Odum previously served as the President of Shell Oil Company. He volunteered to work for the City as the Mayor’s “Flood Czar” for 15 months on a pro bono basis.
Stephen Costello, the City of Houston’s Chief Recovery Officer in charge of Harvey efforts and the Mayor’s Flood Czar.
So I emailed Costello and heard back this morning. He replied, “I am the Chief Recovery Officer focused on Harvey recovery. Still doing the flood czar stuff as well.”
Evidently, the title of one of Costello’s jobs changed and he’s still picking up where Odum left off. Hopefully, Aho’s appointment will allow Costello more time to focus on flood mitigation.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019
546 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Costelloo-e1551210507211.jpg?fit=907%2C1203&ssl=11203907adminadmin2019-02-26 13:38:022019-02-26 13:55:57Despite new Chief Resiliency Officer, Costello Still Heading Up Flood Recovery Efforts
The Houston Chronicle reported at noon today that Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed a new Chief Resilience Officer, a job formerly held by Stephen Costello. The story makes only a brief reference to Costello in the last paragraph. It says, “Stephen Costello, Houston’s former chief resilience officer, began overseeing the city’s Harvey recovery efforts in November 2018. He took over as “recovery czar” from Marvin Odum, the former president of Shell.”
Definition of Resilience Broadened to Include Economic Equity
The press release issued by City Hall mentions nothing of Costello and mentions flooding only once. It appears to broaden the scope of resilience and places major emphasis on “social and economic equity” in resilience planning.
Marissa Aho, City of Houston’s new Chief Resilience Officer. Photo Courtesy of Mayor’s office.
It says, “Mayor Sylvester Turner has appointed Marissa Aho, AICP, as chief resilience officer for the City of Houston… The position will play an essential role in leading city-wide resilience-building efforts to help Houston prepare for, withstand, and bounce back from the ‘’shocks’’ – catastrophic events like hurricanes, floods, and cyberattacks – and “stresses” – slow-moving disasters like aging infrastructure, homelessness, and economic inequality, which are increasingly part of 21st century life.”
As chief resilience officer, Aho will report directly to Mayor Turner. She will oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive Resilience Strategy for the city. Aho comes to Houston from the City of Los Angeles. There she served as Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) for the past four years.
“The CRO,” says the press release, “…will address the resilience vulnerabilities of all city residents, with a particular focus on low-income and vulnerable populations.”
Bringing LA Experience to Houston
“While serving as CRO in Los Angeles, Aho paved the way for Los Angeles to embed resilience as a value that guides municipal planning, culminating in the appointment of more than 30 departmental chief resilience officers (DCROs) who form an in-city network in each branch of city government.
“Other innovative initiatives in Resilient Los Angeles,” says the press release, “include developing an urban heat vulnerability index and mitigation plan, placing an equity lens over the city’s response to increasing extreme heat.”
According to the City, Houston remains vulnerable to less-familiar shocks and stresses, such as environmental degradation and access to economic opportunity.
It’s not clear from either the news release or the Chronicle story what role Costello will play vis-a-vis Aho, if any.
About New Houston CRO Marissa Aho, AICP
Prior to serving as the Los Angeles CRO, she held senior staff positions at two Los Angeles planning and land use consulting firms. Aho has 15 years of policy, planning, and project management experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors where she has worked with interdisciplinary teams to find creative solutions to complex problems. She has a BA in political science from American University and a master of planning from the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy. She is the Region VI commissioner for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), section director of the Los Angeles Section of the American Planning Association (APA LA), and is a member of the USC Price Alumni Association board of directors.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019
546 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Aho.jpg?fit=600%2C907&ssl=1907600adminadmin2019-02-25 19:38:542019-02-25 20:10:29Mayor Turner Appoints Aho as new Chief Resilience Officer for City of Houston
“Tanglewood properties may only be used for single-family residential purposes.”
“Business or commercial use of any Tanglewood property is prohibited.”
There is nothing inherently wrong with a business owning residential property.
The issue in this case is that one of Mr. Covarrubias Piffer’s 30+ companies headquarters in the house; deed restrictions prohibit that.
Legal filings in an investor-fraud case against Mr. Covarrubias Piffer in Houston establish the Doliver Drive property as his Houston address. However, depositions also reveal that he and his partner claim they visit Houston only one day per week on business. (See MARIA DEL CARMEN BORBOLLA AND MARIA DEL CARMEN GOMEZ, CAUSE NO. 2018 – 07276, 157th Judicial Court, Harris County, Tx.)
Expensive Office
Harris County Appraisal District records show that the property actually belongs to another company controlled by Mr. Covarrubias Piffer, FAMA Properties LTD Ptnrshp.
One of Covarrubias’ companies owns a home being used by another of his companies as an office. The $3.2 million Tanglewood home is deed restricted to residential use only.
The Kingwood Connection
Regular readers of this blog may recognize FAMA Properties LTD Partnership as the Alberta, Canada partnership that bought the proposed Kingwood high-rise land in 2012. FAMA bought it from HS Tejas LTD, a Texas Limited Partnership, settled the transaction in Walton County, Florida and Chicago Title recorded it.
Mr. Covarrubias Piffer then sold the same land yet again to two other companies he controls, Romerica RMR 4 LLC and Romerica M 5 LLC. Both are Texas Limited Liability Companies.
Yet another company controlled by Mr. Covarrubias Piffer, Romerica Investments, applied for the Army Corps permit to develop the Kingwood property.
Seems like there’s a lot of business going on in that residence!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/15/2019
545 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/SOS-Doliver-Cova-HQ.jpg?fit=1500%2C688&ssl=16881500adminadmin2019-02-25 16:45:162019-02-25 16:54:53High-Rise Developer May Violate Tanglewood Deed Restrictions, Too
Despite new Chief Resiliency Officer, Costello Still Heading Up Flood Recovery Efforts
Yesterday’s surprise announcement about Marissa Aho, the City of Houston’s new chief resilience officer, left me wondering about Stephen Costello. Costello formerly held that title. In November of last year, Costello also took on the responsibilities of Marvin Odum.
Odum previously served as the President of Shell Oil Company. He volunteered to work for the City as the Mayor’s “Flood Czar” for 15 months on a pro bono basis.
The press release announcing Aho’s appointment did not mention Costello. The Chronicle story mentioned Costello only in the past tense. That left me wondering about his fate. Was this a shake-up? Was he on the outs?
So I emailed Costello and heard back this morning. He replied, “I am the Chief Recovery Officer focused on Harvey recovery. Still doing the flood czar stuff as well.”
Evidently, the title of one of Costello’s jobs changed and he’s still picking up where Odum left off. Hopefully, Aho’s appointment will allow Costello more time to focus on flood mitigation.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019
546 Days after Hurricane Harvey
Mayor Turner Appoints Aho as new Chief Resilience Officer for City of Houston
The Houston Chronicle reported at noon today that Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed a new Chief Resilience Officer, a job formerly held by Stephen Costello. The story makes only a brief reference to Costello in the last paragraph. It says, “Stephen Costello, Houston’s former chief resilience officer, began overseeing the city’s Harvey recovery efforts in November 2018. He took over as “recovery czar” from Marvin Odum, the former president of Shell.”
Definition of Resilience Broadened to Include Economic Equity
The press release issued by City Hall mentions nothing of Costello and mentions flooding only once. It appears to broaden the scope of resilience and places major emphasis on “social and economic equity” in resilience planning.
It says, “Mayor Sylvester Turner has appointed Marissa Aho, AICP, as chief resilience officer for the City of Houston… The position will play an essential role in leading city-wide resilience-building efforts to help Houston prepare for, withstand, and bounce back from the ‘’shocks’’ – catastrophic events like hurricanes, floods, and cyberattacks – and “stresses” – slow-moving disasters like aging infrastructure, homelessness, and economic inequality, which are increasingly part of 21st century life.”
As chief resilience officer, Aho will report directly to Mayor Turner. She will oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive Resilience Strategy for the city. Aho comes to Houston from the City of Los Angeles. There she served as Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) for the past four years.
Bringing LA Experience to Houston
“While serving as CRO in Los Angeles, Aho paved the way for Los Angeles to embed resilience as a value that guides municipal planning, culminating in the appointment of more than 30 departmental chief resilience officers (DCROs) who form an in-city network in each branch of city government.
“Other innovative initiatives in Resilient Los Angeles,” says the press release, “include developing an urban heat vulnerability index and mitigation plan, placing an equity lens over the city’s response to increasing extreme heat.”
According to the City, Houston remains vulnerable to less-familiar shocks and stresses, such as environmental degradation and access to economic opportunity.
It’s not clear from either the news release or the Chronicle story what role Costello will play vis-a-vis Aho, if any.
About New Houston CRO Marissa Aho, AICP
Prior to serving as the Los Angeles CRO, she held senior staff positions at two Los Angeles planning and land use consulting firms. Aho has 15 years of policy, planning, and project management experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors where she has worked with interdisciplinary teams to find creative solutions to complex problems. She has a BA in political science from American University and a master of planning from the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy. She is the Region VI commissioner for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), section director of the Los Angeles Section of the American Planning Association (APA LA), and is a member of the USC Price Alumni Association board of directors.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019
546 Days after Hurricane Harvey
High-Rise Developer May Violate Tanglewood Deed Restrictions, Too
Fabio M. Covarrubias Piffer is one of the two men applying for a permit to develop high rises near the floodway of the San Jacinto West Fork. A title search revealed that Friendswood deed restrictions seemingly limit development to “single-family residential. Mr. Covarrubias-Piffer has refused to meet publicly with the Kingwood community to explain how he plans to get around the deed restrictions.
Business Headquartered in Deed-Restricted Residential Property
Meanwhile, a search of the Texas Secretary of State’s business registration database reveals that Mr. Covarrubias-Piffer lists 5651 Doliver Drive in Tanglewood as the headquarters of one of his companies, Cova Capital Inc.
However, Tanglewood deed restrictions prohibit the operation of businesses in homes, too. Page 21 of the policy manual clearly states that:
There is nothing inherently wrong with a business owning residential property.
Legal filings in an investor-fraud case against Mr. Covarrubias Piffer in Houston establish the Doliver Drive property as his Houston address. However, depositions also reveal that he and his partner claim they visit Houston only one day per week on business. (See MARIA DEL CARMEN BORBOLLA AND MARIA DEL CARMEN GOMEZ, CAUSE NO. 2018 – 07276, 157th Judicial Court, Harris County, Tx.)
Expensive Office
Harris County Appraisal District records show that the property actually belongs to another company controlled by Mr. Covarrubias Piffer, FAMA Properties LTD Ptnrshp.
The Kingwood Connection
Regular readers of this blog may recognize FAMA Properties LTD Partnership as the Alberta, Canada partnership that bought the proposed Kingwood high-rise land in 2012. FAMA bought it from HS Tejas LTD, a Texas Limited Partnership, settled the transaction in Walton County, Florida and Chicago Title recorded it.
Five years later, Fabio Covarrubias Piffer, acting as the sole general partner of FAMA Properties Limited Partnership, sold the same property to Romerica Landco, LP, a Delaware Limited Liability Company, in 2017. Mr. Covarrubias Piffer also controls Romerica Landco, LP.
Mr. Covarrubias Piffer then sold the same land yet again to two other companies he controls, Romerica RMR 4 LLC and Romerica M 5 LLC. Both are Texas Limited Liability Companies.
Yet another company controlled by Mr. Covarrubias Piffer, Romerica Investments, applied for the Army Corps permit to develop the Kingwood property.
Seems like there’s a lot of business going on in that residence!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/15/2019
545 Days since Hurricane Harvey