Tag Archive for: clearing

Meritage Finishes Clearing 40 Acres between Pinehurst and Kings River

Meritage has finished clearing all of its 40 acres between Pinehurst and Kings River. The property is just east of West Lake Houston Parkway and borders Kings Park Way, Texas Laurel Trail, and Pinehurst Trail Drive. The company plans to build 210 homes on the site in two phases.

Status of Phases 1 and 2

Meritage finished clearing the first 20 acres for Phase One west of Pinehurst Trail Drive in March this year. The company has already installed a large stormwater detention basin that occupies about a quarter of the site. But no homes have been built on the site yet.

Phase One in foreground looking east toward Lake Houston. Note large detention basin on right which already has grass growing around it to protect the slopes from erosion.

For the 20 acres east of Pinehurst Trail Drive, Meritage appears to be finished cutting trees. But they have yet to haul them all away. And Meritage has not yet done any drainage work for the second 20 acres. See below.

Looking east over Pinehurst Trail Drive. Contractors have cleared Phase 2, but trees have not all been hauled away yet.

However, no streets or homes have been constructed on either phase yet. Meritage’s website shows they build homes similar in size, look and price points to those found in surrounding neighborhoods.

So far, Meritage has managed to avoid any drainage fiascos similar to those associated with a nearby Trammell Crow apartment development.

But a drainage analysis by R.G. Miller Engineers for Meritage raised many questions about the sufficiency of the plans. The analysis:

  • Omitted data
  • Contained misstatements
  • Left out related reports
  • Included alarming assumptions.
Looking west toward West Lake Houston Parkway (out of sight at top of frame). Note pond in foreground.

Say Goodbye to the Wetlands

Parts of both phases of this development contained wetlands before Meritage cleared and graded the land.

Meritage Wetlands
From USGS National Wetlands Inventory

The saying in the engineering business is, “Water has a memory.” It tends to go where it has gone before. I’m sure Meritage will do a good job grading and compacting the land. But building over wetlands usually entails environmental, structural and economic risks.

The environmental risks include:

  • Loss of Biodiversity
  • Water-Quality Degradation
  • Increased Flood Risk
  • Carbon Storage Loss
  • Erosion and sedimentation

Structural risks include:

  • Foundation Instability
  • Water Intrusion and Damage from High Water Tables and Mold Growth
  • Drainage Issues such as Water Pooling and Flooding Around Homes.

Homes built over wetlands also often have higher insurance costs due to these issues, which may also cause property value to decline over time.

For More Information

Meritage builds homes in 11 states. Their website also shows they build homes in 34 communities in the Houston area alone. The posts below contain photos of and background materials about the development.

10/27/24 – Concerns About Fill Height in New Atascocita Development

3/11/24 – New Kings River Development Gets a Buzz Cut

2/13/24 – Meritage Begins Clearing 40 Acres for 210 Homes, Many Over Wetlands

2/26/24 – New Kings River Development Drainage Analysis, Plans Raise Questions

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/23/24

2673 Days since Hurricane Harvey

In One Week, More Questions than Trees Remain at Site of First Kingwood RV Park

Last week, I started getting barraged by emails from stunned Lakewood Cove residents waking up to the sound of bulldozers and chainsaws. Someone was cutting down 22 acres of trees between them and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks that parallel Loop 494 – for an RV park – without any public notice.

I went to the site on Monday and started investigating. On Wednesday, I posted what I had learned. Then I kept researching. Half a day on Thursday. All day Friday. And all day Saturday. It’s like digging into a House of Mirrors. But it’s no funhouse. There are so many legal entities with so many similar names that it’s easy to confuse them. That may be the intention.

For instance, you might think that Higbie Ventures LP is the same as Higbie Ventures GP LLC or Higbie Ventures of Texas, Inc. Likewise, you might think Laurel Springs RV is the same as LS RV Resort. But it’s not an abbreviation. They play different roles. But what are they?

So Many Questions, So Little Time

The deeper I dig into the shadowy web of contractors, managers, and investors behind this venture, the more questions I had.

  • According to residents who have tried to contact them, they refuse to answer questions or meet with the affected community. Why?
  • The City of Houston Planning Commission, Public Works Department and District E office have not returned phone calls or emails. Why?
  • The Harris County Appraisal District website contains incomplete and dated records about the land. Why?
  • The Harris County Flood Control District said they were not given an opportunity to review the plans even though part of the property is in the flood plain of the San Jacinto West Fork.
  • The City permits for the work show a different legal entity than the TCEQ stormwater permit. Why?
  • According to the Secretary of State’s website, the two organizations supposedly responsible for the clearing haven’t filed franchise-tax public-information reports in more than two years – but are somehow still doing business in the State of Texas. Why?
  • Could that affect the validity of the building permits?
  • The contractor responsible for the clearing (according to the TCEQ permit) has NO website, and has apparently subcontracted the work to another company. Why?
  • The man behind the primary contractor has started at least 11 companies or partnerships in Texas. None have websites. Most operate out of a PO Box. Most use the same phone number. He’s lost four of the entities to tax forfeitures and dissolved two others. What’s going on there?
  • And the people who own the property operate a maze of more than 100 other partnerships and corporations. Will they keep and manage the property or sell it to investors?
  • How will:
    • The property be managed and marketed? Who will it cater to?
    • The RV park affect drainage in Lakewood Cove next door?
    • Heavy vehicles affect the streets?
    • The absence of trees affect train noise?

Trees Mostly Gone

Just before sundown tonight, I went back to see how many trees remained. And the answer was, “not many.” They seem to have cleared virtually the entire site with the exception of the southern end where the detention pond will go. There’s also a strip of trees about two trees wide next to the utility corridor that parallels the railroad tracks. Next to Laurel Springs, that narrows to one tree in some places and zero in others.

At this point, the battle to save the trees is over. They will all disappear faster than you can say “injunction.”

The developer has executed a perfect blitzkrieg attack that would make Hitler jealous.

Below are pictures taken on Saturday, 10/30/2021.

Looking SSE. Lakewood Cove on left. UP tracks run from bottom to top on right.
Detention pond will go approximately where red box is.

At this rate, clearing could be completed in a week or two.

Location of Project

For those of you who don’t know where Lakewood Cove is, see below. It’s the area immediately to the right of the red. Friendswood Development Company never owned this land, so it’s not technically a part of “Kingwood,” which is a Friendswood trademark. Therefore, it doesn’t legally enjoy the protection of Kingwood’s deed restrictions. However, in every other sense, it is very much a part of the Kingwood community.

Location of land being cleared for new RV Park is in red. Land between the red and the river will become Harris County Precinct 4’s new Edgewater Park.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/30/2021 and revised on 10/31/2021 to include the “Location of Project” information immediately above.

1523 Days Since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.