Houston City Council at its meeting today, June 29, created three new historic districts: Heights South, Woodland Heights, and Glenbrook Valley, adding these new districts to the current total of 16 city historic districts, which includes the Old Sixth Ward Protected Historic District. Historic districts are representative of a variety of time periods and architectural styles from Houston’s past, dating back to the mid-1800s.

The Council votes were 9-5 for Heights South, 9-5 for Woodland Heights, and 10-4 for Glenbrook Valley.

“Our history is preserved with these votes today,” Council Member Sue Lovell said. “I want to thank everyone for their work on the creation of these districts.”

Council Member Sue Lovell has long been an advocate for Houston’s parks and community centers and now she has announced her intention to designate the remainder of her FY 2011 Council budget to help keep the community center at Cherryhurst Park open. Residents of the Cherryhurst neighborhood have rallied to save their community center in the face of city budget cuts, and Council Member Lovell is proud to assist them.

The community center at Cherryhurst serves the Montrose area with numerous after-school and summer programs for children, as well as with programs for seniors and adults. The 80 year old structure has become a fixture in the Cherryhurst community and Council Member Lovell is happy to be able to help continue that tradition.

Council Members are allowed to direct where the remainder of their office budgets will go at the end of June, when the fiscal year ends for the City of Houston.

Because of the lack of rain and the record high temperatures, the City of Houston has instituted Stage One Water Conservation Measures as outlined in Chapter 47 in the Code of Ordinances. Under these voluntary guidelines, the city asks residents to limit irrigation to the hours between 12:01 a.m. and 10 a.m. or between 8 p.m. and midnight on no more than two days per week.

Residents are asked to abide by the following schedule:
• Sundays and Thursdays for residents with even-numbered street addresses
• Saturdays and Wednesdays for residents with odd-numbered street addresses

The city will contact large commercial water customers to request voluntary reductions in water consumption.

As required by the ordinance, city departments are instituting a water use reduction program, which includes but is not limited to reducing water use by 10 percent and implementing corrective measures to eliminate water waste.

While the city Public Works and Engineering Department has adequate water capacity to meet the demands of its customers, these measures can help Houstonians be good water stewards during one of the most severe droughts in Texas history.

The Development and Regulatory Affairs Committee, chaired by Council Member Sue Lovell, convened yesterday for public hearings to consider Municipal Setting Designations for two sites—one for Union Pacific Railroad Company at 9800 Clinton, the other for MSJ Holdings, L.P., at 18310 Market. MSD designations must be approved by the City of Houston and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in order for companies to develop some industrial sites. Jebediah Greenfield, the Brownfields Program Manager, Planning and Development Services Division of the Public Works and Engineering Department, made the presentation to the DRA Committee.

Council Member Sue Lovell joined Council Member Melissa Noriega, HISD Trustees Juliet Stipeche and Manuel Rodriguez, and members of the Rufus Cage Educational Alliance and the East End community for a walk through of historic Cage Elementary yesterday. An effort is underway to save the 1910 school building, which is located on Telephone Road. To lend support, contact the Rufus Cage Educational Alliance at rufuscage@gmail.com.

The administration submitted the proposed fiscal year 2012 city budget to City Council on Wednesday, June 15, and amendments from Council Members were received. The budget and the amendments were tagged (delayed for one week). It is anticipated that Council will vote on the budget at the next meeting on June 22.

The Transportation, Infrastructure and Aviation Committee, chaired by Council Member Sue Lovell, heard a presentation yesterday on the $1 billion redevelopment of Terminal B at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The public-private initiative between the Houston Airport System and United Continental Holdings, Inc., will provide increased capacity for United’s largest hub, which serves about 40 million passengers a year. The expansion project will help boost the Houston economy by creating local construction jobs over the next 7 to 10 years. Plans include larger, modern concourses and improved ramp and airfield infrastructure. Mario Diaz, the City of Houston aviation director, made the presentation to the TIA Committee.

Tomorrow, Council Member Sue Lovell, who chairs the city’s historic preservation committee, will join East End residents for a tour of the historic Cage Elementary School. The Rufus Cage Educational Alliance and others in the community are organizing to save the 1910 building, which was an HISD school until 1983, when a new Cage Elementary opened. Located on Telephone Road, the original Cage is a significant part of Houston’s East End. To support the preservation effort, people may contact the Rufus Cage Educational Alliance at rufuscage@gmail.com.

As chair of the City of Houston Transportation, Infrastructure and Aviation Committee, Council Member Lovell shares this information of the East End Corridor Grade Separation Update Meeting that will be held on Wednesday, June 15, 7 p.m., at Ripley House (4410 Navigation).

Council Member Sue Lovell presented a mayoral proclamation on June 9 at the downtown Amtrak station declaring Rail Safety Day in Houston. At the event, Operation Lifesaver, the rail-safety education organization, unveiled its Rail Safety Challenge, an online learning program directed at professional drivers. Statistics show that one of four railroad crossing crashes involves a vehicle that requires a Commercial Driver License to operate. In Texas, 30 percent of crashes involve CDL vehicles. Drivers may preview the Rail Safety Challenge at the website www.oli.org.