Tensions rise high at heated Ashby forum

By Paul Tucker     4/17/08 7:00pm

The Baker Institute Student Forum hosted a heated debate on the construction of the project known as the Ashby High Rise on Monday before a crowd of students and community members. BISF invited Jim Reeder, an attorney representing the Boulevard Oaks and Southampton civic groups, Houston journalist Mike Snyder, community anti-zoning activist Brian Phillips and University of Houston law professor John Mixon to the debate held at Sammy's Café, which turned out to be a combative repartee between conflicting philosophical and legal positions.

BISF Organizer and Baker College sophomore Aurelia Chaudhury began by posing questions to the panel about the history of land use regulation in Houston. The City of Houston has voted down zoning ordinances three times in its history and similar land use fights have repeatedly failed to gain traction with the City Planning Commission, Snyder said. About 90 percent of construction projects that meet community resistance continue with little impediment from the City of Houston, Snyder said.

The opening statements of the other two panelists, however, quickly turned to name-calling as Phillips and Reeder took turns exchanging barbs over what constituted infringement of personal rights.

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Reeder said the developers repeatedly refused to negotiate with neighborhood civic associations to reduce the harm caused by the development to neighboring property owners. Phillips said the only relevant infringement of rights in the case was that perpetrated by physical harm. He said the City of Houston was impeding the project with an implied use of force.

"The state is the only agent that has a legal monopoly on the use of force," Phillips said. The two continued to spar, but ended in deadlock.

Frequently, community members in the audience shouted at the panelists, calling for Phillips to "just shut up," or that Reeder was "just plain wrong." Chaudhury assured audience members they would have a chance to engage the panel with question later in the night, but many continued to shout.

Later in the evening, Mixon joined the forum and addressed the history of failed zoning regulation in Houston and said the civic associations were benefiting from illegal use of power by the City of Houston in holding up building permits. At that point, some of the crowd booed Mixon. However, many of those same audience members later cheered as Mixon recounted his fight against then-Mayor Louie Welch over land use issues in the 1970s.

Chaudhury then opened the floor for questions from the audience. Several addressed Phillips, but most took the opportunity to argue against the developers of the project instead of asking questions.

Brown College junior Betsy Ohrn asked Snyder whether he thought a less affluent neighborhood would have drawn this much attention. Snyder said similar fights over land use are usually quickly resolved in favor of the developer.

"Whether that is fair, I cannot say," he said.

Community member and Southampton resident Larry Andrews came away disappointed with the presentations made by both sides.

"God deliver us from any more presentations by posturing politicians, lackey lawyers and full-of-it philosophers," Andrews said. "It is time to bring in engineers and accountants."

However, Chaudhury said she thought the event went well.

"BISF enjoys hosting events that bring students and community members together to learn about and discuss local policy issues," Chaudhury said. "I think it's great to have events that get audience members really passionately engaged ... the event was certainly anything but boring . and I think everyone learned something.

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