Meritage Homes of Texas LLC, a company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has begun clearing 40.2 acres between Kings River and Pinehurst of Atascocita. The company will reportedly build 210 homes there – 5.2 per acre. Although the new development is far above floodplains, wetlands cover a large part of the first phase.
Two Phases of Development
Meritage told homeowners in the area that it plans to develop the land in two phases, with the second still several years away.
The two parcels bracket Pinehurst Trail Drive. The first stretches along Kings Park Way almost to West Lake Houston Parkway (WLHP) on the west. The second stretches to the Atascocita Golf Club on the east. (See satellite image below.)
The presence of wetlands (and a gas pipeline) may indicate why this property was not developed until now.
The definition of “jurisdictional wetlands” has flip-flopped in recent years as one administration after another has tweaked the definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS). Currently, we’re dealing with Biden’s changes to Trump’s changes to Obama’s changes. It’s not simple.
The definition stretches more than 100 pages and determines what the Army Corps protects.
It’s not clear at this time whether the Army Corps has ruled whether these particular wetlands fall under their jurisdiction.
Western Parcel Being Cleared First
Photographs taken on Feb. 13, 2024, show that contractors have already cleared a significant portion of the first phase, which is on the west. See images below.
Looking ENE toward Lake Houston. This shot shows the first part of clearing adjacent to Texas Laurel Trail and Pinehurst Trail Drive.Wetlands cut through this area.Reverse angle shows full extent of clearing as of Tuesday morning, 2/13/24. Looking W toward CVS (out of sight in background) along WLHP.
Note the small channel that appears to be draining the wetland area. According to the schematic diagram below, homes, driveways and roads will eventually cover this channel and the area it drains.
Layout of Homes and Detention Basins
Plans indicate the area will have 124 30×80 foot lots and 86 40×80 lots. That’s fairly high density. And it will have a high percentage of impervious cover that generates a lot of runoff quickly. Luckily, the development will have four stormwater detention basins, according to the diagram below posted on Facebook.
A resident indicated that a deed to the property requires Meritage to maintain a buffer of at least 25-30 feet of wooded land along the property boundary. That should help retain/restrain runoff, too. See photo below.
So far, contractors seem to be leaving the required setback.
Construction Plans and Drainage Analysis to Follow
According to residents, Meritage just closed on the property in January. Given the recent sale, I do not yet have full construction plans or a drainage impact analysis. However, I have submitted a FOIA Request to Harris County Engineering and will provide them when I get them.
When I photographed the clearing activity this morning, it had silt fence around most of the perimeter (an improvement from last Sunday).
The silt fence is also an improvement over a neighboring development on WLHP by Trammell Crow.
Neighboring Development Still in Quagmire.
Harris County Engineering and Constables shut down construction at the Trammell Crow site after it flooded Kings Park Way, WLHP, and neighboring properties during heavy rains in late January.
This morning, I noticed that contractors are back at work behind tall privacy fences. However, they still lack silt fences along large parts of their property. Moreover, trenches that they dug to drain the property to a sediment pond had been blocked off to accommodate construction equipment. See below.
Trammell Crow contractors were busy this morning piling dirt over the knee-deep muckon their site from heavy rains two weeks ago.
Stormwater is the enemy of construction. That’s why most contractors implement measures to control it upfront in a project, not after the fact. Let’s pray that Meritage’s contractors protect their neighbors better.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/13/24
2359 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20240213-Screenshot-2024-02-13-at-11.31.53%E2%80%AFAM-3.jpg?fit=1100%2C496&ssl=14961100adminadmin2024-02-13 14:56:192024-02-13 15:24:14Meritage Begins Clearing 40 Acres for 210 Homes, Many Over Wetlands
The Association of State Flood Plain Managers has an excellent, educational website called FloodRiskReduction.org. In a few pages, it explains floodplains, sources of flooding and how to understand flood risk. It also breaks down 39 flood-mitigation strategies for property owners, buyers, renters, community associations, officials, representatives, and others.
Part of the site’s magic is a search feature that helps readers zero in on strategies that might help them. It lets users filter strategies by factors such as cost, effort required, maintenance, type of real estate, foundation type, condition of structure and more. The strategies cover everything from DIY projects to those that require professionals.
Finally, the site comes with a list of resources to help implement the strategies.
Organized for Action
I love the organization of this site. Everything about it is designed to help people take action to protect themselves and their property.
“Flood risk is not static. It changes constantly due to development, erosion, land use changes, subsidence of the land, changes in rainfall patterns, sea level rise, and other factors.”
Whereas ReduceFlooding.com gives concrete examples of how such factors interact in a small area so we can mitigate the causes, FloodRiskReduction.org skips to mitigating their effects.
It focuses mainly on telling people how to protect themselves and their property from rising floodwaters. In that sense, it’s a fundamentally different, but complimentary approach.
Wide Range of Strategies
The strategies range from home elevation to waterproofing, building relocation, grading and more. Much more. There’s even a section on demolishing a structure and rebuilding it outside of the floodplain and harm’s way.
Not for the faint of heart. Home of man who elevated his home by himself to get it above neighborhood flooding.
My favorite, however, is “Flood-free site selection.” It talks about identifying flood hazards and their frequency as part of the home buying and/or homebuilding process. It focuses on avoidance as a form of mitigation.
Each of the strategies comes with a series of concrete steps you can take to reduce your flood risk.
For instance, “flood-free site selection” includes discussions of how to:
Review FEMA flood maps
Review nearby flood-protection structures such as dams
Examine historical records
Seek advice from local experts, such as floodplain managers.
Compare Options for Exploration
As you might expect from the photo above of a man who elevated his home by himself using a series of car jacks, ASFPM’s site comes with a long list of cautions and disclaimers.
Regardless, FloodRiskReduction can help educate people about their options in an afternoon. It’s a quick, simple list of thought-starters and a great way to compare options to explore.
For ease of future reference, I will post a link to the ASFPM site in the links page of ReduceFlooding.com.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/12/24
2358 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20191012-RJR_3651.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2024-02-12 13:10:032024-02-12 13:21:00ASFPM Catalogs, Explains Flood-Mitigation Strategies: A Review
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 (LHRA/TIRZ) Board Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, focused almost exclusively on issues that have delayed the Northpark expansion project. LHRA/TIRZ also announced lane closures beginning Feb. 19, 2024.
One Source of Hold Ups Resolved, Another Remains
The Northpark expansion project is designed to move more traffic faster and to create an all-weather evacuation route for 78,000 Kingwood residents in the event of another major flood, such as Hurricane Harvey.
Two major hold ups have been:
Reaching right-of-way agreements with Union Pacific Railroad (UP)
Getting utilities, such as CenterPoint and Entergy, to move gas and electric lines.
As of this week, all railroad agreements have been resolved.
Approval of the agreements by the Houston City Council should be a formality.
And CenterPoint should complete the relocation of their gas lines within a week or two.
However, Entergy has not even started relocating its equipment. They were given notice four years ago to do so.
The board discussed the possibility of condemning an existing Entergy easement within the limits of Northpark Drive right of way, but ultimately decided to defer action for one more month. The outcome is inevitable. Entergy must move its equipment. But members hope to avoid the expense and delays of litigation involved in a condemnation proceeding.
It is unclear what Entergy hopes to gain through delays. In the meantime, it is jeopardizing its public image in the most densely populated part of its Texas service area.
Entergy Must Resolve Three Problems
Entergy has:
Utility poles it must move out of the City’s right of way.
A transformer next to the Exxon station at US59 on LHRA/TIRZ property.
Underground electricity lines that would be paved over in several places.
The existing wood poles between 494 and the Kingwood Diversion Ditch are in the City’s right-of-way. Entergy has sought reimbursement to move those, however, they are on City property and not entitled to reimbursement.
The transformer next to the Exxon station now sits on property purchased from Exxon by the LHRA/TIRZ.
Entergy wants 52 weeks and more than a million dollars to move this transformer in the Exxon parking lot at US59 and Northpark Drive.
Regarding the third item, utilities commonly run electricity lines under streets in urban environments. But Entergy apparently does not want that in this case and has not made arrangements to move the lines.
To resolve such conflicts, LHRA agreed to pay Entergy $711,000 in July last year. But then a consultant for Entergy demanded $1.462 million – doubling the costs. LHRA balked. The extra money wasn’t and isn’t in the budget. Neither were the cost increases itemized. Said another way, Entergy didn’t break down what caused the price increases.
Itemized Costs Being Demanded
To make sure Entergy is not folding in un-reimbursable costs such as relocating poles in rights of way with allowable relocation costs for the transformer, Ralph De Leon, project manager for LHRA, said he has requested itemized costs and a schedule of values for each part of the job from Entergy.
A schedule of values includes such things as material costs as well as labor costs. For instance, one line item might read, “X people at $Y/hr times Z hours.” He also wants to see that schedule signed and stamped by a licensed PE, whose license could be revoked for falsifying information.
Entergy First Notified in 2020
The LHRA Board reviewed a history of attempts to resolve the Entergy conflict issues. They included 22 meetings/discussions between October 2020 and January 2024.
October 2020: Began coordinating utility impacts with Entergy and other utility companies (at 60% design stage). Held COH utility coordination meeting.
December 2020: Entergy reached out and asked if there were opportunities for relocation reimbursement. Held COH utility coordination meeting.
January 2021: Held COH utility coordination meeting.
February 2021: Held COH utility coordination meeting.
March 2021: Held COH utility coordination meeting.
June 2021: Began discussions regarding the ground transformer near Exxon gas station. M&S had preliminary plans prepared.
February 2022: Held COH utility coordination meeting.
March 2022: Held COH utility coordination meeting.
April 2022: Held COH utility coordination meeting.
July 2022: M&S determined that their preliminary plans were incorrect and had assumed overhead line relocations for crossing over Northpark Drive.
August 2022: M&S noted that their utilities were in an easement and would require reimbursement from LHRA.
September 2022: Additional correspondence regarding reimbursement for relocations. Teams meeting with M&S to discuss relocations.
October 21, 2022: M&S provided a draft cost estimate via email. Total estimated costs for the relocations were $1,218,000.
January 2023: Field meeting with M&S, AT&T and Exxon representative to discuss relocations on Exxon property. M&S provided easement documentation for their utilities and continued discussion about reimbursement. Wade Carpenter (Entergy attorney) began involvement in the conversations.
February 2023: Entergy attorneys reviewing the matter internally.
March 3, 2023: M&S noted that utility relocations in easement (primarily west of Loop 494) would cost $710,000 and would be seeking reimbursements for these relocations. For utility relocations east of Loop 494, those would cost approx. $500,000 and Entergy deemed these costs as non-reimbursable as they are not in easement.
May 17, 2023: M&S confirmed that relocation costs west or Loop 494 are reimbursable ($710,000) and relocation costs east of Loop 494 ($500,00) are non-reimbursable.
July 19, 2023: M&S provided draft agreement for relocations with relocation costs shown to be $711,186.26.
August 2023: Coordination with M&S on timeline of relocations.
October 2023: M&S noted that they are waiting for the go ahead to send plans to construction group.
December 2023: Coordination with M&S regarding fiber companies attached to their poles. M&S provided an update relocation cost estimate with a new total being $1,462,135.57.
January 2024: Coordination with M&S on timeline of relocations.
M&S is an Entergy consultant.
30-Day Deadline Given on Feb. 6, 2024
On February 6, 2024, Carol Haddock, Director of Houston Public Works, sent Entergy a letter giving the company 30-days to move its property. The letter included a request to submit a timeline for the relocations by Feb. 16.
Haddock’s letter parallels one sent by LHRA/TIRZ10 on Nov. 9, 2020, which the City says suffices as proper legal notification. That’s because the LHRA/TIRZ10 is acting as an agent of the City.
The City’s position is that Entergy is not moving into the City’s footprint. But the city is getting bigger and expanding into Entergy’s footprint. It appears that the City has the upper hand at the moment.
Impact of Delays
De Leon believes the City’s letter will resolve enough issues to keep crews busy for now. Next up:
Continuing excavation of two stormwater detention ponds at US59 and Northpark
Placement of box culverts in the middle ditch
Creation of some temporary lanes on the north side of Northpark.
However, he admits that the Entergy delays have caused problems. Instead of following the optimal critical path, his contractors are hopscotching around to keep crews busy.
If Entergy continues to delay, he could face contractual penalties, including costly demobilization.
Lane Closure Announced
LHRA/TIRZ posted this announcement on its project website. It affects westbound traffic.
“Beginning February 19th, Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority’s (LHRA’s) contractor, Harper Brothers Construction will be closing the right two lanes of westbound traffic near the Northpark/I-69 intersection. The first month of this closure will leave two westbound lanes open – the existing left turn lane and one through lane. The next 3 months of the closure will switch traffic onto the newly constructed lanes while construction of the existing left turn lane and through lane are completed. Westbound traffic should expect delays and alternative routes are encouraged. For this phase of work the contractor will be installing new storm sewer pipes and inlets along with new concrete roadway.”
Two westbound lane closures beginning Feb. 19circled in red.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20240124-DJI_0271-Edit-copy.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2024-02-10 19:16:172024-02-10 22:02:53Entergy in City’s Crosshairs, Northpark Lane Closures Announced
Meritage Begins Clearing 40 Acres for 210 Homes, Many Over Wetlands
Meritage Homes of Texas LLC, a company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has begun clearing 40.2 acres between Kings River and Pinehurst of Atascocita. The company will reportedly build 210 homes there – 5.2 per acre. Although the new development is far above floodplains, wetlands cover a large part of the first phase.
Two Phases of Development
Meritage told homeowners in the area that it plans to develop the land in two phases, with the second still several years away.
The two parcels bracket Pinehurst Trail Drive. The first stretches along Kings Park Way almost to West Lake Houston Parkway (WLHP) on the west. The second stretches to the Atascocita Golf Club on the east. (See satellite image below.)
Land Not in Floodplain, But Contains Wetlands
According to FEMA, the land sits outside known floodplains. That’s good news.
However, according to USGS, portions of the property contain wetlands. That’s not good news. Homes developed over wetlands often experience a variety of problems, such as shifting foundations, doors that stick, and cracked pavement.
The presence of wetlands (and a gas pipeline) may indicate why this property was not developed until now.
The definition of “jurisdictional wetlands” has flip-flopped in recent years as one administration after another has tweaked the definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS). Currently, we’re dealing with Biden’s changes to Trump’s changes to Obama’s changes. It’s not simple.
The definition stretches more than 100 pages and determines what the Army Corps protects.
It’s not clear at this time whether the Army Corps has ruled whether these particular wetlands fall under their jurisdiction.
Western Parcel Being Cleared First
Photographs taken on Feb. 13, 2024, show that contractors have already cleared a significant portion of the first phase, which is on the west. See images below.
Note the small channel that appears to be draining the wetland area. According to the schematic diagram below, homes, driveways and roads will eventually cover this channel and the area it drains.
Layout of Homes and Detention Basins
Plans indicate the area will have 124 30×80 foot lots and 86 40×80 lots. That’s fairly high density. And it will have a high percentage of impervious cover that generates a lot of runoff quickly. Luckily, the development will have four stormwater detention basins, according to the diagram below posted on Facebook.
Harris County regulations specify a minimum requirement of .65 acre-feet of stormwater detention per acre for developments of this size. It’s not clear at this time whether the development will exceed the minimum requirement.
Tree Buffer
A resident indicated that a deed to the property requires Meritage to maintain a buffer of at least 25-30 feet of wooded land along the property boundary. That should help retain/restrain runoff, too. See photo below.
Construction Plans and Drainage Analysis to Follow
According to residents, Meritage just closed on the property in January. Given the recent sale, I do not yet have full construction plans or a drainage impact analysis. However, I have submitted a FOIA Request to Harris County Engineering and will provide them when I get them.
When I photographed the clearing activity this morning, it had silt fence around most of the perimeter (an improvement from last Sunday).
The silt fence is also an improvement over a neighboring development on WLHP by Trammell Crow.
Neighboring Development Still in Quagmire.
Harris County Engineering and Constables shut down construction at the Trammell Crow site after it flooded Kings Park Way, WLHP, and neighboring properties during heavy rains in late January.
This morning, I noticed that contractors are back at work behind tall privacy fences. However, they still lack silt fences along large parts of their property. Moreover, trenches that they dug to drain the property to a sediment pond had been blocked off to accommodate construction equipment. See below.
Stormwater is the enemy of construction. That’s why most contractors implement measures to control it upfront in a project, not after the fact. Let’s pray that Meritage’s contractors protect their neighbors better.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/13/24
2359 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.
ASFPM Catalogs, Explains Flood-Mitigation Strategies: A Review
The Association of State Flood Plain Managers has an excellent, educational website called FloodRiskReduction.org. In a few pages, it explains floodplains, sources of flooding and how to understand flood risk. It also breaks down 39 flood-mitigation strategies for property owners, buyers, renters, community associations, officials, representatives, and others.
Part of the site’s magic is a search feature that helps readers zero in on strategies that might help them. It lets users filter strategies by factors such as cost, effort required, maintenance, type of real estate, foundation type, condition of structure and more. The strategies cover everything from DIY projects to those that require professionals.
Finally, the site comes with a list of resources to help implement the strategies.
Organized for Action
I love the organization of this site. Everything about it is designed to help people take action to protect themselves and their property.
Focused on Mitigating Effects, Not Causes
Whereas ReduceFlooding.com gives concrete examples of how such factors interact in a small area so we can mitigate the causes, FloodRiskReduction.org skips to mitigating their effects.
It focuses mainly on telling people how to protect themselves and their property from rising floodwaters. In that sense, it’s a fundamentally different, but complimentary approach.
Wide Range of Strategies
The strategies range from home elevation to waterproofing, building relocation, grading and more. Much more. There’s even a section on demolishing a structure and rebuilding it outside of the floodplain and harm’s way.
My favorite, however, is “Flood-free site selection.” It talks about identifying flood hazards and their frequency as part of the home buying and/or homebuilding process. It focuses on avoidance as a form of mitigation.
Each of the strategies comes with a series of concrete steps you can take to reduce your flood risk.
For instance, “flood-free site selection” includes discussions of how to:
Compare Options for Exploration
As you might expect from the photo above of a man who elevated his home by himself using a series of car jacks, ASFPM’s site comes with a long list of cautions and disclaimers.
Regardless, FloodRiskReduction can help educate people about their options in an afternoon. It’s a quick, simple list of thought-starters and a great way to compare options to explore.
For ease of future reference, I will post a link to the ASFPM site in the links page of ReduceFlooding.com.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/12/24
2358 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Entergy in City’s Crosshairs, Northpark Lane Closures Announced
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 (LHRA/TIRZ) Board Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, focused almost exclusively on issues that have delayed the Northpark expansion project. LHRA/TIRZ also announced lane closures beginning Feb. 19, 2024.
One Source of Hold Ups Resolved, Another Remains
The Northpark expansion project is designed to move more traffic faster and to create an all-weather evacuation route for 78,000 Kingwood residents in the event of another major flood, such as Hurricane Harvey.
Two major hold ups have been:
Approval of the agreements by the Houston City Council should be a formality.
And CenterPoint should complete the relocation of their gas lines within a week or two.
However, Entergy has not even started relocating its equipment. They were given notice four years ago to do so.
The board discussed the possibility of condemning an existing Entergy easement within the limits of Northpark Drive right of way, but ultimately decided to defer action for one more month. The outcome is inevitable. Entergy must move its equipment. But members hope to avoid the expense and delays of litigation involved in a condemnation proceeding.
It is unclear what Entergy hopes to gain through delays. In the meantime, it is jeopardizing its public image in the most densely populated part of its Texas service area.
Entergy Must Resolve Three Problems
Entergy has:
The existing wood poles between 494 and the Kingwood Diversion Ditch are in the City’s right-of-way. Entergy has sought reimbursement to move those, however, they are on City property and not entitled to reimbursement.
The transformer next to the Exxon station now sits on property purchased from Exxon by the LHRA/TIRZ.
Regarding the third item, utilities commonly run electricity lines under streets in urban environments. But Entergy apparently does not want that in this case and has not made arrangements to move the lines.
To resolve such conflicts, LHRA agreed to pay Entergy $711,000 in July last year. But then a consultant for Entergy demanded $1.462 million – doubling the costs. LHRA balked. The extra money wasn’t and isn’t in the budget. Neither were the cost increases itemized. Said another way, Entergy didn’t break down what caused the price increases.
Itemized Costs Being Demanded
To make sure Entergy is not folding in un-reimbursable costs such as relocating poles in rights of way with allowable relocation costs for the transformer, Ralph De Leon, project manager for LHRA, said he has requested itemized costs and a schedule of values for each part of the job from Entergy.
A schedule of values includes such things as material costs as well as labor costs. For instance, one line item might read, “X people at $Y/hr times Z hours.” He also wants to see that schedule signed and stamped by a licensed PE, whose license could be revoked for falsifying information.
Entergy First Notified in 2020
The LHRA Board reviewed a history of attempts to resolve the Entergy conflict issues. They included 22 meetings/discussions between October 2020 and January 2024.
M&S is an Entergy consultant.
30-Day Deadline Given on Feb. 6, 2024
On February 6, 2024, Carol Haddock, Director of Houston Public Works, sent Entergy a letter giving the company 30-days to move its property. The letter included a request to submit a timeline for the relocations by Feb. 16.
Haddock’s letter parallels one sent by LHRA/TIRZ10 on Nov. 9, 2020, which the City says suffices as proper legal notification. That’s because the LHRA/TIRZ10 is acting as an agent of the City.
The City’s position is that Entergy is not moving into the City’s footprint. But the city is getting bigger and expanding into Entergy’s footprint. It appears that the City has the upper hand at the moment.
Impact of Delays
De Leon believes the City’s letter will resolve enough issues to keep crews busy for now. Next up:
However, he admits that the Entergy delays have caused problems. Instead of following the optimal critical path, his contractors are hopscotching around to keep crews busy.
If Entergy continues to delay, he could face contractual penalties, including costly demobilization.
Lane Closure Announced
LHRA/TIRZ posted this announcement on its project website. It affects westbound traffic.
“Beginning February 19th, Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority’s (LHRA’s) contractor, Harper Brothers Construction will be closing the right two lanes of westbound traffic near the Northpark/I-69 intersection. The first month of this closure will leave two westbound lanes open – the existing left turn lane and one through lane. The next 3 months of the closure will switch traffic onto the newly constructed lanes while construction of the existing left turn lane and through lane are completed. Westbound traffic should expect delays and alternative routes are encouraged. For this phase of work the contractor will be installing new storm sewer pipes and inlets along with new concrete roadway.”
For More Information
For more information about the project including construction plans, visit the project pages of the LHRA/Tirz 10 website. Or see these posts on ReduceFlooding:
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/10/2024
2356 Days since Hurricane Harvey