Southampton Civic Club 2009 Annual Meeting Recap


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Southampton Civic Club 2009 Survey Results


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Southampton Water Line Replacement Project to begin July 29, 2009

Replacement of City of Houston water lines for most of Southampton Place will begin soon. New water lines will be placed under the streets to avoid damage to our street trees. The existing line is between the curb and sidewalk. The project, WBS No. S-000035-00W1-4, will last a total of 260 days. The contractor is Carrera Construction, Inc. Streets North of Dunstan will receive new waterlines as part of this project. Water lines serving Dunstan, Bolsover, and Rice Blvd. will be replaced as part of a separate project beginning in 2010. The 1800 block of Sunset will not be involved as the water line was replaced several years ago, nor will Bissonnet.

 Click here to see the project posting at the City of Houston website.

The 30+ year old lines are being replaced because of frequent line breaks and recent unacceptable water quality, most likely due to cracks in the lines that allow dirt and bacteria to enter. When the project is complete you will be able to enjoy cleaner and safer water.

Sunset Blvd will be the first street to receive a new water line. Crews are marking utilities this week. The new water line will be located in the esplanade. Again, the 1800 Sunset will not be included in this project.

All residents are invited to attend a meeting with the contractor and project team next Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 6 p.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Blvd. at Greenbriar. Current subscribers to our email and alert system will receive updates by email. To subscribe, send your email address to info@southamptoncivicclub.org.



Map with Affected Areas Marked in Yellow 


Southampton Water Line Project 2009


FAQs
 
Q: When will work begin on my street?  As soon as we receive the schedule from the contractor we will post it at online at www.southamptoncivicclub.org. Please check the website frequently as the schedule is subject to change. The contractor will post door hangers at homes that will be directly impacted by the construction two weeks in advance.

Q: What are the typical steps in a water line replacement project?

1. Line installation (3-4 weeks per segment/block). Lines are installed using a boring technique which involves digging holes every 100-120 feet and pushing pipe underground at a depth of ~ 3 ft. The holes will be about 6 ft. in diameter.

2. Water quality testing (2-3 weeks per segment/block). Once the line installation is complete, the new line is flushed and capped. The water quality of the new line is then tested to ensure there are no breaks or leaks. During this time it may appear that no work is being done.

3. Water meter tie-in (1-2 weeks per segment/block). Water meters will be tied into the new lines and placed into service. During this portion of the project crews will need to dig in order to tie-in water meters to the new line. The old lines capped off lines will remain in place.

4. Restoration (1-2 weeks per segment/block). This phase will begin 2 to 3 weeks after Step 3. Any damaged sod, landscaping, irrigation, removal of any remaining dirt and equipment, and repairs to damaged curbs, sidewalks and driveways. The contractor has photographed every lawn, sidewalk and driveway to create a record of pre-project conditions. We recommend that you take your own photographs now in case a dispute arises. Restoration in front of your home may not be completed until later in the project. This could be weeks or months after your new waterline is operational.

Q: Will my water service be disrupted? Water service should be relatively constant except when lines are being capped off, tied-in at major intersections, and when service is being transferred from the old line to the new line. When these events occur, water may be off for up to 6 hours. We have asked the contractor to let everyone know when these interruptions will take place well in advance.

Q: Will the project affect traffic or parking? Traffic access will be maintained on all streets to the extent possible. Because the new line will be located under the street, there may be periods of time when you may be unable to park on your street, but the alleys should not be affected. Please be understanding if neighbors need to park beside your home while their water line is being installed.

Q: Whom do I call about problems related to this project? Call the on-site inspector, Cecil Daughtry, at 832-731-7304. If he is unable to resolve your issue, call Project Manager Michael Barrett at 281-974-8231. You can also call the contractor’s representative, Roy Beck, at 713-829-8409 or 281-543-0975. Please do not call 311 unless you are unable to reach the project team members listed above. 311 generally does not have easy access to contact numbers for public works projects.  If you are still unable to resolve a problem after trying to work through the project team listed above, please notify the Southampton office at 713-523-SHCC (7422) or info@southamptoncivicclub.org.

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Street & Alley Reconstruction Petition Drive

Citizens can request reconstruction of residential streets using the city's Neighborhood Street Reconstruction process.  Click Here for a copy of the NSRP petition form. Click here for the corresponding alley form. Southampton Civic Club recently asked the City to clarify how the NSRP petitions for alleys would be treated. Director of Public Works and Engineering Michael Marcotte's response is posted here.


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Southampton, Coalition Back Repeal of “Texas Medical Center, Inc.” Condemnation Power Over Homes in Residential Neighborhoods

TMC Inc.—an obscure operator of parking garages and a real estate manager for the Medical Center—wields little-known but sweeping statutory condemnation power, and is now bulldozing deed-restricted homes in one nearby residential area, “extinguishing” its valid deed restrictions as they go. A residential coalition, Neighbors Against Eminent Domain Abuse (“NAEDA”), www.stopTMCinc.org, is leading a campaign to terminate TMC Inc.’s power to condemn homes.

This threat is as real today to Southampton and its neighboring subdivisions as it was to the first neighborhood targeted by TMC Inc.--“Central City,” a tiny subdivision bounded by Holcombe, Almeda, and OST. Since 2005, TMC has “taken” 16 single family deed restricted homes under threat or actual exercise of condemnation, bulldozed the homes, and constructed an obtrusive five-story, 500 car corrugated tin parking garage on some of the lots—the rest being inventoried for future use.

Like almost all Southampton residents today, homeowners in Central City once thought their homes were protected by the subdivision’s deed restrictions.  But TMC Inc.’s lawyers assured the company that its statutory condemnation power not only empowers TMC Inc. to condemn, but also to abolish single family deed restrictions as they go.  TMC Inc.’s lawyers assured their client that the company’s “extinguishment” powers blanket homes sold by “agreement,” as well as those forcibly taken by court order.

Southampton and the coalition are backing a strong eminent domain reform bill, HB 3709, currently pending before the state legislature. This powerful bill, authored by State Rep. Garnet Coleman, would repeal TMC Inc.’s eminent domain power in residential areas. The bill may be set for hearing in the Texas House of Representatives Land & Resource Management Committee as early as April 8.

 
Delivering the message to legislators is a big job:  our legislators need to receive letters, faxes, phone calls, and personal visits with legislative offices in Houston and Austin. If you can help, please call or email Sarah Darneille, 713-521-0173 or 713-818-0703, s.darneille@sbcglobal.net or Susan Broer, 713-523-8313 or 713-540-8044, susan@susanbroer.com

Passage of Rep. Coleman’s bill will narrow TMC Inc.’s present unlimited condemnation power but leave unchanged its right to exercise eminent over commercial, industrial and other business property.  Considering the tens of thousands of acres of non-residential property available to the north, southeast, south and southwest of the Medical Center, this repeal would in no way harm or hamstring the Texas Medical Center. Houston and the Medical Center neighborhoods derive great employment, economic value, and prestige from the Texas Medical Center.  Terminating the abuses of its real estate manager, TMC Inc., would protect the integrity and property values of nearby residential neighborhoods while preserving the Texas Medical Center’s ability to grow and prosper.

Is Southampton Really Threatened?

Eminent domain risks of property facing the Medical Center is not academic, as the example of Central City proves.  Nor is Rice the only member that could seek condemnation along the Rice campus perimeter: to the contrary, every single one of the Medical Center’s 46 members could get the condemnation process started through their real estate manager/service company, TMC, Inc. Until reform of the law is enacted, the target could either residential or non-residential—so long as the property “adjoins” or is “adjacent to” the existing Medical Center boundaries. Rice is a full member of the Texas Medical Center, and all current Medical Center maps include the three-mile perimeter of the Rice campus. Of course, nobody expects a good neighbor like Rice to seek condemnation, but the Rice segment of the Medical Center boundary empowers TMC, Inc., at the request of any of the Medical Center’s 46 members, to condemn deed-restricted residences adjoining the edge of the Rice campus to build a non-Rice clinic, hospital annex, parking garage, or support facility.  In other words, the boundary establishes the eminent domain threshold, not the identity or policies of the nearest Medical Center member institution.  Currently, the most threatened neighborhoods, after Central City, are Southgate and Old Braeswood. In the long run, however, the threat to Southampton, both directly—and indirectly through the largely unrestricted residential blocks east of Ashby to Cherokee—cannot be dismissed.

Click here to view the TMC 50 year MasterPlan Map or here for the entire 2006 TMC master plan

Blockbusting and Blight: The Consequences of  TMC Inc.’s Ongoing Residential Condemnation Program

Before TMC Inc.’s decision to condemn homes in the Central City subdivision, it was a quiet, wooded neighborhood of 94 lots, hidden behind businesses fronting its three defining major thoroughfares.  The largest of these by far is TMC Inc.’s logistical building on Holcombe at Almeda, east of the VA Hospital.  This logistical center occupies a renovated former National Biscuit Co. cookie factory building. Parallel to the rear of the former cookie factory is Lockett Street, where 17 of the 19 homes that once lined its north side have now vanished—the most recent demolished only a few weeks ago.

This once-pleasant pocket of deed restricted homes, brimming with children, is now under siege from what can only be called blockbusting.  For example, more than half of the lots, sold by residents fearful of the future, have fallen into the hands of speculators, investors, and TMC Inc.  The multistory tin-sheathed parking garage looms over the neighborhood. Streets are scarred by vacant lots formerly occupied by homes before the bulldozers arrived.  Boarded-up homes await a questionable fate. In additions, residents now are burdened with heavy cut-through traffic, light pollution at night, obstructed views, and growing blight.  The neighborhood must even cope with parking problems on their streets by TMC Inc. employees who are unwilling to pay the fees charged to park in the employee garage.

Click here to see photos of the TMC Inc. parking structure oppressively looming over the Central City subdivision  

Read the related article in the most recent SHCC newsletter

Neighbors Stand up to Medical Center - Houston Chronicle March 29, 2009 Front Page Article

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Ashby Highrise Information

High Rise Development Comes to our Neighborhood: Another Affront to our Quality of Life from Outsiders

Picture the shadow a 266-foot building casts over a surrounding neighborhood of 30-foot homes in winter and summer. Visualize what will happen to traffic on neighborhood two-lane streets when you add 500 more cars each day emptying out of a high-rise. Imagine the joy of looking out from your lovely garden into a six story parking garage which is 10 feet away and a 23-story tower rising 266 feet into the air.

Kevin Kirton and Matthew Morgan, principals in a company known as Buckhead Investments, have purchased the property currently known as Maryland Manor on the corner of Bissonnet and Ashby. Their intent is to reshape our concept of urban living by placing a 23 story high rise in our midst. These two gentleman do not live in Houston but prefer the restricted areas of West University and Southside Place, where local development regulations (zoning) provide protection against out of scale projects.

Help fight this project by signing the petition:
On the web at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Ashby_Highrise or click here to download the PDF.

Please write letters to our elected officials!

Direct Link to the Latest Highrise Information

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Deed Restrictions Interested Goup

An informal group of Southampton residents has been meeting for over a year to discuss renewal of Southampton's deed restrictions. If you are interested in participating, please contact Clark Martin for more information. The Deed Restrictions Interested Group, which is not currently a committee of Southampton Civic Club, has asked us to post this initial notice to Southampton Property Owners concerning the Group's efforts.

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