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Our forests in the Briar Forest Super Neighborhood are being threatened with destruction. The City of Houston and the Harris County Flood Control District plan to deforest our region in order to build detention basins.
There are a number of different entities involved and more than one plan. For more information, please visit the Briar Forest Super Neighborhood website for detailed information about the project.
January 23, 2012 update:
In a meeting attended by estimated over 50 people from our area (Beltway 8 to Highway 6 by Westheimer north to I-10, the BFSN staff outlined the plans by Harris County to "improve" drainage along Buffalo Bayou. What this means is that our beautiful urban park which has been recognized by many national urban planning organizations will be cleared out, dry retention ponds of differing typologies will be installed to improve water flow below BW8 and downtown. The cost estimate for Phase I is over $20 million. Phase II is a loosely drawn plan to replant some of the vegetation and put in some hiking/biking trails. Phase II is not funded. This is problematic: we stand to lose a beautiful nature park with NO assurance that the drainage system put in place will do neither 1. help stop flooding downstream nor 2. ever be funded for amenities to replace those taken out by this plan.
Harris County Flood Control plans to roll out information to the public on February 8 2012 at the Tracy Gee Center at 6pm. Tracy Gee is located just inside Beltway 8 off Richmond Ave.
Tracey Gee Community Center
3599 Westcenter Drive, Houston, TX 77042
(713) 266-8193
Should you feel that more community input is needed before the Harris County Flood Control District starts this huge project which will affect (and destroy) the beauty and value of our neighborhoods, please attend this meeting with us. The more persons we have at this meeting, the more likely that our input will be taken.
Please pass this information on to anyone who values the scenic beauty of the Buffalo Bayou / Terry Hershey park from Highway 6 to Beltway 8. Once the Harris County administration and engineering team proceed with this plan, we will lose this asset forever.
The Briar Forest Super Neighborhood team headed by Greg Daniels has done a great job of bringing into view this huge change to our park and nature trails. We need to go to the meeting at Tracy Gee on Feb. 8 and support their efforts.
Howard Dunbar
Ashford Hollow Delegate to the Briar Forest Super Neighborhood 18
An email sent on February 5, 2012 from Greg Daniels, Super Neighborhood President:
Upcoming Charting Buffalo Public Meeting
Wednesday - February 8, 2012
Tracy Gee Community Center
6:00 - 8:00 (arrive much earlier if you need a seat and parking spot)
PLEASE ATTEND. Make your position known. The County expects only 150 people to attend this important meeting. WE NEED TO FILL THE MEETING ROOM. We can’t do so without you. Please sacrifice several hours of your time this coming Wednesday and attend the Charting Buffalo public meeting. Don’t wait for the bulldozers' arrival to get involved – NOW is the time. Tell your neighbors! Bring 5, 10, 20 people with you! Car pool and get there early.
PLEASE read the attached documents (ashfordhollow.com/file/attachments_2012_02_06.zip ) from Save Our Forest for suggestions regarding public input and what to expect at the meeting. Share the attached documents with neighbors, friends and co-workers over the next two days. Make it your mission to convince at least five other people to attend the meeting on the 8th.
Go to www.briarforestSN.org and view the presentation titled KEEP THE FOREST IN BRIAR FOREST. Find out why we do not oppose the entire Charting Buffalo study (just the portions in Reach One we know to be unnecessary). The County has identified some excellent options that DO NOT require turning Terry Hershey Park into a giant 20,000 ac-ft detention basin.
Read the PWE – Who, What and Why and HCFCD – Who, What and Why documents found at the bottom of the Buffalo Bayou Detention page on the Briar Forest Super Neighborhood website. Click on the links for the documents and learn the details so you can be fully informed when you enter Tracy Gee this coming Wednesday.
If you have not signed the on-line petition, please do so now! (do not sign if you have already signed the hardcopy version). You can find the on-line petition link on the Buffalo Bayou Detention page.
We will need your help in at least two more calls to action. Please make plans to join us in April for a trip to City Hall and for a later trip to the Commissioner’s Court (month to be determined).
Additionally, over the next two days, make it your mission to contact every person listed on the SOF handouts and make your position known.
You count. You make a difference. Don’t let anyone silence you.
Greg
The official Charting Buffalo invitation follows:
The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) invites you to attend one of our community meetings on Charting Buffalo. The purpose of the community meetings is to inform the public on the Charting Buffalo study and draft report, discuss where the draft report will be available for public review and share how comments can be provided.
The public review and feedback period for the Charting Buffalo draft report will begin on February 8, 2012 (the same day as our first community meeting) and last through April 1, 2012. The draft report will be available for free to attendees on a USB drive at the community meetings. Interested parties can also review hard copies of the report at the Harris County Flood Control District office and select libraries in the study area or download it online at www.chartingBuffalo.org.
About Charting Buffalo
Charting Buffalo is a study of 32 miles of Buffalo Bayou from the Barker Reservoir to the Houston Ship Channel Turning Basin , and 7 miles of lower White Oak Bayou from Loop 610 to the confluence with Buffalo Bayou in downtown Houston . Charting Buffalo aims to integrate options for reducing flooding risks and damages and the need for streambank stabilization with opportunities for third parties to collaborate in creating community and environmental enhancements.
Once public feedback has been taken into account, the Charting Buffalo study will result in a final report that will include many options and a recommended implementation strategy for:
- Reducing flooding risks and damages and improving streambank stability
- Identifying additional uses of greenspace created by the Harris County Flood Control District
Please take a moment to review a short video about Charting Buffalo .
About the Community Meetings
During the community meetings, a brief presentation will be given on how to access the Charting Buffalo draft report and provide comments. Visitors will be encouraged to listen to the presentation and then tour the exhibit area where maps and information on flooding and community enhancement opportunities will be on display. The meetings will also offer an area for the public to provide feedback on the draft report. Comments can be submitted in written form or electronically by using one of the available computers.
A total of four community meetings have been scheduled in the Charting Buffalo study area. Identical information will be shared during each event. See the meeting schedule below for details. The most up-to-date information will also be posted at www.chartingbuffalo.org.
Time: 6 - 8 p.m. (brief presentation at 6:15 p.m.)
3599 Westcenter Drive
Houston , TX 77042
Time: 10 a.m. to Noon (brief presentation at 10:15 a.m.)
10202 Memorial Drive
Fine Arts Building
Houston , TX 77024
Time: 6 to 8 p.m. (brief presentation at 6:15 p.m.)
&nbs p; 1435 Beall Street
&nbs p; Houston , TX 77008
Time: 6 to 8 p.m. (brief presentation at 6:15 p.m.)
One Main Street
Academic Building
White Oak Bayou Room, A300
&nbs p; Houston , TX 77002
*Directions by METRO light rail: Ride the train to the UH Downtown station and follow the signage through the One Main Building to the Academic Building , to the White Oak Bayou Room, A300.
*Directions by Car: From downtown Houston , take Travis Street over Buffalo Bayou. The first right is Girard Street . Turn right on Girard. Then take the first right on Third Street to enter the visitor parking garage. Take the elevator to the third floor, follow signage to the White Oak Bayou Room, A300.
We encourage you to RSVP.
For special communication or accommodation needs, call 713-684-4040. Requests should be made at least three working days prior to the meeting.
We encourage you to attend one of these community meetings to learn about Charting Buffalo as well as learn how to access the draft report and provide comments.
Again, the public comment period will run through April 1, 2012.
We look forward to seeing you at one of the Charting Buffalo community meetings and to receiving your feedback on the draft report.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Dyke, Study Manager
Harris County Flood Control District
Charting Buffalo Steering Committee Members
Larry Bellatti, Harris County Flood Control Task Force
Judy Boyce, Houston Audubon Society
Richard Chapin, City of Houston , Public Works and Engineering Department
Ralph DeLeon, City of Houston , Finance Department, Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Program
Lonnie Hoogeboom, Houston Downtown Management District
Kathy Lord, Bayou Preservation Association
Yuhayna McCoy, City of Houston Parks & Recreation Department
Roksan Okan-Vick, Houston Parks Board
Anne Olson, Buffalo Bayou Partnership
Cheryl Raspino, Study Area Resident
Robert Rayburn, Energy Corridor District
Diane Schenke, Greater East End Management District
Evelyn Shanley, White Oak Bayou Association
Jack Smart, Superneighborhood 16
Nancy Sullivan, Memorial Park Conservancy
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