2/10/2025 – An email among a powerful association of real estate developers and mortgage lenders obtained by ReduceFlooding.com details why the group feels the need to exploit immigrants despite criticism of its businesses practices from both the left and the right. The email defends a business model knowingly based on a high percentage of unqualified buyers whose property is repossessed and resold.
Foreclosure Rate 50 Tines Higher than U.S. Average
Three days after the Daily Wire wrote an expose about the notorious Colony Ridge Development in Liberty County, Scot Campbell, Chairman Emeritus of the Texas Land Development Association (TLDA), wrote an email to other TLDA board members.
The Daily Wire describes an owner-financing arrangement that “makes it possible for illegal aliens to buy land deep in the heart of Texas. While traditional financing methods require credit ratings and proof of income … buyers at Colony Ridge are able to circumvent the usual requirements, even dodging the need to provide a social security number.”
Traditional bank loans usually require a credit rating and proof of income. But owner financing obtained directly through Colony Ridge reportedly bypasses those traditional mortgage requirements. For a “few hundred dollars” as a down payment, buyers can own a piece of America.
The hitch: they might pay interest rates as high as 15%, according to the Daily Wire. And if they miss a payment, the owner may foreclose on their property and sell it again…with all the improvements that the previous buyer made. Some properties have been resold multiple times.
Merry Christmas from Colony Ridge, the world’s largest trailer park. Photographed on December 7, 2020.The developer reportedly foreclosed on 1900 properties that year.
Colony Ridge has also been criticized for marketing in Spanish but providing legal documents at closing in English to people who may not even speak the language.
But in his email to other TLDA board members, Scot Campbell describes the Daily Wire expose as “an attack on our industry.” [Emphasis added]
The Campbell email states, “The right wing … wants to stop all development of this nature. The left wants to knock us out of the market because we make money on the poor.”
He continues, “We will not be able to sell our developments if each of our buyers have to have a SS# and we have to qualify each buyer as to the buyer’s ability to repay.” [Emphasis added again]
“It will kill our industry and make our future resale of foreclosed lots worth a lot less than [before] because we will all be fighting over a few qualified buyers…”
Scot Campbell, Chairman Emeritus of TLDA
The remainder of the email describes criticisms of owner-financing practices from the political right and left.
“The right does not like our subdivisions [emphasis added again] because they believe they are a blight on the community” and the people “cannot speak English.”
Campbell says people on the left “think its evil to make money on poor people” and “charge higher interest.”
See the email below which responds to the Daily Wire article.
TLDA describes itself as a group that “works to prevent over-regulation by state and local governments by advocating for common-sense practices in land use and development.” Basically, it’s a lobbying organization.
Particularly worrisome in the email above is the plea to continue selling property to buyers, most of whom the association knows are unqualified. Scot Campbell apparently fears that might impact foreclosure mills in places like Liberty County and along the Mexican border. Developments like Colony Ridge operate throughout the state.
Source of Email
I obtained the email above from an ex-Colony Ridge land-owner-turned-activist named Maria Acevedo. Her property was foreclosed on after she complained about irregularities with the survey and the plat provided to her by the seller.
Investigative journalist Wayne Dolcefino exposed how properties in Colony Ridge are sold over and over again by the developer.
However, according to Acevedo, the legal documents for her foreclosure fail to comply with Texas law. This could affect thousands of foreclosures and resales in Liberty County. But more on that in a future story.
Ironically, the TLDA Chairman Emeritus concludes his memo saying that…
“Our industry does much to help the homeless problem.”
Scot Campbell, TLDA Chairman Emeritus
However, Campbell’s email does not describe how kicking people out of their homes would help the homeless problem.
For More Information about Colony Ridge
To learn more about the squalid living conditions in Colony Ridge, see History of Heartbreak: A Colony Ridge Chronicle. It contains links to more than 75 stories about substandard living conditions, infrastructure, and environmental issues in Colony Ridge.
Many of the latter impact downstream areas. For instance:
Sewage spills have affected water quality in the East Fork San Jacinto, its tributaries, and Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for 2 million people.
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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Scot-Memo-scaled-e1739236271754.jpg?fit=1100%2C681&ssl=16811100adminadmin2025-02-10 21:48:352025-02-11 12:36:56TLDA Email Details Need to Exploit Immigrants
2/9/25 – Northpark Drive expansion has become a bewildering maze of lane switches and traffic barriers where SUVs tango daily with excavators and dump trucks. All of that makes for life in the slow lane … which can actually be a good thing given the potential for accidents.
Since my last construction update, contractors have removed the old:
Eastbound pavement between Kings Mill and Russell Palmer Road
Loop 494 Northbound pavement on both sides of Northpark
They have also substantially completed the installation of storm sewers underneath the westbound surface turn lanes that will parallel the bridge over the UnionPacific Railroad Tracks and Loop 494. However, crews still need to install many laterals.
Pictures Taken 2/9/25
I took all pictures below on 2/9/25. They show the status of construction. If traffic looks light in these photos, it’s likely because I took them during the pregame show for the Super Bowl.
Looking east from in front of Italiano’s.The old eastbound pavement has been completely removed.
Before contractors pour new concrete, they will have to install drainage, compact the dirt, prepare the base, and place rebar. All of that could take another month or more.
As soon as they finish the drainage on eastbound Northpark between Italiano’s and Russell Palmer the same crew will rotate to the northeast side of the Loop 494/Northpark intersection then the southeast side. Again, once the drainage is complete, they will begin to prepare the sub-grade, then rebar, then concrete paving.
Looking W from in front of Kings Mill Entrance (bottom left). Crews have spent the last several months installing large culverts.They have moved from E to W toward the railroad tracks. They still need to install some laterals.The surface turn lanes that parallel the bridge over the railroad tracks and Loop 494 will go in the area between the existing lanes (left) and the new power lines (right).Wider, longer turn lanes and thru lanes will also be installed on Loop 494, shown here looking south from over Northpark.
The southbound lanes of Loop 494 south of Northpark are complete! So are the driveways!
Ditto for the north side.On the west side of 494, some power lines that need to be moved are still holding up construction (see lower right).But farther west, two new lanes have been poured that now go all the way to US59 at the top of the frame.
The lookahead schedule posted on the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website shows major efforts for the next three weeks include installation of:
Fire lines, water lines, water meters
Box culverts and laterals
Sub grade and fine grade prep
In other words, no big concrete pours for a while.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/20250209-DJI_20250209145602_0847_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2025-02-09 18:30:192025-02-10 14:49:14Northpark Drive Expansion Update: Life in the Slow Lane
2/8/2025 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has finally released the full text of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Review and its supporting files. The report, which was originally due in 300 days took more than 1400 days. When asked why it took so long, a HCFCD representative replied, “Personnel turnover.”
See links to all of them at the bottom of this post.
Preliminary Engineering Study of Kingwood Diversion Ditch produced by Neel-Schaffer
Altogether, the 175 megabytes of materials include hundreds of pages. I could not even post some files because they exceeded the size limit of my website or because they were engineering files that required specialized software to open.
I have uploaded what I can. However, I have not studied them all thoroughly yet. Based on a preliminary scan, here are some of the highlights.
Three Alternatives Evaluated
Neel-Schaffer, the engineering company that produced the report, considered three alternatives. Each improves stormwater carrying capacity of the ditch and relieves some of the pressure on Bens Branch. The two are connected near the Northpark Drive Fireworks Stand. The three alternatives include the following features:
Alternative 1 – A widened Kingwood Diversion Ditch including grass-lined trapezoidal channel, one drop structure and a new outfall of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch to West Fork San Jacinto River.
Alternative 2 – A widened Kingwood Diversion Ditch including a benched channel section above Ordinary High-Water Mark, two drop structures and a new outfall of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch to West Fork San Jacinto River.
Alternative 3 – A widened Kingwood Diversion Ditch including a Natural Stable Channel Design Sections with riffle and pools and a new outfall of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch to West Fork San Jacinto River.
Alternative #3 Recommended
For each alternative, Neel-Schaffer examined:
Hydraulic performance
Increased channel conveyance capacity
Costs and benefits in relation to the reduction in the area of inundation
Environmental impacts
Construction feasibility.
The engineers recommended Alternative 3 after comparing:
Capital cost estimates
Stormwater detention cost estimates
Maintenance costs per 10 years
Number of parcels, acres and structures removed from the 1% annual chance floodplain
The table below summarizes their benefits.
Even though alternative #3 was the most expensive to construct, lower maintenance costs would offset the increase within 28 years.
Features Included in Recommendation
The recommended project alternative includes:
A diversion structure at the intersection of the Diversion Ditch and Bens Branch to reduce the volume flowing into Bens Branch
Channel conveyance improvements to the Diversion Ditch
Bridge replacements at Kingwood Drive, Walnut Lane, Deer Ridge Estates Boulevard and the pedestrian bridge at Lake Village Drive
A new outfall to the West Fork San Jacinto River, just west of Woodland Hills Drive/River Grove Park
A stormwater detention basin on the south side of the San Jacinto West Fork.
In each alternative, stormwater flow to Bens Branch was restricted by pipes. That forces more stormwater into the expanded Diversion Ditch.
The Flood Control District’s guidelines allow for the use of a minimum pipe diameter of 24-inches. That would take enough stormwater flow out of Bens Branch to improve it from a 2-year level of service to a 100-year level.
Remember, the function of the Diversion Ditch is to take stormwater out of Bens Branch. Friendswood hoped to minimize flooding through the western half of Kingwood by using two channels instead of one to convey stormwater.
Detention Basin Also Recommended South of West Fork
Neel-Schaffer also evaluated the need for stormwater detention storage volume to mitigate adverse impacts of the proposed alternatives. They recommend one across the West Fork on high ground.
Neel-Schaffer recommended the green-colored basin south of the West Fork (#1).(Bottom Center)
Funding Not Identified Yet
Funding does not currently exist for any construction. HCFCD would have to apply for grants. The Preliminary Engineering Report outlines several possible sources of funding. However, Stephanie Zertuche, Flood Control’s Project Manager, says that pursuit will likely happen as part of the next phase – construction engineering – when costs are locked down.
However, that assumes that the project even gets that far. $55 million to remove 34 structures from the 100-year flood plain will be a difficult sell based on the Benefit/Cost Analysis alone.
But there are other factors to consider. We shouldn’t forget that:
12 people died along Bens Branch during Harvey.
The entire Kingwood Town Center area was under water
Thousands of people got cut off from evacuation routes.
Kingwood High School flooded to the second floor and thousands of students had to be bussed to other schools for a year.
Social benefits go far beyond cost and are hard to quantify.
To Review the Original Docs…
Below are links to all the Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Report documents.
If you are an engineer in the Humble/Kingwood Area, please help. Send me your opinions through the contact page of this website.
Even if you don’t read the entire study, you may be interested in seeing where your home stands in relation to the new expanded floodplains under Atlas 14. Those inundation maps at the bottom of the list are very interesting.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/8/25
2720 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/KW-Diversion-Ditch-PER-Cover.jpg?fit=1100%2C803&ssl=18031100adminadmin2025-02-08 12:01:152025-02-09 17:22:51Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Review Released
TLDA Email Details Need to Exploit Immigrants
2/10/2025 – An email among a powerful association of real estate developers and mortgage lenders obtained by ReduceFlooding.com details why the group feels the need to exploit immigrants despite criticism of its businesses practices from both the left and the right. The email defends a business model knowingly based on a high percentage of unqualified buyers whose property is repossessed and resold.
Foreclosure Rate 50 Tines Higher than U.S. Average
Three days after the Daily Wire wrote an expose about the notorious Colony Ridge Development in Liberty County, Scot Campbell, Chairman Emeritus of the Texas Land Development Association (TLDA), wrote an email to other TLDA board members.
The Daily Wire describes an owner-financing arrangement that “makes it possible for illegal aliens to buy land deep in the heart of Texas. While traditional financing methods require credit ratings and proof of income … buyers at Colony Ridge are able to circumvent the usual requirements, even dodging the need to provide a social security number.”
Traditional bank loans usually require a credit rating and proof of income. But owner financing obtained directly through Colony Ridge reportedly bypasses those traditional mortgage requirements. For a “few hundred dollars” as a down payment, buyers can own a piece of America.
The hitch: they might pay interest rates as high as 15%, according to the Daily Wire. And if they miss a payment, the owner may foreclose on their property and sell it again…with all the improvements that the previous buyer made. Some properties have been resold multiple times.
Colony Ridge has also been criticized for marketing in Spanish but providing legal documents at closing in English to people who may not even speak the language.
A multi-count lawsuit by the Texas Attorney General alleged deceptive trade practices and cited a foreclosure rate 50 times higher than the national average.
“An Attack on Our Industry”
But in his email to other TLDA board members, Scot Campbell describes the Daily Wire expose as “an attack on our industry.” [Emphasis added]
The Campbell email states, “The right wing … wants to stop all development of this nature. The left wants to knock us out of the market because we make money on the poor.”
He continues, “We will not be able to sell our developments if each of our buyers have to have a SS# and we have to qualify each buyer as to the buyer’s ability to repay.” [Emphasis added again]
The remainder of the email describes criticisms of owner-financing practices from the political right and left.
See the email below which responds to the Daily Wire article.
TLDA describes itself as a group that “works to prevent over-regulation by state and local governments by advocating for common-sense practices in land use and development.” Basically, it’s a lobbying organization.
Particularly worrisome in the email above is the plea to continue selling property to buyers, most of whom the association knows are unqualified. Scot Campbell apparently fears that might impact foreclosure mills in places like Liberty County and along the Mexican border. Developments like Colony Ridge operate throughout the state.
Source of Email
I obtained the email above from an ex-Colony Ridge land-owner-turned-activist named Maria Acevedo. Her property was foreclosed on after she complained about irregularities with the survey and the plat provided to her by the seller.
Investigative journalist Wayne Dolcefino exposed how properties in Colony Ridge are sold over and over again by the developer.
However, according to Acevedo, the legal documents for her foreclosure fail to comply with Texas law. This could affect thousands of foreclosures and resales in Liberty County. But more on that in a future story.
Ironically, the TLDA Chairman Emeritus concludes his memo saying that…
However, Campbell’s email does not describe how kicking people out of their homes would help the homeless problem.
For More Information about Colony Ridge
To learn more about the squalid living conditions in Colony Ridge, see History of Heartbreak: A Colony Ridge Chronicle. It contains links to more than 75 stories about substandard living conditions, infrastructure, and environmental issues in Colony Ridge.
Many of the latter impact downstream areas. For instance:
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/10/25
2722 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.
Northpark Drive Expansion Update: Life in the Slow Lane
2/9/25 – Northpark Drive expansion has become a bewildering maze of lane switches and traffic barriers where SUVs tango daily with excavators and dump trucks. All of that makes for life in the slow lane … which can actually be a good thing given the potential for accidents.
Since my last construction update, contractors have removed the old:
They have also substantially completed the installation of storm sewers underneath the westbound surface turn lanes that will parallel the bridge over the UnionPacific Railroad Tracks and Loop 494. However, crews still need to install many laterals.
Pictures Taken 2/9/25
I took all pictures below on 2/9/25. They show the status of construction. If traffic looks light in these photos, it’s likely because I took them during the pregame show for the Super Bowl.
Before contractors pour new concrete, they will have to install drainage, compact the dirt, prepare the base, and place rebar. All of that could take another month or more.
As soon as they finish the drainage on eastbound Northpark between Italiano’s and Russell Palmer the same crew will rotate to the northeast side of the Loop 494/Northpark intersection then the southeast side. Again, once the drainage is complete, they will begin to prepare the sub-grade, then rebar, then concrete paving.
The southbound lanes of Loop 494 south of Northpark are complete! So are the driveways!
The lookahead schedule posted on the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website shows major efforts for the next three weeks include installation of:
In other words, no big concrete pours for a while.
For More Information
See the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority project web pages. For a history of the project, see these select posts on ReduceFlooding.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/30/25
2711 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Review Released
2/8/2025 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has finally released the full text of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Review and its supporting files. The report, which was originally due in 300 days took more than 1400 days. When asked why it took so long, a HCFCD representative replied, “Personnel turnover.”
The files transmitted to Commissioners Court on 2/6/25 include:
See links to all of them at the bottom of this post.
Altogether, the 175 megabytes of materials include hundreds of pages. I could not even post some files because they exceeded the size limit of my website or because they were engineering files that required specialized software to open.
I have uploaded what I can. However, I have not studied them all thoroughly yet. Based on a preliminary scan, here are some of the highlights.
Three Alternatives Evaluated
Neel-Schaffer, the engineering company that produced the report, considered three alternatives. Each improves stormwater carrying capacity of the ditch and relieves some of the pressure on Bens Branch. The two are connected near the Northpark Drive Fireworks Stand. The three alternatives include the following features:
Alternative #3 Recommended
For each alternative, Neel-Schaffer examined:
The engineers recommended Alternative 3 after comparing:
The table below summarizes their benefits.
Even though alternative #3 was the most expensive to construct, lower maintenance costs would offset the increase within 28 years.
Features Included in Recommendation
The recommended project alternative includes:
The bridges at Northpark Drive will also be rebuilt, but as part of the Northpark Expansion Project.
Impacts on Bens Branch
In each alternative, stormwater flow to Bens Branch was restricted by pipes. That forces more stormwater into the expanded Diversion Ditch.
The Flood Control District’s guidelines allow for the use of a minimum pipe diameter of 24-inches. That would take enough stormwater flow out of Bens Branch to improve it from a 2-year level of service to a 100-year level.
Remember, the function of the Diversion Ditch is to take stormwater out of Bens Branch. Friendswood hoped to minimize flooding through the western half of Kingwood by using two channels instead of one to convey stormwater.
Detention Basin Also Recommended South of West Fork
Neel-Schaffer also evaluated the need for stormwater detention storage volume to mitigate adverse impacts of the proposed alternatives. They recommend one across the West Fork on high ground.
Funding Not Identified Yet
Funding does not currently exist for any construction. HCFCD would have to apply for grants. The Preliminary Engineering Report outlines several possible sources of funding. However, Stephanie Zertuche, Flood Control’s Project Manager, says that pursuit will likely happen as part of the next phase – construction engineering – when costs are locked down.
However, that assumes that the project even gets that far. $55 million to remove 34 structures from the 100-year flood plain will be a difficult sell based on the Benefit/Cost Analysis alone.
But there are other factors to consider. We shouldn’t forget that:
Social benefits go far beyond cost and are hard to quantify.
To Review the Original Docs…
Below are links to all the Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Report documents.
For ease of future reference, I’ve also linked them on the Reports Page under the Harris County Flood Control District tab.
If you are an engineer in the Humble/Kingwood Area, please help. Send me your opinions through the contact page of this website.
Even if you don’t read the entire study, you may be interested in seeing where your home stands in relation to the new expanded floodplains under Atlas 14. Those inundation maps at the bottom of the list are very interesting.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/8/25
2720 Days since Hurricane Harvey