Sept 2005 NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSLETTER
NEXT MEETING
Thursday, September 22, 2005, 7pm
at Brazil (2604 Dunlavy)
EVERYONE IS WELCOME!
(Stay tuned for a social in October -- time & place TBA, but plan to
celebrate cooler weather with your neighbors!)
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
To all
residents of Mandell Place,
As we close out another summer season in our neighborhood, It is
time to reflect on some things that have happened over the past few months.
During that time we have had one general meeting and two socials, all of
which were well attended. We've also stepped up to the challenge of a deed
restriction violation. My thanks
go out to Arleen Znosko as well as the Fraziers for all their hard work putting
the last two socials together. I also want to thank Dan & Magda
at Brazil for allowing us to have our last two meetings there, as well as all of
the residents in the neighborhood; because without all of you banding
together the land developers would have invaded our neighborhood long ago and
the quality of life would not be nearly as pleasant as well all enjoy
today. Until the next meeting,
take care of yourselves and of each other.
Sincerely,
Robert Graham
MPCA President
ELECTIONS ARE COMING!
By Robert Graham
Our annual
elections for officers for the M.P.C.A. 2006 Board Of Directors is
rapidly approaching. Interested in becoming more involved? Here is how the nomination process
works:
All designated officers
shall be elected at the general meeting in the month of November of each year
and shall take office at the January of the following year. The Officers shall
be elected by a vote of all members present. In the event of a
vacancy occurring in the staff of officers, the vacancy shall be filled at
the first general meeting after a vacancy occurs by a majority vote of the
members present. The Nominating Committee shall consist of all voting members
wishing to serve. Additional nominations may be made from the floor.
Nominations for all elected positions shall be open to any member of the
Association who is in good standing.
Update on the Deed
Restriction Challenge
By Jaye Tullai
In late June of this year it was brought to the
attention of the Board that one of our residents had just built a garage that
was in violation of the 75 setback in our deed restrictions. The garage was
built as an extension of the front faade of the house and is not a few feet
out of compliance, but nearly 50
feet out of compliance.
Of
all the provisions in our Deed Restrictions, the 75 garage setback (paragraph
d) is the one that has the most bearing on our ownership here in Mandell
Place. However, the violator was
not a builder but one of our neighbors, and I wanted to give that some
consideration. I met with the homeowner, the Deed Restriction Chairman Charley
Herndon wrote her a letter officially notifying her of non-compliance, and the
Board of Directors of Mandell Place convened a Board meeting. Fliers and signs were sent out calling
a General Meeting of the Membership on
21 July 2005.
At
the General Membership Meeting, this issue was introduced with the Deed
Restriction Chairman reading both his letter and the homeowners reply, and
then I stepped in to moderate a discussion. More than 50 people attended and
over 20 people took the floor.
The
first gentleman to take the floor spoke with vehemence about apathy on the part
of both the Board and residents.
In spite of (or maybe
because of ) his challenging remarks, the membership showed itself to be
anything but apathetic, and quite unified and certain about demanding that the
Board protect the Deed Restrictions.
A
former deed restriction chairman proposed that the membership show its desires
in the form of a Motion to vote on.
The first Motion was passed unanimously that the Board would contact the
City about the non-compliant structure.
The second Motion was a proposal to wait to act until the homeowner
returned from an eight week vacation. This proposal was defeated about 3 to
1. Finally one resident proposed
to re-word our earlier resolution to use stronger and more direct language to
show that we will enforce our Deed Restrictions and this was passed without
dissent.
The
violating structure was built without getting any permit from the City of
Houston. At the meeting, one couple renovating on Kipling related the
experience of being denied a City permit to extend their porch beyond the front
setback because it would violate the Mandell Place Deed Restrictions. They
described having to change their plans at their own expense but also
acknowledged that it is not an aesthetic issue, nor one of being singled
out, but one of maintaining the
Deed Restrictions. Their story also shows that the City of Houston is working
with us, and will work with us, (thanks, by the way, in no small part to the
Mandell Place lawsuit of 1988)
Although
the evening was hot and humid and the acoustics were not great, the meeting
lasted a vociferous and participatory two hours.
The
Deed Restriction Chairman drafted a letter to Robert Oaks at the Code
Enforcement Dept., City of Houston and I hand carried the letter to his office.
Mr Oaks was kind enough to meet with me and outline the process for me, introducing
me to the inspector who would be sent out and describing the role the citys
legal department plays in these cases. He gave me the number of the City
Attorneys Office and I spoke with the Assistant City Attorney that same day.
The
building was red tagged shortly thereafter, citing the unpermitted structure.
At this writing the owner has not yet returned from vacation.
Sidebar- That 75 foot Rule or What garage
setback has to do with you.
In a city without zoning, we have only our Deed
Restrictions to shape our neighborhood.
The Deed Restrictions vary widely from subdivision to
subdivision. The restrictions that were drawn up for Mandell Place are
different from those of Winlow
Place for example. Restrictions vary widely in content. Some outer loop
suburbs have Restrictions that govern what color you can paint your front
door. Ours run with the land
that is, they have been in effect since the neighborhood was chartered in 1923.
Only paragraph
e of our Deed restrictions for example, and not any rule of the City,
prohibits a tattoo parlour from opening next to you. In Houston it is up to each neighborhood to show the City
that you want enforcement of these, and in todays climate the City will work with you. But the burden of monitoring is largely
in the hands of the residents.
Protecting your Deed Restrictions is the biggest job, and in
fact the reason for the existence of the Civic Associations.
So why should we care about garage setback?
Paragraph d of our Deed Restrictions is hugely
important in shaping our neighborhood. This is the one that states that garages have to be
set back 75 from the front lot line.
This is the rule that is keeping townhouses out of our
neighborhood. If garage structures have to be set back that far, there is
simply not enough room to put two modern size structures on the lot.
A slender thread, but there it is.
This is not to insult any of the townhouses that were
slipped into Mandell place during the (pre lawsuit) days of non
enforcement. But the builders will
always make more money if they can put two on a lot, and if we were to back
slide now are neighborhood would look like the canyon of garage doors that is
on the other side of Westheimer.
Owning property both in Mandell and in Vermont Commons I can demonstrate
that the same house in Mandell Place is worth a lot more than in the
subdivisions that are being torn down for townhouses. In the case of a one story bungalow for example, I can make
a fairly clear and convincing case that the same bungalow over there would
bring $80- 100,000 less. But that
is the stuff of another essay.
YARD OF THE MONTH
The yard of the month awards
for the summer were:
June 1623
Marshall
July 1519
Kipling
August 1601
Kipling
These are the yards our neighbors
selected to model for our neighborhood.
We now have a new and exciting method of selecting this honor! The resident receiving the yard of the
month sign will, in turn, select the next yard for the following month. This democratic procedure has a
different person selecting this honor each month. You may be next!
RECYCLING PAPER IN THE
GREEN BINS
The
City collects the following kinds of paper:
Mail, envelopes, home office paper,
flyers, computer paper.
No dark colored or decorative folders, cards or
envelopes
No plastic bags or foil packaging.
Heavy
junk pick up is the second Wednesday
of the month.
OUR WEBSITE
We want to thank our
resident and support, David Crossley, whose Gulf Coast Institute hosts our
website. We love being on the Internet and being accessed through our own name
at www.mandellplace.org.
BLOG ON
With thanks to long time and
loyal resident Dorothy Tyler, Mandell Place now has its own blog for you to
express an opinion, give us your ideas, inform others about what is going on in
the neighborhood. It is a
community bulletin board! Go to:
http://mandellplace.blogspot.com
BABYSITTER AVAILABLE!
Submitted by Nan and Craig
Varoga
Our
teenage daughter Molly is available for babysitting during evenings and on
weekends for Mandell Place residents.
Molly recently completed the American Red Cross babysitting course. Interested parents can call
713-729-1639.
JOIN MANDELL PLACE CIVIC
ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL DUES:____$50 SUSTAINING ____$25 CONTRIBUTING ____ $100 PATRON
____$10 FIXED INCOME/TENANT
NAME:___________________________________________________________________
Address:_____________________________ E-Mail:______________________________
Home
phone:______________________
Business Phone:__________________________
Mail to: Mandell Place Civic Association,
P.O. Box 66005, Houston, TX 77266-6005
OFFICIAL MPCA
RECEIPTS FOR MEMBERSHIP DUES
Did you know that MPCA issues
receipts for dues that can be used for income tax purposes? The receipts satisfy auditors that your
dues were paid to a 501(3)(c) organization and are a tax-deductible expense.
2005
CIVIC ASSOCIATION BOARD
President Robert
Graham 713-526-0291 Robert_26884@msn.com
Vice President Jaye
Tullai 713-526-1830 jaye.tullai@prodigy.net
Treasurer Joan
Roden 713-521-0415 jandbroden@aol.com
Secretary Jennifer
Hasche 713-523-2447 jenandjay@houston.rr.com
Security Jed
Kenna 713-523-1776 jed1939@mail.ev1.net
Membership OPEN
Newsletter Jennifer
Hasche 713-523-2447 jenandjay@houston.rr.com
Socials Arlene
Znosko AZNOSKO@aol.com
Historian OPEN
Beautification Ernst
Roth 713-524-5546
Past President Robert
ONeal 713-529-1549 robert.oneal@ps.ge.com
2005 Block Captains
1500 Hawthorne Delores
Lamb 713-524-1119
1600 Hawthorne Carol
Wolk 713-529-0082
1500 Harold Samir
Khushalani 713-523-1735
1600 Harold David
Toy 713-522-5463
1500 Kipling Dorothy
Tyler 713-523-0979
1600 Kipling Dorothy
Tyler 713-523-0979
1500 Marshal Pamela
Lafin 713-520-0250
1600 Marshall Bill
Bartlett 713-523-5031
W. Alabama Bill
Bartlett 713-523-5031
Westheimer David
Toy 713-522-5463