Lindale Park, nestled inside the North Loop east of Interstate 45, dates back to the 1940s. Tall trees line the streets and residents are looking to preserve their small neighborhood feel. It's a battle that's led them to the city of Houston's planning commission.
"We don't want to be like the Heights. We want to take away the incentive for developers trying to come in and subdivide our lots and build really tall townhomes," Lindale Park resident Gwyn Guidy said.
And this is what they want to prevent: Developers subdividing an original lot into two and erecting townhomes within just a few feet of each other. So they started collecting signatures on one block to apply for Chapter 42 protection, which is minimum lot size. It was granted for Gale Street.
Now 31 properties are protected from being subdivided less than 7,000 square feet.
"And just on that block phase that we turned our applications on in, we have fifth generations there," Lindale Park resident Kathy Gutierrez said.
"Then there's no incentive for them to come and build those townhouses, because they can't subdivide anything smaller than 7,000 square feet," Guidy said.
The fight's not over though. They've submitted applications for the rest of the neighborhood and are waiting for approval from the planning commission.
"We wanted to preserve our Lindale Park, the beauty of it," Gutierrez said.
So the last round of ballots will go out and they need 55 percent of those signed to get the entire Lindale Park neighborhood protected. The Lindale Park Civic Club has also lent their support.
Find Erik on Facebook at ABC13ErikBarajas or on Twitter at @ErikBarajas13
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