I delivered a hard copy of the following to the neighbors on my block in Oak Forest Friday. OFHA's vote on the sidewalk ordinance question has begun and will run through May 29. Each residence of Oak Forest is eligible for one vote, whether people living at that residence are OFHA members or not.
Here is a link to the vote.
Dear Oak Forest Neighbor,
Thursday night, I went to the special meeting of the Oak Forest Homeowners Association. In the name of an informed neighborhood, I decided to share with you what I learned.
The topic of the meeting was the city’s sidewalk ordinance which requires a sidewalk to be built whenever a house is torn down and replaced by a new house. There is a provision within the ordinance which allows a subdivision to opt out of the requirement. This provision can be utilized if the board of a subdivision’s home owners’ association makes a proclamation that the subdivision does not want sidewalks.
The meeting was attended by two city of Houston workers. They explained the basics of the ordinance and answered questions about how it applies to residents of Oak Forest.
THE VOTE
At the conclusion of the meeting, OFHA representatives announced that an online vote would be held between now and May 31** to decide what the board would do concerning the ordinance and its provision.
The vote is scheduled to take place online at www.ofha.org (Perhaps I misheard. As of Saturday night, there in no link of the OFHA website. Therefore, I'll put the direct link to the vote here again.) There will be one vote allowed for each residence in Oak Forest. Membership in OFHA is NOT REQUIRED to cast a vote, only an address in the subdivision.
WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS?
When I first heard about this meeting, I was baffled by the need for it. Having lived in this neighborhood and on this block for 15 years, I have grown accustomed to sidewalks in Oak Forest(at least in this part of it- I live in Section 17). The ordinance makes sense to me, and I see no need to opt out for this part of the subdivision.
However, to prepare for Thursday’s meeting, I drove around in some other parts of Oak Forest Thursday morning. It was an educational trip. I discovered, as many of you reading this may already know, that especially east of White Oak Bayou, Oak Forest doesn’t have many sidewalks. In this aspect, the two sides of the bayou, while both part of Oak Forest, are two different neighborhoods.
WHAT HAPPENS IF OFHA OPTS OUT OF THE ORDINANCE?
This action will allow new homes to be built anywhere in Oak Forest without a sidewalk. Two benefits of this action are that those parts of Oak Forest that don’t have sidewalks will be able to maintain their character. Also, it will allow builders in the area to work without the encumberance of needing to build a sidewalk.
It should be noted that any individual can still build a sidewalk if they so decide, even if the OFHA opts out. I got the vibe from discussion at the meeting that in a section of OFHA like mine that already has sidewalks, new homes would likely need to be built with sidewalks, so that the “sidewalk character” can be maintained.
WHAT IF OFHA DOESN’T OPT OUT?
If the status quo is maintained all new construction will need to be completed with a sidewalk. There would be two main downsides to this action. As new construction continues, neighborhoods could end up with a patchwork of areas with sidewalks and without sidewalks, since only new construction would have the concrete. Additionally, the cost of the new sidewalk incurred by builders could affect the price of homes.
I hope this information is helpful to you. Since I was able to go to the meeting, I wanted to share it with you. Please let me know if you have any questions about this information. I will do my best to share what I know.
**Contrary to what was announced at the meeting, the vote is now scheduled to end May 29. I have contacted OFHA to clarify the reasoning for the change. I'll will post that when I find out.
Sincerely Your Neighbor,
Mike Tauser
