In recent months, neighbors have reported a few instances where fences were erected out of compliance with Houston City Ordinances and/or their governing neighborhood deed restrictions. Common issues have included non-compliance with building setbacks and required minimum distances from the street, and specific to corner lots, encroaching upon the "visibility triangles" required by city ordinance. We understand that many of our neighbors want their privacy, but the purpose of these restrictions is to prevent unsafe conditions for drivers and pedestrians. If you are building a fence, please double check your deed restrictions (if applicable), and ensure you are using a reputable, local contractor who is aware of the fence restrictions in the city ordinances. If you suspect a fence is being erected out of compliance with deed restrictions and/or city ordinance, for deed restriction violations, email deedrestrictions@woodland-heights.org and for city ordinance violations, you can report via 311.
Deed restrictions and maps for the various Woodland Heights neighborhoods are included under 'Land Use' on our website for reference but you can always reach out to deedrestrictions@woodland-heights.org with questions.
Deed Restrictions
An Option To Protect Your Home From Being Torn Down /
Are you concerned about your beloved home falling prey to a wrecking ball? Looking for a way to protect it? An option is to apply for Protected Landmark status. In a nutshell, here are some of the details.
Buildings have to meet three of these general requirements to qualify as a protected landmark:
50 years old or older*
Example of an identifiable architectural style*
Associated with a known architect, builder or craftsman.
Important building to the community or scene of a significant event in the community*
Illustrates how the neighborhood developed or last surviving example in its neighborhood*
Associated with a family or individual prominent in the community.
The four with asterisks are the most common qualifiers. When it says community, it can just be the neighborhood; it does not have to be the whole city.
The ordinance is concerned with structural changes to the house: things like replacing windows and doors, enlarging the openings. Substantial changes. You can also build additions to the house as long as they don’t dominate the historic portion. All these kinds of changes have to be submitted to the preservation office for approval before the work is begun.
At the owners request, Preservation Houston can produce the protected landmark nomination at no charge. Contact Preservation Houston at 713-510-3990 for more information.
Historic District Design Guidelines Available online and at Heights Library /
Historic Preservation Design Guidelines, a strategy report, is now available online and in hard copy at the Heights Library reference desk, where it will be retained on a permanent basis. There are three copies of the Design Guidelines, but the volumes are for in-library use only. A coin-operated copy machine is available at the Heights Library; black-and-white copies cost 15 cents per page. The report is contained in a three-ring binder, which makes copying easy.
In addition to the Design Guidelines report, videos of earlier Historic District community workshops are available online at the project’s webpage: http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/HistoricPres/Design-Guidelines-Heights.html
The next Community Workshop for Historic Districts is scheduled for Tuesday, June 20, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Heights Fire Station, 107 West 12th Street.
For more information, contact Steph McDougal, project manager, City of Houston Planning & Development Dept., 832-393-6541, or email: steph.mcdougal@houstontx.gov.
Historic District Design Guidelines Visual Preferences Survey /
What are the keys to designing a compatible house or addition in a historic district?
At previous community workshops, participants evaluated a series of alternative building models for new houses and additions. Some models were rated as being either clearly appropriate or clearly inappropriate. For other models, opinions were mixed, or there wasn’t enough feedback to draw clear conclusions, and so this survey focuses on those models for which we did not receive clear direction.
We have also updated some illustrations to more closely reflect the character of individual historic districts. Your answers will help us recommend building design tools to be included in the Woodland Heights Historic District design guidelines.
The survey is divided into three parts:
Part 1: Overall Issues In the District
This section asks the extent to which you agree or disagree with issues that were mentioned in previous workshops.
Part 2: Building Design Tools
This section asks you to comment on the usefulness of design techniques that can affect compatibility, in terms of mass, scale, and relationship of a building to its neighbors. A background paper, titled Houston Historic Districts Potential Design Tools, provides further information about the design tools in Part 2.
Part 3: Building Scenarios
This section presents seven house designs -- three that show different approaches for constructing an addition to a historic single-family home, and four that illustrate new single-family homes in the historic district. Each scenario incorporates a combination of the design techniques described in Part 2 and will help us determine how effective these tools may be in achieving compatible designs.
All surveys must be completed online or postmarked no later than Friday, January 27, 2017.