Tag Archives: form-based codes

Chapter 42 is back

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is going to be fun. Sprawling, boomtown Houston may be in for another battle over land use and development, this time driven by the most significant changes proposed to the city’s building rules in 13 years. The rewrite would … Continue reading →

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Discussing the Z word

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The go-ahead for the Ashby high rise has left me feeling really depressed. If affluent residents with all their political and social connections can’t keep a 21-story skyscraper out of their bucolic … Continue reading →

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Still waiting on the new density rules

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

With all that went on last year in Houston, one item that had been on the table was a revision of Chapter 42, to redefine the rules about density and other codes for developers. The planned revisions never made it … Continue reading →

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Downtown suburbia

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Gray writes approvingly of a forthcoming urban development in Sugar Land. A far bigger project in the works is the Imperial, a 715-acre development that includes the site of the defunct Imperial Sugar refinery – the factory that built … Continue reading →

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Ashby’s developer defends his project

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Let me start by saying that I agree with Kevin Kirton, the CEO of Buckhead Investment Partners, also known as the developers of the infamous Ashby highrise, when he says that the “trip number” justification that the city used to … Continue reading →

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Ashby developers lose appeal

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Given how long it took for the Ashby highrise developers to get their permit in the first place, I figured their appeal of the requirement that they cut back on some aspects of the project in order to get that … Continue reading →

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Ashby rises again

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It lives! The developers of the Ashby high-rise announced today they will appear before Houston’s General Appeals Board at 5 p.m. Thursday to ask that the original uses designed into 23-story high-rise be allowed. “Removing these amenities completely contradicts city … Continue reading →

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More from neoHouston on the new transit corridors ordinance

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Andrew Burleson, also known as neoHouston, was quoted in the Chron story on the new transit corridors ordinance. They only used a few words from him, however, and we all know he had more to say on the topic than … Continue reading →

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Parker statement on Ashby highrise

Posted on August 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Fresh from the inbox: Statement by Annise Parker on Ashby High Rise August 22, 2009 Contact: Sue Davis, 713-392-6011, sue@suedavis.net I am disappointed with the city’s decision yesterday to grant a site development permit for the high-rise building planned for … Continue reading →

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Ashby highrise approved

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you just heard was a massive freakout in the Southampton area. More than two years after they first applied, the developers of the Ashby high-rise will receive permits for a project that generated protests and a renewed debate … Continue reading →

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Transit corridors ordinance approved

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not all that it could have been, but it’s a start. Passengers stepping off trains in Houston’s expanding light rail network will be more likely to encounter walkable environments and interesting destinations because of action taken Wednesday by the … Continue reading →

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Midtown not feeling the recession

Posted on July 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know some parts of town are still thriving. The recession seems to have forgotten about Midtown. A drive around the neighborhood reveals forgotten buildings undergoing restoration and new apartments being framed. This area between the Central Business District … Continue reading →

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Neighborhood concerns about the transit corridors ordinance

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I think most people who choose to live in Houston’s urban core would agree that density is a good thing as a general rule. Density done in a half-assed way, which has been Houston’s trademark, not so much. Density hasn’t … Continue reading →

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Where that new transit corridors ordinance came from

Posted on June 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Christof takes another look at the proposed urban transit corridors ordinance, and asks a simple question. Days after the City of Houston’s draft corridor urban corridors ordinance was released, Houstonians For Responsible Growth – a developer group that generally opposes any new … Continue reading →

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More on the urban transit corridors ordinance

Posted on June 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned last week that the city was getting set to do an overhaul of its planning codes. In particular, there’s a proposed transit corridor ordinance that is up for public discussion on Thursday and a City Council vote in … Continue reading →

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Enabling pedestrians

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how big a deal this is likely to be, but it’s nice to be talking about it. More than five years after inaugurating its light rail system, Houston is taking its first, tentative steps to make it … Continue reading →

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Form-based codes come to Dallas

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good for Dallas. If they can do this, unanimously, even, then there must be hope for Houston and its proponents here. We might get lucky and avoid an Ashby lawsuit, but it sure would be nice to be better prepared … Continue reading →

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