Houston may ban tall-tree planting under lines | Top stories | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "A proposed ordinance before council would prohibit the planting of tall trees, including live oaks, under power lines. The measure originally was intended to strengthen existing rules to protect trees in public rights of way from being cut down or hacked up by developers.
But the proposed ban on planting live oaks under electric lines — a last-minute addition to the measure — has a vocal group of tree lovers dismayed. Their main complaint centers on the live oak’s usefulness for hiding power lines.
“If this were to pass, we would have to look a lot more at the ugliest feature of our city: power lines,” said Hugh Kelly, a former general counsel for Houston Light & Power who advocated against the change on behalf of two neighborhood groups. “And we would not be able to look at one of the prettiest features: live oaks."
City officials and Council member Sue Lovell said the provision is important because it will ensure that tall trees that require costly pruning no longer will be planted under power lines. Those expensive pruning costs are passed on to electric ratepayers, Mayor Bill White noted."
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From what I have been told the Houston area is pretty much HOA Heaven, Houston being the only major city in the US that has no zoning code. And no concept of aesthetics, either.
1 comment:
You know it wasn't that many years ago that those electric lines would have been viewed proudly. Certainly those that transitioned from no electricity to electricity would view those power lines very differently. Now people are ashamed of them?
These are the same people who might have appreciated air conditioning if they lived without, but who find window units "ugly" once central air became available.
After central air became available, it wasn't long before the aesthetic police decided that the central units must be hidden or screened from view. The aesthetic police started privately fining people for the crime of having a visible central air unit.
Maybe we would all be better off without the aesthetic police. Try turning off the power and/or cutting off the heat and A/C to the homes of the aesthetic police and see how long it takes for their views to change about "ugliness" with respect to basic utility services.
By the way, Houston is one of the hardest hit cities that CAI attorneys and management companies prey upon. A number of CAI-friendly statutes specifically target Houston - due in no small part to the Dallas senator that is the largest owner of HOA management companies. HOA foreclosures by the thousands, the priority of payment scam, people pulled into HOAs after purchasing non-HOA property, etc. all under the pretext of aesthetics.
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