Zoning in Midtown

Currently a zoning plan is in the development stages in Midtown. Charles LeBlanc, executive director of the Midtown board of directors and city attorney Gene Locke believe that they will be able to begin to enacting zoning in Houston through local associations as if reflected in their remarks quoted in the article. This would eventually create zoning in areas checker boarded around the city. Political watch dog Barry Klein along, with other anti-zoning advocates, takes the position that a City Council approval of localized zoning would violate the terms of the 1994 referendum which defeated zoning for the third time in Houston history. The city council has made efforts, with some degree of success, to zone Houston through the "back door" method since its implementation was defeated by the 1994 referendum and this is just the latest tactic. This is an issue which should be addressed before the city spends a fortune in zoning planning. Everyone should recall that the large number of people employed and the money spent by the city on planning of zoning created a whole new department of city government and left the city with the responsibility of finding jobs for the employees which were hired after the defeat of the zoning proposal in '94, all at the expense of the taxpayer; money which is still costing the tax payer of Houston to date.


Partly quoted from the Houston Chronicle article of November 18th by Julie Mason:

Michael M. Butler