No More Tire Tracks on the Grass

In January, the Houston City Council responded to an outcry they say they've received from neighborhood activists, making it illegal to park cars in your yard. However, the City did not budget what it would cost to implement this ban and it seems it will fall into the hands of the neighborhoods & their Civic Clubs to handle.
If Denver Harbor residents want to be part of this crackdown on parked cars, they must "opt in" to the ban by applying to the Department of Planning & Development. The current application requires civic clubs to pay for first-class mailings to every property owner that would fall under the parking ban. This issue concerns me.
First, as has already been the commentary of many politicos, is that it is unfair to less wealthy neighborhoods to have to pay for postage, envelopes, and signs to notify the neighborhood of the changes. For example, Sharpstown, has more than 6,800 homes. Informing all the owners through a first-class mailing would cost at least $3,000. But, to take it further, my thought is that Denver Harbor falls under the 'less wealthy' neighborhood category, and the little money our Civic Club is able to muster with the little representation we get from the City Council*, should be fused to focus on things that are more troubling in our area. How about putting that money toward after school programs or into our area schools? It is disturbing to myself to think that thousands of dollars worth of neighborhood dues could be spent to eliminate cars being parked on our private yard property, when things like the dropout rate, teenage pregnancy stats, continued black/brown violence, and poor education standards remain the same or grow here.
I am all for keeping our streets, yards, and homes clean, but I'm not for investing money into a problem that is mediocre in comparison to other issues that we could face and fix for the future betterment of our gente and our barrio. |
In truth, I have yet to hear what the Denver Harbor Civic Club is saying about their status on this ban, but as I am concerned & if you would also like to know, our Civic Club meets the first Tuesday of every month at 6:45pm in the Senior's Center at Denver Harbor Selena Quintanilla-Perez Park (6402 Market Street Houston, TX 77020). Meetings are open to the public to come listen & to voice your opinions.
Also, If you have any questions regarding neighborhood streets, roads, policing, trash pickup, traffic enforcement, the fire station, the library, the parks, or other concerns, please feel free to e-mail the President of the Denver Harbor Civic Club - Mrs. Anna Gonzales - president@dhcc.ws.

Sites of Interest/Data for blog from:
Denver Harbor Civic Club
Chron.com article- Nabbing Houston Yard Parkers will be Neighborhood Matter
City of Houston eGovernment Center

*due to Adrian Garcia being elected Sheriff, we currently have no City Council representative for Denver Harbor.