After Harvey, it became clear that the simplest and most effective way to avoid sedimentation due to sand mining, was to prevent any new sand mining in the floodway. State Representative Dan Huberty introduced three new bills to toughen legislation on sand mines yesterday. But these bills never mention words like river, setback, buffer zone, […]
A highly talented Kingwood photographer named Emily Murphy contacted me this week. The proposal to build high-rises near the river alarmed her. The impact on wildlife terrified her. The Seldom-Seen World In Your Backyard Emily often kayaks on the river with her camera. She has documented a world that few of us will ever see […]
Someone must have forgotten to tell the developers of the proposed high-rise development. Friendswood Development Company’s Commercial Development Guidelines prohibit buildings taller than 60 feet in Kingwood. Romerica Investments, LLC hopes to build multiple 250 to 500 foot buildings. They would exceed the maximum building-height requirements by 4X to 8X. Section 2-13: Building Height Section […]
A resident of The Commons on Lake Houston contacted me about some severe erosion in her community. I can only describe it as stunning. It destroyed trails owned by the Property Owners Association that people used for hiking, biking and horseback riding. The loss of these trails limits recreational opportunities and has physically divided large […]
The City of Houston ran out of chairs. At least 500 people tried to cram into a meeting room set to accommodate about 100. Before the meeting could start, partitions had to be opened and hundreds of chairs were added to the room. Yes, we’ve had bigger meetings organized by officials that were planned for […]
Many residents concerned about the proposed new high-rise development in Kingwood both north and south of the Barrington have requested a meeting on the subject to voice their concerns. Monday night, starting at 6 p.m., they will get that chance at the Kingwood community center. What the Meeting Will Cover The meeting will begin with […]
Below is the Sierra Club response to the Army Corps’ public notice about Romerica’s proposed high-rise development in Kingwood, near River Grove Park. A number of people have asked me post responses that people have already sent into the Corps. Feel free to cut and paste sections that capture concerns you have. January 1, 2019 Evaluation Branch, North UnitRegulatory […]
Jim Zura, owner of Zura Productions, flew his drones again on January 8 after the most recent flood went down. This time, he’s sharing two videos. The first, shot from River Grove Park, shows the area south of Barrington. The second, shot from Woodland Hills Drive at Deer Springs, shows the area north of the […]
On January 8, 2019, IBM announced that it will soon introduce a new higher resolution weather-forecasting system. The IBM Global High-Resolution Atmospheric Forecasting System (GRAF) will offer 3 kilometer resolution compared to the current industry-average 13-kilometer resolution. That’s 1.25 miles instead of 8. The system will enable truly local forecasts as opposed to regional. And […]
Below are two videos taken by Jim Zura of Zura Productions before and after Harvey. Together with other still images, flooding statistics and the Army Corps’ Value Engineering report, they demonstrate how radically Harvey transformed the West Fork. As you review these, keep in mind that the proposed new high-rise development in this area based […]