M. W. Lee became involved in real estate in 1929. Since that time, he has become president of the Texas Mortgage Company, as well as a member of Omega Tau Rho, the National Honor Society of Realtors, and a member of the International Society of Real Estate Appraisers. In addition, he served on the faculty of the University of Houston for seven years as an instructor in real estate.
As a realtor, Mr. Lee has long been interested in land use controls, particularly zoning, and has written several articles on the subject. As one of the leaders in both the 1947 and 1962 campaigns to keep Houston free of zoning, he helped defeat the proposed zoning ordinances in two city-wide elections.
The collection deals primarily with two major efforts to bring zoning to Houston (1947 and 1962), concentrating on the years 1960-1962. Also included is proposed state legislation which was designed to protect property values without zoning. Additionally, the collection contains three scrapbooks, material on the 1947 and 1962 controversies and correspondence with people involved in similar efforts in other cities. The collection also contains correspondence and clippings about zoning in other cities, and clippings about urban renewal and the Trinity River Project.
The collection has been arranged chronologically, following the original order as much as possible.
None.
Permission to publish or reproduce materials from the M. W. Lee Papers must be obtained from the Houston Metropolitan Research Center or the appropriate copyright holder.
M. W. Lee Papers. Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library.
Donated by M.W. Lee in 1977.
Processed in 1977.