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Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston Saturday, November 25, 2017 • Vol. 62 • No. 46
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Court ruling leaves GOMO restrictions in limbo By Jonathan McElvy jonathan@theleadernews.com A Texas appellate court has ruled that the Garden Oaks Maintenance Organization can’t enforce its deed restrictions against one resident. However, the ruling also said GOMO still has authority and standing to enforce the neighborhood’s bylaws. The result is that the case of GOMO vs. Peter and Katherine Chang has done nothing to clarify whether GOMO can enforce any of the deed
For more about the ruling and its impact on other neighborhoods, see related column Page 4A restrictions in the neighborhood. In 2012, GOMO filed suit against the Changs, seeking to stop an additional two-car garage they built. Not only did they seek a permanent injunction, they also sought damages for every day the extra garage door was still standing. In the suit, GOMO
claimed the deed restrictions did not allow a second garage. A trial court disagreed, but not because of verbiage in the Garden Oaks deed restrictions. Instead, the trial court ruled that the Changs didn’t have to abide by the restrictions because GOMO was an “invalid” organiza-
tion. Specifically, the court said the Changs proved that GOMO was not formed legally. The trial court also ruled the Garden Oaks bylaws had “no force and effect” against the Changs, and that GOMO did not have “authority or standing to pursue legal action” against the Changs for “any alleged deed restrictions in the Garden Oaks Section Three.” But last week, in a 38-page opinion, the 14th Court of Appeals overturned two of the key rulings from the trial
court. “Because the Changs did not meet their burden… we conclude the trial court erred in declaring that GOMO’s bylaws have no force and effect against the Changs,” the opinion said. And in the fourth issue of the case – whether GOMO has the legal standing and authority to enforce the neighborhood’s bylaws – the appellate court overturned the trial court.
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ourselves, since we were involved with [the birth mother] we still had the kind of pregnancy where you’re constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and this could disappear in a blink,” Jimmy said, looking back at the process. “What if she decides she can’t part with those kids? I feel those fears are still very similar – that every little pang could be something wrong – to what other parents go through. That was at the forefront of our mind for months.” Once the adoption was final and the family officially grown, Glenna said the couple encountered little to no resistance in accepting adopted children from their extended family, making the transition a
Slowpokes owners JC Rubiralta and Mazen Baltagi would like to celebrate their coffee shop’s year anniversary with a big celebration on their patio, but they can’t because they might not have that patio for much longer. A long simmering dispute with landlord Momin Naushad, who also owns the Alba Food Mart in the building, has resulted in an impasse which the owners detailed on their Facebook page. “After trying over the past few months to come to an agreement, it seems our landlord is more inclined to causing our business harm than fixing the rest of his dilapidated building before even having other tenants move adjacent to us,” wrote Rubiralta. “Even with no approved permits, his lawyer has informed us that we must vacate the patio by end of day today. We don’t really know what else we can do on our end. They have declined to go to mediation or even pick up our calls.” Rubiralta said that souring relations with Naushad go back almost a year. “After we signed the lease, [the landlord] felt like he got a bad deal,” said Rubiralta said. “He approached us for additional rent and also talked to our commercial real estate agent about renegotiating the deal.” Rubiralta and Baltagi signed a five year lease with the option for three 5 year extensions. Because there was no lease obligation for Naushad to make improvements, and because the owners say that they’ve spent $300,000 on build out and improvements, they think their lease agreement was fair. “We paid for new plumbing in the building and for an exterminator for the whole building too,” said Rubiralta, noting that the condition of the vacant spaces next to them necessitated an exterminator. “We also added lights to the exterior building.” Before things went south, Rubiralta said they had recruited some poten-
See Family P. 6A
See Patio P. 3A
See Page 6A NOW For Upcoming OPEN Line Up THEHEIGHTSTHEATER.COM
339 W 19th St, Houston, TX 77008
Photo by Little Branch Photography Heights residents Glenna and Jimmy Mathews play with their sons Winston and Wesley in the Texas bluebonnets. The couple adopted the twin boys at birth almost 5 years ago, and say they would not trade the experience in growing their family for anything.
inside.
Heights family’s adoption journey one to remember By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
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Page 6B
The INDEX. Church....................................................... 5A Classifieds.............................................. 6B Coupons. ................................................. 8A Food/Drink/Art................................... 9A Obituaries.............................................. 7A Opinion. ................................................... 4A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 4A
See Deed P. 5A
Heights residents Glenna and Jimmy Mathews are living a dream. The journey? It’s been winding, but memorable. The legacy? It’s something they’ll have as a long as they live – and it began as simply lending an ear to a friend. The Mathews are one of many adoptive families around the country, and their story is far from the only heartwarming one we’ll hear this holiday season and during National Adoption Awareness Month. But the path they’ve taken is a unique story even amongst a sea of such situations, and it’s a journey they continue to navigate with the help of Houstonbased Adoptive Families of Houston. “We had gone through some of the
initial steps, looked at adoption agencies and explored what the process would entail,” Glenna Mathews said of the initial conversation to expand their family. a few years ago. But ultimately, the Mathews’ adoption story is unique in the sense that the connection to the birth mother was made through Jimmy’s coworker. It was through a conversation with that coworker, a friend for over a decade now, that Jimmy learned that his friend was expecting two new grandchildren and that the birth mother was exploring adoption. And the rest is history. “You’ve had an idea of what [being a parent] might be like, but it’s so much more fulfilling than I would have ever expected. In some ways, even though we didn’t go through the pregnancy
Plaza dedication draws crowd By Betsy Denson For The Leader The dedication of the Carl and Melvalene Cohen Plaza on Saturday, November 18, was also a beautiful reunion of sorts, as many of the Cohens friends turned out to celebrate. Because of their work on behalf of the Heights and the City of Houston over the years, those friends included Mayor Sylvester Turner and State Senator John Whitmire. Carl Cohen passed away in 1999 but 94-year old Melvalene was in attendance to receive the love and recogni-
ton of her community. Turner said that he had worked with Melvalene for many years and that she and her husband were “visionaries who helped make Houston Strong.” Whitmire joked that when he started out in his political career, he had five supporters, three of whom were family. The other two were the Cohens. Cohen’s son Danny gave a beautiful testament to his mother and to all those other Heights luminaries who worked tirelessly on behalf of the area. “She truly is the Queen of the Heights,” said Danny. See Plaza P. 7A
Photo by Betsy Denson Event Chair Bill Baldwin, Mayor Turner, Melvalene Cohen and State Senator John Whitmire pose in front the plaza’s Lombard Lamp.
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