Builders Battle Basic Rule Changes After Harvey

A Houston Chronicle article by Chris Tomlinson talks about things builders could do to make their properties more flood safe.

Innovative Products that Could Reduce Runoff

They include things like Porous Pave, made from recycled plastic, tires, and pavement. “Porous Pave is mixed and applied like asphalt, but once set, it is absorbent and permeable. Rather than water running into storm drains, the material soaks up the rain directs it into the sand underlying it,” says Tomlinson. Many people use the product for gardens, patios, and paths.

Porous Pave installation. Image courtesy of Porous Pave.

Porous Pave will pass 5,800 gallons of water per hour per square foot. The manufacturer also claims it offers:

  • More void space than permeable pavers, pervious asphalt, pervious concrete – more porosity, more permeability for more rainwater infiltration
  • Smaller installations deliver the same stormwater mitigation as more extensive, and more expensive, installations of other permeable paving materials
  • Reduces the need for other on-site measures (retention ponds, swales) – more construction site area remains useable
  • ADA compliant
  • Safe and slip-resistant – even when wet
  • Endless applications – even installs on steep grades up to 30 degrees
  • As a topcoat, covers and bonds with old concrete, asphalt, brick, tile, and wood surfaces – eliminates the cost, disruption and waste of tear-outs
  • Decreases the volume, slows the velocity of runoff
  • Reduces erosion
  • Made with rubber recycled from scrap tires – every 1,000 square feet of two-inch Porous Pave removes 300 old tires from the waste stream

I think we should test this in East End Park, perhaps on some hills where we continually encounter erosion problems.

Concrete Substitutes

Another product, Grid Pavers uses “plastic frames that keep soil and gravel from washing away while allowing grass to grow from underneath. They also prevent rainwater run-off by directing it to the ground.” Unfortunately, it’s more expensive than concrete, so rarely used in Houston.

Many countries around the world, mandate the use of such products, says Tomlinson. For a fascinating look into a better future, check out his story.

Rule Changes Resisted

However, the Chronicle article also discusses things the building industry in the Houston area is resisting – like adding more detention, as we saw in Montgomery County last August. Or updating flood maps.

Says Tomlinson, “The men and women who build our city are outraged that elected officials want to update our flood maps and force them to acknowledge their land is flood-prone.”

That’s because builders in flood zones must follow tighter rules for things, such as permeable cover, detention and elevation.

Collective Action Required To Make Meaningful Change

Tomlinson concludes the article with an admonishment. “Increasing the ground’s absorbency on a large scale can make the difference between a flooded lawn and a flooded home. But it depends on collective action, and unfortunately, the developers and builders of Houston are more interested in private profit than a more resilient community.”

Certainly, not all builders fall into that category. But enough do to create a competitive disadvantage for those who would like to do the right thing.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/30/2019

853 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 101 since Imelda

Editorial: Are Engineering Laws and Regulations Routinely Ignored in Montgomery County?

This is an editorial about engineering laws and regulations that seem to be routinely ignored in Montgomery County. It is based on previous reporting about flooding in the Lake Houston Area.

I don’t wish to demonize engineering, one of the most honorable professions around. If you’re one of the vast majority of honest, ethical professional engineers who strive daily to serve clients and protect the public, thank you. You can stop reading here. This editorial is not about you. It IS for the few who ignore their professional code of ethics, Texas laws and regulations.

Job #1 of Professional Engineers: To Protect the Public

The law in Texas says that the highest obligation of Professional Engineers is to protect the public. Yet consider these stories I reported on in the last year. Together, they illustrate a pattern that speaks of other priorities.

A Culture of Collusion and Willful Blindness

Examples like these abound. They erode public safety. And in fact, in many cases, homes have flooded. Hundreds. Perhaps thousands. These represent only the stories I have documented.

If these were isolated incidents, you could blame them on occasional human error or bad judgment.

But they happen over and over again – in Montgomery County. In my search to answer the question “Why,” I have concluded that a culture of collusion based on willful blindness exists.

Lack of Checks and Balances

The collusion is between three groups that should provide checks and balances on each other, but do not.

  • County commissioners eager to attract growth.
  • Developers eager to cash in on that growth.
  • Engineering firms willing to turn a blind eye to grow their businesses.

As one engineer told me, “You don’t grow by telling clients they can’t do something. Word spreads quickly. Clients go elsewhere.”

Pretty soon a numbness sets in. Ethical excursions stretch a little further with each project. Engineers become accustomed to a permissive environment of lax regulation and even laxer enforcement. Standards fall. “This won’t make THAT big of a difference.” “Everybody’s doing it.” “If we get caught, we’ll just pay the fine.” Then along comes Tax Day. Memorial Day. Harvey. May 7th. Or Imelda.

Willful blindness may work well in the short term. All three parties above celebrate record growth. But soon, the corner-cutting catches up. People flood. In Montgomery County AND in downstream communities. Over and over again.

Stealing the Future

When the repeat flooding can no longer credibly be blamed on Acts of God, constituents look for answers elsewhere. But no good answers exist. Because we’ve built infrastructure that won’t support the future and it’s too expensive to change. When everyone wakes up to that, Montgomery County will be another one of those places to avoid. Those who stole its future will move elsewhere and repeat the process. Those left behind and those downstream will pay the price.

Montgomery County Not Alone

Certainly, these same problems exist in other counties. Here in Harris County and the City of Houston, we actually had one project this year for which engineers recommended building underground parking in a floodplain … and erecting multiple high-rise towers on the edge of a floodway … where the San Jacinto river migrated 900 feet toward the tower sites in one storm … and no safe evacuation route existed. And that project got permitted! Only massive public protests managed to stall that one.

But counting on protests for every project to ensure everyone follows the rules is neither realistic nor desirable.

We need a rededication to common good that balances growth and safety.

My apologies, if I have offended anyone with generalizations that don’t apply. To the few who may need reminders, may I suggest rereading the laws and regulations governing professional engineers in the State of Texas.

Start with §137.55 ENGINEERS SHALL PROTECT THE PUBLIC. And don’t forget: §137.57 ENGINEERS SHALL BE OBJECTIVE AND TRUTHFUL.

Each new year represents a time for self-appraisal. It’s time we all looked at ourselves in the mirror and start asking why we permit lapses like these to continue.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/30/2019

853 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 101 since Imelda

As always, I welcome opposing points of view. If you disagree with something in this editorial, submit a letter to the editor via the contact page of this site.

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.

Another Treeless MoCo Development: 83 Acres of Idyllic Floodplains, Floodway and Wetlands Sandwiched between Railroad Tracks and a Sewage Treatment Plant

Where once 83 acres of dense trees, natural wetlands, flood plains, and floodways stood, now we have a massive gash in the landscape. Below: several pictures of the new MoCo development called Brooklyn Trails, all taken on 12/27/2019.

The grand entrance to Brooklyn Trails lies next the railroad tracks that parallel Loop 494.
Contractors moving dirt to fill in the low spots. Note the elevation difference between the road and the land to the right.
Those damp spots are the remnants of wetlands.
The almost lunar landscape of Brooklyn Trails. None of this dirt work was visible in an aerial photo taken on 9/21/2019. See last photo below.

Before Clearcutting

Note how dense the forests were on this property before the developer cleared them in 2018. This map also shows the extent of floodplains and floodways wrapping around the property.

Cross-hatched area = floodway of Bens Branch Tributary #1. Aqua = 1% annual chance floodplain. Brown = .02% annual chance floodplain. Tributary #2 of Bens Branch is shown at far left. Source: FEMA Flood Hazard Layer Viewer.

Another View of the Floodplains

This shows the proximity to two unnamed tributaries of Bens Branch.

Brooklyn Trails lies inside the U formed by Ben’s Branch Tributaries #1 and #2, approximately where the letter C is and to its right.

Sandwiched Between Railroad Tracks and a Sewage Plant

Downstream areas experienced increased flooding this year after clearcutting.

Brooklyn LTD clearcut this land in 2018. Was there a link to the unusual downstream flooding on Bens Branch experienced in 2019?

2/23/2019 satellite image from Google Earth

Riddled with Wetlands

From the US Fish and Wildlife Service National Inventory of Wetlands.

Replaced with High-Density Development

Despite all the pictures, maps and overlays, you still only have half the picture. Here’s what the developer intends to do with Section One of the property, the northern part above the bisecting road.

They intend to put 207 single-family residential homes on roughly 40 acres, along with streets with lofty names, such as Porter Mountain Drive and Cascade Mountain Drive.

A retention pond will go in the floodplain and, it appears, the floodway on the southern section of land. Plans for the rest of the southern section have not yet been released.

First half of section one. Extention in next image below lines up along the “matchline” indicated at right.
Second half of section one. Again, it lines up with matchline for first diagram. A neighbor who wishes to remain anonymous says work on the detention pond was not finished as of early December of 2019, about a year after land was first cleared.

Convoluted Trail of Ownership

Three partners formed Brooklyn Trails, LTD in the months following Hurricane Harvey. The Texas Secretary of State shows it to be one of almost two dozen real estate ventures owned by a company called Camcorp Management Inc.

The name Jenni Trapolino at 10410 Windermere Lakes Blvd. Houston, TX 77065 USA, appears as president, Vice President, registered agent, assistant manager, member, director or general partner of 23 of those. One is Benchmark Acquisitions, the company that bought the land from Hendricks and then resold it to Brooklyn Trails.

The names Mark Tolleffsrud and Scott Bauer show as other VPs of Campcorp Management at the same address. However, neither of those names is affiliated with any other business entities in Texas, according to the Texas SOS Direct database.

Ms. Trapolino must be quite the real-estate mogul, even though she reportedly is trying to retire. Searching on variations of her name yields additional companies and partnerships. Under Jennie or Jennie R Trapolino, Texas SoS Direct shows 29 related entities. Her name also shows up as VP of land acquisition for Legend Homes and Academy Development. Legend Homes has the same corporate address as most of Ms. Trapolino’s other interests on Windermere Lakes.

Interesting Timing: One Week After Harvey

Interesting that Benchmark Acquisitions bought the property from Hendricks less than a week after Harvey.

Two weeks later, Jennie Trapolino filed a certificate of formation for the Brooklyn Trails limited partnership, listing Lauren C. Sullivan, the President of Legend Homes as the registered agent.

Were they looking to pick up a bargain on flooded property? If so…

Price Per Acre Five Times Higher than Woodridge

Compared to the nearby Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village property, Brooklyn Trails overpaid. Perry paid roughly a million dollars for 268 acres. That’s roughly $3,731 per acre.

Assuming the MCAD market value shown above reflects the purchase price, Trapolino paid $19,771 per acre.

That’s 5X more! Granted you’re closer to US59. But you still have to contend with floodways, floodplains, railroad horns, a sewage treatment plant, and homes built over soggy wetlands. Hope springs eternal. I guess if you’re in the development business, pessimism just isn’t in your gene pool.

Timing of Detention Vs. Flooding

In Woodridge Village, Perry Homes clearcut the entire site before starting excavation work on development. That proved to be a costly miscalculation when Elm Grove Flooded twice this year.

Likewise, Brooklyn Trails clearcut this property in 2018, but only recently started dirt work. A neighbor who wishes to remain anonymous shared pictures showing that the detention pond still was not complete a year later. Could there be a relationship between that and downstream flooding along Northpark Drive and Ben’s Branch in May and September? The photo below was taken AFTER Imelda.

Clearcutting all the land before installing detention may have contributed to flooding in both locations. This is a practice that Montgomery County should prohibit.

Traces of wetlands still remained on Brooklyn Trails Section One as of 9/21/2019 when I took this aerial photo.

There’s much more to talk about with this development. For instance, as with Woodridge Village, Brooklyn Trails appeared to be playing a game of beat the clock. By filing for permits when they did, they ensured that the detention pond did not have to comply with the new NOAA Atlas 14 rainfall norms. And as with Woodridge Village, that means any detention built here will fall 40% short of the real need. That’s something else MoCo should prohibit. It’s like licensing planes that you know will crash.

Stay tuned in coming weeks for more on Brooklyn Trails.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/28/2019

851 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 100 after Imelda

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.