Council Member Peter Brown urges citizen input on growth plan

Says development standards needed for neighborhood protection

City Council Member Peter Brown attended a Shady Acres Civic Club meeting on July 15th to offer his advice on ways members could improve their neighborhood. He was invited to drive around the neighborhood before the meeting, and later told members from what he saw "Shady Acres can be saved." He said he is concerned about City neighborhoods and how they are transitioning.

"We want to have standards that encourage quality development," he said. He told the members that they should settle for nothing less than that. "We need to raise our expectations, and we can do better."

The council member added that neighborhoods like Shady Acres and Washington Ave., which are experiencing increasing redevelopment, will have to have planning and standards in force to have quality development. Too much rapid change, he says, destabilizes the neighborhood and makes for a "hodgepodge" of development. Brown emphasized that there needs to be walkable places like sidewalks and small parks, and underground utilities, for a more pleasant appearance.

He said that the city will soon have a Comprehensive Plan which will provide guidance and standards for growth and development. He believes there are three areas for improvements and investments under such a plan: 1) Strengthen the city's economy by capturing a larger share of the region's growth. Houston is getting less than 1% share of this growth. 2) Protect and safeguard the environment with intelligent and informed reinvestment. Flooding results when there is no environmental responsiblity, ditches are not functional and drainage is blocked. 3) Invest in community life in areas of safety and security.

Brown encouraged the residents of Shady Acres to come to the public sessions at city council for citizen input on the Comprehensive or General Plan, and their neighborhood needs. Information on the Plan can be found on the City's website at www.houstontx.gov/planning/generalplan.

(The Banner, August 6, 2008)