation District. CM Kamin said that a neighborhood only requires 51% to start the process. Then the proposed district would get developed and vetted with the Planning Department and the neighborhood itself. If 100% of the property owners don’t agree to become a Conservation District, then the item goes to the Planning Commission for review and finally to council for a vote. She reiterated that this is about “preserving history that is being erased.” Out of 500 historic homes in Freedman’s Town, only 50 remain. She said the burden of preservation falls too heavily on residents and this Conservation District ordinance can help.
CM Gallegos accused CMs Kubosh and Knox of fear mongering (he didn’t name them but I know who he was talking about). He reminded at-large council members that they represent the whole city and asked them why they aren’t helping to protect the neighborhoods of color within the 610 loop. (this was the second “within the 610 loop”)
The council members who voted no on the Conservation districts were Peck, Huffman, Martin, and Knox. After all that hullabaloo, Kubosh voted for the item, which passed. A Conservation District pilot program for Independence Heights, Freedmen’s Town, Acres Homes, Magnolia Park/Manchester, Pleasantville, and Piney Point will start soon!
Who took these notes? And what resources did they use?
My name is Emily Hynds and I am a small business owner, producer of the monthly storytelling series Grown-up Storytime, and lifelong Houstonian. I am not a journalist or government official. I am a local government enthusiast who believes meaningful change starts at home. These notes are presented from my point of view and with my framing, and are not comprehensive. Your notes will certainly be different, and I would love to read them if you attend.
While compiling these notes I used the following sources:
https://houston.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/
You can find your City Council Member and their contact info at: http://www.houstontx.gov/council/whoismycm.html
Thank you to Houston In Action and ACLU TX for supporting these notes.
My Patreon is patreon.com/emilytakesnotes.
