Have you ever been flooded by a new development? Did you learn about the development AFTER bulldozers started knocking down trees? There’s a much better way. The City of Houston offers several tools to help you track applications for new developments long before the bulldozers start belching diesel fumes.
City of Houston PlatTracker map for Northeast Houston and Lake Houston Areaas of 4/30/2020
If someone has applied for a permit to develop a piece of land, it will show up on the map. Notice the purple areas along the West Fork west of the Kingwood Country Club. That’s how I learned about the reactivation of Romerica’s plans.
The color of the parcels corresponds to the stage of the application. Clicking on the parcel pulls up an information panel that gives you more history including the date the developer submitted the application, when it will be reviewed, the review stage, and more.
Zoom in and out as wide as you want. Just be aware that the wider you zoom, the longer it takes the screen to refill with all the plat information. There’s a lot more of it!
As I zoomed out around Kingwood, the number of new developments that I was unaware of shocked me. If you want to see humongous changes, look south of Humble, east to Huffman, west to Spring, and north to Porter and New Caney. Kingwood is a relative island of quiet in a sea of change.
Other Related Interactive Maps
The PlatTracker Plat Map is just one of thirty other interactive maps that you can use to explore and monitor the City around you. They include, but are not limited to:
Land use
Water flood hazards
Governmental boundaries
Demographics
Annexation history
Address and Permit Information
PlatTracker Agenda/Spreadsheet
Once you have identified a development you are interested in, another site can help you learn more about when the Houston Planning Commission will consider applications related to the site. It will also give you:
Subdivision plat name
Application Number
Date Submitted
Subdivision type
Variance requests
Location on the Commission’s agenda
County
Council district
Precinct
Census Tract
Zip Code
School district
TIRZ (tax increment reinvestment zone) if any
Superneighborhood Council
Land Use
Number of Lots
Acreage
Appraisal district numbers
Developer Name
Applicant Company
Applicants Name
Phone Number
You can even download the latest documents related to the application.
Wow. Everything you need to put your mind at ease. Or stage a protest. All at your fingertips.
These are great tools for concerned residents and citizen activists.
I’m sure a lot of Elm Grove residents wish they had known about these tools before the bulldozers started knocking down trees in Woodridge Village.
For future reference, I’ve added links for these sites within ReduceFlooding’s Links Page under the Community heading.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/30/2020
975 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/PLATTRACKER-LAKE-HOUSTON.jpg?fit=1200%2C743&ssl=17431200adminadmin2020-04-30 19:43:042020-04-30 20:10:15Tools to Track Permit Applications for Developments Near You
In a meeting today, the Houston Planning Commission deferred automatic approval of the general plan for Orchard Seeded Ranches by taking the item off the consent agenda. The Commission then asked the developer to consult with the City Engineer; the Planning and Development Department; and Harris County Flood Control before bringing further requests back to the Commission.
Taking the item off today’s consent agenda should send a strong signal to the developer that rough waters lie ahead. Any proposal will likely be debated publicly when/if the developer returns.
History of Project
Last year, Romerica filed a permit application to build 5,000 condos and several high-rises up to 50 stories tall on 331 acres near the floodway of the San Jacinto West Fork. After a record number of people and groups filed protests with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Corps withdrew the application. But now the developer is back – with a different name – Orchard Seeded Ranches. However, Harris County Appraisal District indicates that the same people still own the land.
For orientation, the developed area in the middle is the Barrington. The line down the west side is Woodland Hills Drive. And the river at the bottom is the West Fork.
Filing a “general plan” like this is the first step in developing property. The developer has not yet submitted detailed plats showing construction details.
Virtually Entire Development in Floodway or Floodplain
About half of the Orchard Seeded Ranches lies in the floodway of the San Jacinto West Fork. FEMA defines floodways as the main current of a river during a flood. In the map below, that includes everything beneath the red line.
Purple area = Orchard Seeded Ranches. Red line = extent of floodway north of San Jacinto West Fork.Virtually half of subdivision would be in floodway.
Virtually all of the purple area above the red line lies in the floodplain. FEMA defines a floodplain as “storage” for water during a flood. That means water covers the land without moving rapidly.
I created the map above by combining the area to be developed with the FEMA flood map below.
Every part of the proposed development contains wetlands to some extent.
Note how the areas around the Barrington and River Grove Park are filled with wetlands (green areas). From US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Mapper.Active bald eagle nest adjacent to development. Photo courtesy of Emily Murphy.
US Fish and Wildlife documented another eagle’s nest on the developer’s property. And the Balcom family, which lives near the western edge of the developer’s property, regularly photographs eagles from their balcony.
What’s in a Name
The name sounds as if the development would be lower density than the 50-story high-rises previously planned. But you never know. In the development business, names often have more evocative than literal significance. Look at the Houston Heights. Bridgeland (on the prairie). Mount Houston. You get the idea.
Community Considerations
Whatever the development is, when and if the developer returns to the Planning Commission, we should not forget that:
When floodplain maps are redrawn using Atlas-14 data, that floodway will likely expand significantly.
High water during Harvey at Balcom house on River Bend reached the second story.
A Less Risky, Less Costly Alternative
All of these factors will increase the risk and cost of any development.
Light pole near River Bend in North Shore as Harvey receded. Note the “wet marks” several feet up on pole. Photo by Jim Balcom.
The safest, sanest course for the developer – before putting more money at risk –would be to meet with community representatives about:
Purchasing this land
Putting a conservation easement on it
Letting it revert to nature and turning it into park land
Harris County Flood Control District has $175 million allocated in the flood bond for partnership projects with “Municipalities, Authorities, and Other Districts in Harris County.” See item Z100-00-00-MUNI.
That money could help purchase such property and turn it into green space forever. KSA, the Lake Houston Chamber, civic leaders and residents should get behind that idea. Judging by the response to Romerica’s last offering, it’s clear that residents would much rather see this area turned into parks than see the San Jacinto turn it into blight.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo conducting virtual discussion of the purchase of Woodridge Village Property.
In another marathon session that lasted more than 12 hours Tuesday, Harris County Commissioners finally approved a deal to purchase Perry Homes/Figure Four Partners’ Woodridge Village Property for $14 million. Woodridge contributed to flooding Elm Grove Village twice last year.
Two Conditions Still on Deal
The offer will be made to Perry Homes immediately. However, it will be with the understanding that the City of Houston must:
Adopt Atlas 14 rainfall standards, including within its extra territorial jurisdiction.
Deed $7 million worth of other land (unrelated to this deal) to the Harris County Flood Control District to help complete other flood mitigation projects.
If the City fulfills the conditions, the Perry land would be used to create regional flood-control detention.
Commissioner Cagle Optimistic
Immediately after the meeting, Commissioner Jack Cagle spoke with City of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin who also serves as City Council Member for Elm Grove/Kingwood. According to aids, Cagle was optimistic that the City could meet the conditions.
The County treasurer doesn’t yet have permission to write a check, but this is progress.
Commissioner Cagle made the motion. Commissioner Garcia seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
Money for the purchase would come out of Flood Control District bond funds allocated for drainage improvements in the San Jacinto watershed.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Lina.jpg?fit=1200%2C749&ssl=17491200adminadmin2020-04-28 23:07:502020-04-29 05:01:12County Approves Elm Grove Deal with Two Conditions
Tools to Track Permit Applications for Developments Near You
Have you ever been flooded by a new development? Did you learn about the development AFTER bulldozers started knocking down trees? There’s a much better way. The City of Houston offers several tools to help you track applications for new developments long before the bulldozers start belching diesel fumes.
GIS PlatTracker Map
The first is an interactive, color coded GIS map that shows the status of all permit applications in the City and its ETJ (extra-territorial jurisdiction). The ETJ extends well beyond the boundaries of the City. Going up 45, it extends to 242. Going up 59, it extends to Roman Forest.
If someone has applied for a permit to develop a piece of land, it will show up on the map. Notice the purple areas along the West Fork west of the Kingwood Country Club. That’s how I learned about the reactivation of Romerica’s plans.
The color of the parcels corresponds to the stage of the application. Clicking on the parcel pulls up an information panel that gives you more history including the date the developer submitted the application, when it will be reviewed, the review stage, and more.
Zoom in and out as wide as you want. Just be aware that the wider you zoom, the longer it takes the screen to refill with all the plat information. There’s a lot more of it!
As I zoomed out around Kingwood, the number of new developments that I was unaware of shocked me. If you want to see humongous changes, look south of Humble, east to Huffman, west to Spring, and north to Porter and New Caney. Kingwood is a relative island of quiet in a sea of change.
Other Related Interactive Maps
The PlatTracker Plat Map is just one of thirty other interactive maps that you can use to explore and monitor the City around you. They include, but are not limited to:
PlatTracker Agenda/Spreadsheet
Once you have identified a development you are interested in, another site can help you learn more about when the Houston Planning Commission will consider applications related to the site. It will also give you:
For Planning Commission meeting dates and agendas, click here.
Situational Awareness for Concerned Citizens
Wow. Everything you need to put your mind at ease. Or stage a protest. All at your fingertips.
These are great tools for concerned residents and citizen activists.
For future reference, I’ve added links for these sites within ReduceFlooding’s Links Page under the Community heading.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/30/2020
975 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Houston Planning Commission defers approval of “Orchard Seeded Ranches”
In a meeting today, the Houston Planning Commission deferred automatic approval of the general plan for Orchard Seeded Ranches by taking the item off the consent agenda. The Commission then asked the developer to consult with the City Engineer; the Planning and Development Department; and Harris County Flood Control before bringing further requests back to the Commission.
Taking the item off today’s consent agenda should send a strong signal to the developer that rough waters lie ahead. Any proposal will likely be debated publicly when/if the developer returns.
History of Project
Last year, Romerica filed a permit application to build 5,000 condos and several high-rises up to 50 stories tall on 331 acres near the floodway of the San Jacinto West Fork. After a record number of people and groups filed protests with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Corps withdrew the application. But now the developer is back – with a different name – Orchard Seeded Ranches. However, Harris County Appraisal District indicates that the same people still own the land.
Location of Property
The property is identical to the property Romerica tried to develop as The Herons of Kingwood last year. The General Plan below was downloaded from the City of Houston’s PlatTracker website.
For orientation, the developed area in the middle is the Barrington. The line down the west side is Woodland Hills Drive. And the river at the bottom is the West Fork.
Filing a “general plan” like this is the first step in developing property. The developer has not yet submitted detailed plats showing construction details.
Virtually Entire Development in Floodway or Floodplain
About half of the Orchard Seeded Ranches lies in the floodway of the San Jacinto West Fork. FEMA defines floodways as the main current of a river during a flood. In the map below, that includes everything beneath the red line.
Virtually all of the purple area above the red line lies in the floodplain. FEMA defines a floodplain as “storage” for water during a flood. That means water covers the land without moving rapidly.
I created the map above by combining the area to be developed with the FEMA flood map below.
Wetlands Issues Also Abound
Every part of the proposed development contains wetlands to some extent.
US Fish and Wildlife documented another eagle’s nest on the developer’s property. And the Balcom family, which lives near the western edge of the developer’s property, regularly photographs eagles from their balcony.
What’s in a Name
The name sounds as if the development would be lower density than the 50-story high-rises previously planned. But you never know. In the development business, names often have more evocative than literal significance. Look at the Houston Heights. Bridgeland (on the prairie). Mount Houston. You get the idea.
Community Considerations
Whatever the development is, when and if the developer returns to the Planning Commission, we should not forget that:
A Less Risky, Less Costly Alternative
All of these factors will increase the risk and cost of any development.
The safest, sanest course for the developer – before putting more money at risk –would be to meet with community representatives about:
Harris County Flood Control District has $175 million allocated in the flood bond for partnership projects with “Municipalities, Authorities, and Other Districts in Harris County.” See item Z100-00-00-MUNI.
That money could help purchase such property and turn it into green space forever. KSA, the Lake Houston Chamber, civic leaders and residents should get behind that idea. Judging by the response to Romerica’s last offering, it’s clear that residents would much rather see this area turned into parks than see the San Jacinto turn it into blight.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/30/2020
975 Days after Hurricane Harvey
County Approves Elm Grove Deal with Two Conditions
In another marathon session that lasted more than 12 hours Tuesday, Harris County Commissioners finally approved a deal to purchase Perry Homes/Figure Four Partners’ Woodridge Village Property for $14 million. Woodridge contributed to flooding Elm Grove Village twice last year.
Two Conditions Still on Deal
The offer will be made to Perry Homes immediately. However, it will be with the understanding that the City of Houston must:
Commissioner Cagle Optimistic
Immediately after the meeting, Commissioner Jack Cagle spoke with City of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin who also serves as City Council Member for Elm Grove/Kingwood. According to aids, Cagle was optimistic that the City could meet the conditions.
The County treasurer doesn’t yet have permission to write a check, but this is progress.
Commissioner Cagle made the motion. Commissioner Garcia seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
Money for the purchase would come out of Flood Control District bond funds allocated for drainage improvements in the San Jacinto watershed.
Listen to the Commissioners Here
For a complete recording of the discussion and vote, click here. The “Russ” referred to in the audio is Russ Poppe, executive director of Harris County Flood Control District.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/29/2020
974 Days after Hurricane Harvey