Peaceful Preservation or Progress Paralyzers

... or why the Ashby High Rise and Rail on Richmond are so divisive.

There have been a lot of yard signs and bumper stickers, even t-shirts, for or against various proposals or civic activities by various developers. The two that seem to be sharing the limelight currently are the Ashby High Rise (the proposed development on 1700 block of Bissonet that would provide 210 living units, 10,000 square feet of office space and a full function restaurant) and the Rail on Richmond proposal to bring a line of the light rail from Downtown to the Galleria.

There are supporters and there are detractors. Why would this sort of item cause such a stir in our community? Why are some for and some against? It seems there is no meeting in the middle or happy medium with any of it. Well, I just want to take a moment to voice my concerns; and by the way, I'm for BOTH of them!

Real Estate prices are ever-climbing. Even though Houston's real estate market has declined in September and October there has been a 5.7% price increase over the same period one year ago with the average home price in Houston rising over $199,000. How long can these increases go on with no analogous increase in average income? Or consider the price of gas etc; when those are factored in the picture changes somewhat.

Urban sprawl has overtaken Houston in a big way. Our city's residents think very little of driving 35 miles each way on congested highways to and from work; well, they did until the price of gas nearly doubled. Now it's more and more costly to commute in such a fashion but the rising cost of gas is pennies compared to the cost of a home in Heights or Midtown or Montrose or any of the other work-adjacent living areas.

Affordability is a major player. It's not even that taxes are cheaper in the suburbs; they are NOT. Property taxes in Cy-fair or areas of Klein can be well above 3.5% annually. It's the low cost of homes that is keeping up our collective flight to the Beltway.

With a moderate amount of intelligent densification of the urban area (i.e. inside the Loop 610) we would accomplish several things; shorter commutes means lower carbon emissions, higher population density would make mass-transit a more palatable reality and, presto, carbon emissions lower even further (not to mention fewer cars on the road, less wear and tear on our roads), affordable housing for middle income increases availability and popularity of homes while keeping prices balanced and affordable with actual household incomes.

Those who say "not in my backyard" are really not looking at progress from a balanced perspective. They only care when it's no longer convenient for them but the truth is, short-sighted views of natural resources will result in an even less favorable quality of life and ultimately to lower property values as well.