From: Jayna Ketner [mailto:jgoodell@hal-pc.org]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2010 1:20 PM
To: info@responsiblehistoricpreservation.org
Subject: James & Jayna Ketner's Experience

(short version)

To whom it may concern,

My wife and I never signed the petition in the first place.  Sherry Beale harassed us on our front porch at least 4 times.  She never would take no.  My name is James L Ketner and my wife's name is Jayna L Ketner.  Jayna even went down to the hearing when this abomination first passed.  They let her ask questions and then proceeded to tell her they did not have to answer her questions.  Their minds were made up.  One thing they did tell her, and this was said by Mr. Beale: “If you were so against this then why did you not have any yard signs?” 

    Thanks for looking out for us.  We sure would not have known about this until too late. 

    We just got our so called 90 permit, however, it took almost 9 months to complete.  They lost everything we gave them, said that we never came to the historic council even though we had a dated permit application.  And the worst of all, made fun of our home the day they held the application meeting.  They commented that I did not care or I would have been there.  And then proceeded to say that the changes we asked for were not likely to improve our home.  They said this with a snicker.  This group of people is out of control.

James L Ketner

307 West 13th Street

………………………………..

(more detailed version)

Dear Kathleen Powell,

When the petition for Historic Preservation first surfaced in 2006? 2007?, Ms. Beale came to our home a total of 4 times asking for our signatures.  At first they were polite conversations with questions and answers.  We repeatedly declined to sign the petition for a number of reasons.  The proposed area for historic designation seemed random and small--from 11th Street to 16th Street and from Allston to Ashland.  Although Ms. Beale assured us that we wouldn't have to provide an architectural committee with anything more than simple drawings, we saw the writing on the wall, so to speak.  We could see an average home owner needing to hire an architect just to provide drawings and elevations to replace windows, add decorative features, etc.

Ms. Beale was so persistent with getting our signatures because we actually own an old bungalow built around 1910.  They were desperately in need of signatures of people who actually owned older homes because their petition was filled with mostly new construction home owners.  The construction dates were in the 1990s and early 2000s which didn't conform to the requirement that over 50% of the "historic" homeowners' signatures were required to pass the ordinance.  On the fourth occurrence, we actually had to ask Ms. Beale to leave us alone and stop knocking on our door.

At the initial hearing for the ordinance in October 2007, my wife, Jayna Ketner, attended and asked specific questions of the panel.  Questions were posed such as, "new homes in the designated area have Hardi-plank siding and vinyl windows, will those of us who have truly historic homes be subject to the same standards as new homes, or will we have more stringent requirements?"  No one from the panel answered a single word.

Addresses of those who signed the petition in favor of historic designation were posted on the Houston Heights Association's Web site.  Jayna looked up the addresses on HCAD and saw that only 39% of the signatures belonged to people owning old homes.

 Also at the hearing, one opposing home owner made allegations that his signature was actually forged on the petition.  The panel didn't even blink an eye.  Another speaker in opposition to the ordinance pointed out the environmentally unfriendliness of the ordinance.  A couple panelists accused the speaker of being misinformed and not reading the ordinance correctly.  The speaker had the written version of the ordinance in his hand and quoted it verbatim.  Again, the panelists refused to take into consideration any points the opposition had to make.  Ms. Beale and Mr. Pace recused themselves from the vote since they are Heights residents, but the rest of the panel returned a unanimous vote in favor of the ordinance within a few short minutes.

 When we purchased the home in 1993, it was covered in asbestos siding and had a screened in front porch.  We removed the asbestos siding, repainted the wood siding, and removed the screened in portion of the front porch back in 1997.  In October of 2009, we began the permit process to make repairs and renovations to the front of our home.  We went back and forth with the historic preservation committee for months.  At first they only wanted pictures and simple drawings, then they asked for elevations from the ground to the apex of the roof, and finally we were turned down completely for a permit.  We were supposed to be able to get out after 90 days permit on May 17, 2010.  When we went to the permit department, there was a "hard hold" on our permit that had to be cleared up before they would issue the permit.  All these trips to the city public works departments cost a home owner time and money.

 What was so horrible about the proposed changes we wanted to make to the front of our house, you ask?  We want to replace rotted wood, a window that wasn't a window at all, and front porch posts.  The existing window was just a large sheet of textured glass secured by rotting wood that had fallen out and broke.  We want to put stone halfway up the siding, install 3 vinyl-clad low-e fixed windows which will house 3 panels of stained glass and install cedar shakes from the stone to the top of the front, right-hand side.  The cedar shakes will cover the vinyl so it won't even be noticeable.  We want to replace the porch posts with cedar posts, and replace rotten soffit and fascia with non-rotting Hardi-plank.  Are these crimes against historic preservation?  You be the judge.

Thank You,

James & Jayna Ketner

Only one chance to  opt out of the Historic District, many chances to opt in! http://goo.gl/lzT67
......................

HISTORIC PRESERVATION ORDINANCE AS AMENDED 10/13/2010 http://goo.gl/Q1cP

Just want the petition? Print from http://goo.gl/1FYO .   Email signed petition to myself at cynthia@cynthiamullins.com or Bill Baldwin at Bill@yourblvd.com or fax to 866-552-6180, by November 17^th. 

We are trying to educate as many people as possible before this November 17th date so that when the ballot comes in the mail and you have 15 days to return it to the city, we can:

1) remind you it is coming
2) tell you what it looks like so you won't mistake if for junk mail

This exact ballot must be filled out within these 15 days (unknown exactly when as of now, but probably mid December).  If you lose or do not receive your ballot, you can't copy someone else's and turn it in.  AND remember, not returning a ballot means YES for the Historic Preservation Ordinance.
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