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Design Restrictions to Preserve Small-Town Character

Design Restrictions to Preserve Small-Town Character

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by: TomballDotCom Active Indicator LED Icon 1 Site Admin  OP 
~ 8 years ago   Jun 23, '15 12:46pm  
Design Restrictions to Preserve Small-Town Character
 
With the boom in construction and development in Tomball, there is a growing concern in regards to preserving the charming character of Tomball amid the new additions. One of the ways to do this would be to require brick facades for both new and renovated buildings along the Main Street, or FM 2920, area. Currently, the section of Tomball called Old Town already has design standards in place. A couple of weeks ago, the City Council looked at requests for fee waivers to be extended to beyond Old Town for new development. The discussion of the issue came down to the idea that if the city is offering these incentives, it should be able to require those businesses to build their establishment in line with the design standards of the area. A restriction such as this is actually not uncommon. The Woodlands, infamous for the hurdles that new development must jump through in order to keep a certain cohesive design throughout the community, is an extreme example. On the opposite end of the spectrum, some people believe these design regulations are too restrictive. In addition to requiring a cohesive style throughout the 3-mile strip, Stephen Fox, a historian at Rice University's School of Architecture, believes that investing in beautification of the area--such as planting more trees and greenery, sidewalks, and public spaces-- will also help to draw people to the area. According to him, when a town's businesses gravitate towards the highways, the towns begin to lose their "sense of place and identity." These design standards would not transform the area overnight--the time line for when current establishments will be renovated is unknown. However, the east side, where there is still more undeveloped land, may begin to show evidence of the new standards more quickly.
 
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www.houstonchronicle .com/news/houston-te xas/houston/article/ Tomball-seeks-t
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Teddy Active Indicator LED Icon  New Member
~ 8 years ago   Jun 23, '15 3:32pm  
Idea: Put a median in the center of 2920 with trees and walk space. Make it a single wide lane on each side plus a parking lane. It would help with slowing traffic and beauty. Or listen to Stephen Fox the Rice historian let's have him review the zoning too. We aren't the Woodlands so there may be a better way to beautify old town and brick may not be the best looking most cost effective option & it retains so much heat.
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NativeTexan Active Indicator LED Icon  New Member
~ 8 years ago   Jun 23, '15 9:16pm  
Home Town Charm - Continue new construction with brick or wood. Limit to two story buildings. Plenty of room on side walks for benches to sit on. Consider cover sidewalks for shade. Continue the old town streets lights. Clean streets and sidewalks often. Spray wash sidewalks. Additional parking behind buildings. If there is grass between the businesses and street, it must be maintained including curbs. All trees along sidewalks maintained including around the base of the trees. All business on Main Street should be restricted on sale items in front of the businesses, all sale items must be put away when the store closes. No sale items chained trees. Sidewalks must be cleared for costumers and wheel chair access. NiceTrash Cans on the corners were there are traffic signal lights. All of Main Street should be maintained, not just the Old Town. All businesses on streets behind Main Street should have the same guidelines.
Looking forward to continued growth for Main Street!
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NativeTexan Active Indicator LED Icon  New Member
~ 8 years ago   Jun 24, '15 8:00pm  
I would like to email some ideas and photos to the City Council. Could TomballDotCom email me an email address.
Thanks !
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