Splendora is exploding with growth. On FM2090 west of U.S.59 near the Splendora High School, two new developments have already cleared 598 acres and have another 611 to go. Together, they could easily quintuple the population of a rural town that only had 1900 residents in the last census.
Development Well Underway
I first covered this story in January. The developers have made remarkable progress since then. Townsend Reserve, Ltd. and Forestar USA, have built drainage, utilities, stormwater detention basins, roads and model homes on most of the land already cleared. Now, they’re building the first homes for sale. Rural, sleepy Splendora will soon change forever.
Forestar USA has named its development Presswoods. Townsend Reserve USA has simply called its Townsend Reserve.
Looking east along FM2090 at expanse of two developments. Splendora High School on right.
Closer Look at Detention Basins
Close up from shot above. Two detention ponds in Presswoods by Forestar USA bracket Gully Branch. Gully Branch drains into Peach Creek and eventually the East Fork of the San Jacinto.Another Forestar USA detention basin in the foreground.Looking West.Looking NE at a fourth detention basin on Townsend Reserve that parallels Gully Branch.Entrance to Townsend Reserve from FM2090 on right.Note yet another long detention basin that parallels the entry road on the left.Looking NW toward FM2090.First of the new homes going up.
Three things strike me about these photos.
Stormwater detention basins everywhere you look. Let’s hope the volume is sufficient. Engineers based their calculations on pre-Harvey runoff estimates. As other developers clear additional forests beyond these, drainage assumptions could change radically.
Huge financial risk. As interest rates continue to climb, will there be buyers for these homes?
Vast expanse of forests surrounding the developments. They seem endless. But not for long.
People hoping to find a quiet life in the country are gobbling up the very thing they seek.
Maybe this is inevitable. Developers tell me that smaller lot sizes and higher density don’t allow them to preserve trees anymore. Builders just plant one in the front yard when they’re done.
Population Impact
It’s not exactly clear yet how many homes the developers hope to build here. But in the last census, Splendora’s population was only 1,900 people. Even if they just built 5 homes per acre on 800 developable acres and the average household size was 3, that would mean 12,000 people could live here – more than 6X the current population.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/10/22
1868 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/2022/10/20221009-DJI_0877.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-10-10 13:06:522022-10-10 19:10:07Splendora Development Exploding
Construction has resumed on the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway along the West Fork of the San Jacinto River between Woodland Hills Drive and US59. Once fully complete the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway will stretch for approximately 2.5 miles and create one of the longest continuously connected urban trail networks in North America.
Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin’s October 2022 newsletter said construction was resuming. So, I went down there today to see the progress.
Looking west toward Forest Cove pool at where construction has resumed.
The first thing you notice is partial demolition of the roads through the former townhome complex. Parts of Marina Drive, Aqua Vista Drive and Timberline Drive have been torn up. Along the path of the trail, contractors have ripped out one lane and left the other.
The remaining lane, I presume, will serve as the hike and bike trail.Looking east along Aqua Visra Drive. West Fork on right.Martin’s press release mentions that parking for greenway users will be provided within the old townhome complex.Looking west toward 59. The dedicated trail picks up again at the end of Aqua Vista. And what a vista it is!Looking west. Resumption of dedicated trail at the end of Aqua Vista Drive near Burning Tree Court. Note new, native trees.
San Jacinto Bayou Greenway will connect into and through Harris County Precinct 3’s Edgewater Park, currently in development, to the Spring Creek and Cypress Creek trail systems, also operated by Precinct 3.
Linear Park Features
Notable features of the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway include:
New off-street trails as well as the use of existing streets for the trail system
Trail connection for Kingwood residents at Woodland Hills Drive to access the greenway
Parking for greenway users within the former Riverview Townhomes Community
Planting of native trees, meadows, and wildflowers
Benches and seating areas
Interpretive and directional signage
Trash cans and recycling containers.
Martin says construction is expected to take another 3 months, weather permitting. During construction, the public should not enter areas surrounded by orange caution fencing.
Ongoing Maintenance Provided by Parks Board
Once construction is completed, the Houston Parks Board will continue maintenance of the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway, which includes weekly trash pickup, bi-weekly mowing of grass along the trail, upkeep of the trail and amenities, and any necessary flood cleanup.
Part of Much Larger Network
San Jacinto Bayou Greenway is one of nine bayous being transformed as part of Bayou Greenways 2020, a public-private partnership between the nonprofit Houston Parks Board, the City of Houston, and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.
The initiative is implemented in close collaboration with the Harris County Flood Control District, which manages the county’s bayous and creeks for drainage and flood risk reduction.
Bayou Greenways 2020 will transform 3,000 acres of underutilized land along nine major waterways and create a 150-mile network of connected parks and trails along Houston’s major waterways. Add the length of the trail networks in Kingwood and the Woodlands, and suddenly, you have what could be the longest connected urban trail network in the country.
Amendment 11 from the Texas Hurricane Harvey Action plan will let the Texas General Land Office (GLO) take over unused money from seven Houston disaster relief funds. The money will be reallocated to a state-run Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP) currently administered by the GLO on behalf of Houston residents.
On 10/7/22, GLO posted Amendment 11 to the State’s Action Plan for $5.676 billion in Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) related to Hurricane Harvey. View the entire 461-page Action Plan Amendment 11 at https://recovery.texas.gov/public-notices/index.html. Or see the major changes below.
File photo from June 2021.Flood damaged home on Houston’s NE side, still needing repair.
Reallocation of $141 Million
Amendment 11 deals with the $1.2 billion in CDBG-DR funds previously allocated to and administered by the City of Houston. The amendment reallocates $140,930,253 in unused funds from seven City of Houston disaster relief programs. The money will be reallocated to a state-run Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP) administered by the GLO on behalf of Houston residents.
Reason for the reallocation? The City programs repeatedly failed to meet contract benchmarks and deadlines.
The GLO acted after the City missed contractual benchmarks designed to ensure that funds for City of Houston residents are expended before HUD’s final program deadlines.
GLOcurrently administersthe “City of Houston Homeowner Assistance Program,” nicknamed HAP, the acronym used by the state as opposed to HoAP, which the City used.
Latest City Pipeline Report
The City doesn’t publish statistics for all of its programs in its monthly “Pipeline Reports.” However, the most recent, dated 9/6/2022 shows the following:
This whole issue came to a head several years ago when the GLO attempted to step in once before as programs were expiring. The City sued the GLO to keep the programs. A settlement let the GLO keep some and the City others. But it also stipulated that the City had to meet strict deadlines and quotas.
The City had to clear a certain percentage of its backlogs each month. The City missed those contractual deadlines repeatedly according to the GLO. And now the GLO is stepping in to help as many people as it can with the unused funds.
The GLO will only reallocate funds not already obligated to a project by the City. All funds will stay in Houston to benefit the residents of Houston. Funds should now get to residents in a faster and more efficient manner.
GLO has helped thousands of homeowners statewide in less time than the City has helped several hundred.
Reasons Cited for Delays, Slowness
The City blames the GLO for delays. However, many of the applications submitted by the City to the GLO early on were incomplete, lacked required documentation, or didn’t meet program requirements. Reasons cited for the Houston Housing and Community Development Department problems included bad hiring decisions, poor record keeping, training failures, refusal to accept help, political interference, unwillingness to follow GLO recommendations, making programs overly complicated, late starts, and procedural violations.
The GLO maintains it has not slowed the City of Houston from using disaster recovery funds – only prevented the City from using them improperly. “Any delays are a result of the City of Houston’s misplaced focus on circumventing rules and requirements,” said a GLO spokesperson.
Attempting to Help Those in Need Faster
Caught in the middle are the most vulnerable among us.
According to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) statistics, nearly 90% of the homeowners served by the affected programs have incomes less than 80% of the area’s median income (AMI).
Nearly two thirds of the Houston homeowners served by the GLO’s program make less than 30% of the AMI. In Houston, this would include families of four living on $26,600 or less.
Also, 64% of the homeowners identify as Black/African American and 25% identify as Hispanic/Latino.
Finally, about 87% of approved homeowners are female heads of households and at least 72% are aged 65 or older.
The GLO’s Houston HAP demographics are updated monthly and available online.
Main Changes in Amendment 11
City of Houston Impacts
The amendment includes the following changes. Funds remaining with the City of Houston for all disaster recovery programs would be reduced to $694,157,590 from $835 million.
The difference – $140,930,253 in uncommitted funds – would be taken from the following City programs, which would be reduced to:
Homeowner Assistance Program (HoAP) – $69,188,511.
Multifamily Rental Program – $400,855,752.
Small Rental Program – $12,943,423.
Homebuyer Assistance Program – $18,381,000.
Public Service – $20,000,000.
Economic Revitalization Program – $18,888,904.
State of Texas Impacts
State administered disaster recovery programs increase to $4,064,897,426.
The State-administered City of Houston Homeowner Assistance Program increases to $565,601,475.
The last total exceeds the $141 million because the State had previously taken over several programs that the City relinquished.
To Comment on Amendment 11…
The amendment triggers a federally required 30-day public comment period.
Submit all comments to cdr@recovery.texas.gov by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, to be considered. Per federal requirements, the GLO must respond to public comments before the amendment can be sent to HUD for its 45-day final approval.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/8/22
1866 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/2022/10/20210626-RJR_8685.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2022-10-08 19:43:482022-10-10 14:13:00GLO Posts Amendment 11 to Harvey Plan Affecting Houston Flood Victims
Splendora Development Exploding
Splendora is exploding with growth. On FM2090 west of U.S.59 near the Splendora High School, two new developments have already cleared 598 acres and have another 611 to go. Together, they could easily quintuple the population of a rural town that only had 1900 residents in the last census.
Development Well Underway
I first covered this story in January. The developers have made remarkable progress since then. Townsend Reserve, Ltd. and Forestar USA, have built drainage, utilities, stormwater detention basins, roads and model homes on most of the land already cleared. Now, they’re building the first homes for sale. Rural, sleepy Splendora will soon change forever.
Here’s the layout and photos of work in progress.
Forestar USA has named its development Presswoods. Townsend Reserve USA has simply called its Townsend Reserve.
Closer Look at Detention Basins
Three things strike me about these photos.
People hoping to find a quiet life in the country are gobbling up the very thing they seek.
Maybe this is inevitable. Developers tell me that smaller lot sizes and higher density don’t allow them to preserve trees anymore. Builders just plant one in the front yard when they’re done.
Population Impact
It’s not exactly clear yet how many homes the developers hope to build here. But in the last census, Splendora’s population was only 1,900 people. Even if they just built 5 homes per acre on 800 developable acres and the average household size was 3, that would mean 12,000 people could live here – more than 6X the current population.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/10/22
1868 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.
West Fork Greenway Construction Resumes
Construction has resumed on the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway along the West Fork of the San Jacinto River between Woodland Hills Drive and US59. Once fully complete the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway will stretch for approximately 2.5 miles and create one of the longest continuously connected urban trail networks in North America.
Reason for Construction Pause
The Houston Parks Board began construction of the segment between River Grove Park and the Forest Cove Pool/Civic Center back in early 2021. However, they paused the project until the demolition of the last Forest Cove Townhomes in August.
Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin’s October 2022 newsletter said construction was resuming. So, I went down there today to see the progress.
The first thing you notice is partial demolition of the roads through the former townhome complex. Parts of Marina Drive, Aqua Vista Drive and Timberline Drive have been torn up. Along the path of the trail, contractors have ripped out one lane and left the other.
Trail Route
San Jacinto Bayou Greenway will connect into and through Harris County Precinct 3’s Edgewater Park, currently in development, to the Spring Creek and Cypress Creek trail systems, also operated by Precinct 3.
Linear Park Features
Notable features of the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway include:
Martin says construction is expected to take another 3 months, weather permitting. During construction, the public should not enter areas surrounded by orange caution fencing.
Ongoing Maintenance Provided by Parks Board
Once construction is completed, the Houston Parks Board will continue maintenance of the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway, which includes weekly trash pickup, bi-weekly mowing of grass along the trail, upkeep of the trail and amenities, and any necessary flood cleanup.
Part of Much Larger Network
San Jacinto Bayou Greenway is one of nine bayous being transformed as part of Bayou Greenways 2020, a public-private partnership between the nonprofit Houston Parks Board, the City of Houston, and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.
The initiative is implemented in close collaboration with the Harris County Flood Control District, which manages the county’s bayous and creeks for drainage and flood risk reduction.
Bayou Greenways 2020 will transform 3,000 acres of underutilized land along nine major waterways and create a 150-mile network of connected parks and trails along Houston’s major waterways. Add the length of the trail networks in Kingwood and the Woodlands, and suddenly, you have what could be the longest connected urban trail network in the country.
This long linear park may be one of the first good things to come out of Harvey.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/9/22
1867 Days since Hurricane Harvey
GLO Posts Amendment 11 to Harvey Plan Affecting Houston Flood Victims
Amendment 11 from the Texas Hurricane Harvey Action plan will let the Texas General Land Office (GLO) take over unused money from seven Houston disaster relief funds. The money will be reallocated to a state-run Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP) currently administered by the GLO on behalf of Houston residents.
On 10/7/22, GLO posted Amendment 11 to the State’s Action Plan for $5.676 billion in Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) related to Hurricane Harvey. View the entire 461-page Action Plan Amendment 11 at https://recovery.texas.gov/public-notices/index.html. Or see the major changes below.
Reallocation of $141 Million
Amendment 11 deals with the $1.2 billion in CDBG-DR funds previously allocated to and administered by the City of Houston. The amendment reallocates $140,930,253 in unused funds from seven City of Houston disaster relief programs. The money will be reallocated to a state-run Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP) administered by the GLO on behalf of Houston residents.
The GLO acted after the City missed contractual benchmarks designed to ensure that funds for City of Houston residents are expended before HUD’s final program deadlines.
GLO currently administers the “City of Houston Homeowner Assistance Program,” nicknamed HAP, the acronym used by the state as opposed to HoAP, which the City used.
Latest City Pipeline Report
The City doesn’t publish statistics for all of its programs in its monthly “Pipeline Reports.” However, the most recent, dated 9/6/2022 shows the following:
According to the City’s own statistics, it helped only 704 homeowners in all three categories in the five years since Harvey. That’s out of 96,410 homes that flooded inside the City limits during the storm. That’s less than three-quarters of 1%.
Reallocated Funds Will Stay in Houston
Six hundred and forty six days have elapsed since the City’s Housing and Community Development Department cut off applications at the end of 2020.
This whole issue came to a head several years ago when the GLO attempted to step in once before as programs were expiring. The City sued the GLO to keep the programs. A settlement let the GLO keep some and the City others. But it also stipulated that the City had to meet strict deadlines and quotas.
The City had to clear a certain percentage of its backlogs each month. The City missed those contractual deadlines repeatedly according to the GLO. And now the GLO is stepping in to help as many people as it can with the unused funds.
The GLO will only reallocate funds not already obligated to a project by the City. All funds will stay in Houston to benefit the residents of Houston. Funds should now get to residents in a faster and more efficient manner.
GLO has helped thousands of homeowners statewide in less time than the City has helped several hundred.
Reasons Cited for Delays, Slowness
The City blames the GLO for delays. However, many of the applications submitted by the City to the GLO early on were incomplete, lacked required documentation, or didn’t meet program requirements. Reasons cited for the Houston Housing and Community Development Department problems included bad hiring decisions, poor record keeping, training failures, refusal to accept help, political interference, unwillingness to follow GLO recommendations, making programs overly complicated, late starts, and procedural violations.
A HUD audit in late 2021 also ripped the department for conflicts of interest and failure to document recommendations.
The GLO maintains it has not slowed the City of Houston from using disaster recovery funds – only prevented the City from using them improperly. “Any delays are a result of the City of Houston’s misplaced focus on circumventing rules and requirements,” said a GLO spokesperson.
Attempting to Help Those in Need Faster
Caught in the middle are the most vulnerable among us.
According to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) statistics, nearly 90% of the homeowners served by the affected programs have incomes less than 80% of the area’s median income (AMI).
Nearly two thirds of the Houston homeowners served by the GLO’s program make less than 30% of the AMI. In Houston, this would include families of four living on $26,600 or less.
Also, 64% of the homeowners identify as Black/African American and 25% identify as Hispanic/Latino.
Finally, about 87% of approved homeowners are female heads of households and at least 72% are aged 65 or older.
The GLO’s Houston HAP demographics are updated monthly and available online.
Main Changes in Amendment 11
City of Houston Impacts
The amendment includes the following changes. Funds remaining with the City of Houston for all disaster recovery programs would be reduced to $694,157,590 from $835 million.
The difference – $140,930,253 in uncommitted funds – would be taken from the following City programs, which would be reduced to:
State of Texas Impacts
The last total exceeds the $141 million because the State had previously taken over several programs that the City relinquished.
To Comment on Amendment 11…
The amendment triggers a federally required 30-day public comment period.
Submit all comments to cdr@recovery.texas.gov by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, to be considered. Per federal requirements, the GLO must respond to public comments before the amendment can be sent to HUD for its 45-day final approval.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/8/22
1866 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.