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Lawsuit Alleges Harris County’s Ellis-3 Redistricting Plan is Unconstitutional

A lawsuit filed yesterday with the Harris County District Clerk alleges the Ellis-3 Redistricting Plan adopted in the Harris County Commissioners Court Meeting on 10/28/21 is unconstitutional. The Ellis-3 plan would deny virtually everyone in the Lake Houston Area the ability to vote in the next county commissioner election. If allowed to stand, the plan also has the potential to affect all aspects of county government from flood mitigation to services and taxation. Below is a summary of the lawsuit. See the entire lawsuit here.

Basis For and Goals of Suit

The lawsuit claims the Ellis-3 Plan, which renumbered precincts in addition to redrawing them, disenfranchises more than 1.1 million people of their right to vote in next year’s Harris County elections.

Modified Ellis Plan will flip precincts 3 and 4 — *Ellis-3 Plan will flip precincts 3 and 4. Colors represent new precinct boundaries and lines represent old.*

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Republican Commissioners Tom Ramsey in Precinct 3 and Jack Cagle in Precinct 4. The suit names County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Harris County as defendants. Significantly, defendants may be barred from asserting governmental immunity under a legal principle called ultra vires and the Texas Declaratory Judgments Act. “Ultra vires” describes an act which requires legal authority, but is done without it.

The plaintiffs seek a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief that bars the County from using the Ellis-3 plan for the upcoming 2022 election cycle for Harris County Commissioner elections. Plaintiffs also seek to extend the filing period for new candidates and incumbents until after the lawsuit is resolved.

Suit Claims Ellis-3 Plan Deprives 1,125,937 People of Right to Vote

One of the most significant features of the Ellis-3 Plan was that it moved more than a million voters between even- and odd-numbered precincts. In Texas, when people vote for county commissioners depends on whether they live in even- or odd-numbered precincts.

Even-numbered precincts will vote in the 2022 election cycle and odd-numbered precincts will vote in 2024. So when Ellis flipped the numbers for Precincts 3 and 4, he “illegally and unconstitutionally” stripped 1,125,937 Harris County voters of the right to vote in the next election, according to the suit.

The Texas Constitution established the odd/even rules in 1954 through an amendment which also staggered the initial terms of Commissioners, thus ensuring half would be elected every two years.

Virtually all registered voters in the heavily Republican Lake Houston Area would be deprived of their right to vote for commissioners in the next County election.

New precincts in Harris County — *New precincts in the Ellis 3 Plan would deprive virtually all Lake Houston Area voters of their right to vote in the next election by putting them in an odd-numbered precinct.*

*How Ellis-3 Redistricting plan affects Lake Houston Area*. Formerly split between Precincts 2 and 4, now everything is in Precinct 3 except for Summerwood *and will not be able to vote in the next county election.*

The Ellis-3 Plan moves voters from even-numbered precincts into odd-numbered precincts as follows:

7,192 move from Precinct 2 to l
139,434 move from Precinct 2 to 3
215,142 move from Precinct 4 to 1
764,169 move from Precinct 4 to 3.

Accordingly, last month’s adoption of the Ellis-3 Plan will prevent more more than 1.1 million people from voting in the next election who otherwise would have voted. The lawsuit calls that “a total and complete abrogation of their constitutionally mandated right to vote.”

17.71% Disparity in Population Made Redistricting Necessary

The lawsuit acknowledges that redistricting was necessary. Under state law, precincts are supposed to have equal-sized populations…or as close as you can get. But in no event should variation from the ideal exceed 10%.

However, prior to redistricting, unequal population growth between 2010 and 2020 exceeded that 10% maximum.

2020 Census data on the Harris County Attorney’s website shows precinct populations varied from the “equal-sized” ideal by the following percentages:

P1 -0.36%
P2 -10.47%
P3 +7.24%
P4 +3.59%

That created a population disparity of 17.71% between the largest and smallest precincts, almost double the amount allowed under state law.

2 Million Move Precincts when 200 Thousand Would Have Sufficed

However, the lawsuit also claims that the Ellis-3 Plan moved 2.2 million between precincts (both odd- and even-numbered) when constitutional requirements could have been met by moving only 201,713.

Plaintiffs also claim that they have created a “demonstration map” where population deviations were addressed but ZERO citizens lost their right to vote in the next election. (However, Plaintiff’s did not include that map with their legal filing.)

Plaintiffs offer a simple explanation for why excessive shifting occurred. They assert that “Commissioner Ellis wanted to do whatever it would take to draw a new map that would create three (3) Democratic seats.”

The original petition claims, “…the Ellis 3 Plan does just that.”

“It maintains Ellis’ Precinct I as a reliably Democratic district, making sure that Latino voting strength is too weak to beat him in a primary election, especially given the African-American support he enjoys in that precinct regardless.”
“It strengthens Precinct2’s democratic strength in the hopes that Commissioner Adrian Garcia can withstand a general election challenge by a Republican.”
“It packs Republicans into Precinct 3, such that the likelihood of Commissioner Ramsey being reelected is high.”
“By strengthening the Republican voting strength of Precinct 3, the consequence is to flip the likely partisan nature of Precinct 4 from Republican to Democrat.”

But to do all that, the lawsuit alleges, the Ellis-3 Plan disenfranchised 1.1 million innocent voters.

While generally mocking the lawsuit, even the left-leaning Houston Chronicle admitted today that, “The adopted Ellis map gives Democrats a 50 percentage advantage over Republicans in Precinct 1, 12 points in Precinct 2 and 12 points in Precinct 4.”

The Chronicle continued, “The endgame is that the Democrats can secure a 4-1 majority, which will give them the freedom to set tax rates with a quorum of four members and avoid a minority of two Republicans sitting out and derailing the vote.

Lawsuit Chances

Not one of the experts interviewed by the Chronicle writer gave the suit a snowball’s chance. One dismissed it as “political theater.”

But neither did the Chronicle mention that the Judge assigned to the case, Dedra Davis, was supported by Rodney Ellis in her last election bid.

*Judge Dedra Davis has been assigned to the redistricting case.*

One Harris County insider who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “She is one of the judges Ellis got elected. There are several of them. The lawsuit has no chance. They will have to appeal up to a higher court.”

A second person sent me this photo. It validates the insider report.

*Judge Dedra Davis at Campaign Event with Rodney Ellis, whose plan she will rule on.*

Perhaps Davis will recuse herself since Ellis is the lead actor in this drama. Not recusing herself would seem to create grounds for an appeal. Here is the Texas law governing recusal of District Court judges.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/17/2021 and modified on 11/18 with addition photo of Ellis and the Judge in his case.

1541 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.

Sowing the Seeds of the Next Big Flood

To paraphrase a Biblical saying, “You reap what you sow.” This quote has both positive and negative connotations. In a positive sense, it means “The more seeds you plant, the more you harvest.” In a negative sense, as Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Sooner or later, everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.”

Parallel with Flood Control

That’s quite true of flood control where, as a society, we seem to have a knack for eroding margins of safety by paving over wetlands, clearcutting trees, understating detention requirements, avoiding floodwater detention, destroying riparian vegetation, building in floodplains, developing next to rivers, sand mining in floodways without minimum setbacks, and more.

Examples from Recent Posts

There’s the development in Spring that chopped down trees along the Spring Creek Greenway.

*Where Breckenridge East Crosses Spring Creek Greenway* *is circled in red.*

A new development next to Kingwood along the West Fork that will pave over wetlands.

*Future site of Northpark South subdivision at Northpark Drive and Sorters-McClellan Road. Grassy area in forest is wetlands.*

Where 131 homes will be built 9-to-the-acre, five feet apart, right next to a tributary of Bens Branch.

*Preserve At Woodridge Forest. Looking West*.

The 17-acre RV Park whose engineering plans show that the amount of impervious cover didn’t change even after adding 25% more paving to the site. And whose detention pond will be 50% smaller than current standards thanks to a technicality in the submission date of the original plans.

Drainage from Cleared Area will be funneled toward Lakewood Cove homes in foreground. — *Drainage from cleared area will be funneled toward Lakewood Cove homes in foreground.* *Detention pond will be about half of current standard.*

Avoiding construction of detention ponds by exaggerating the infiltration rates of soil types.

*Lack of detention ponds in Colony Ridge contributed to wash out FM1010 in Liberty County near Plum Grove.* *Soil surveys claimed soil was more sandy than clay-based*, which contradicted USDA findings.

Sand mines that build stockpiles in floodways.

*Stockpile at Triple PG Mine in Porter lies at the confluence of two floodways – Caney Creek in foreground and White Oak Creek in woods in background.*

Engineers who try to “beat the peak” of a flood by getting their floodwater to the river faster so they don’t have to build detention ponds.

*2200-acre Artavia Development in Montgomery County dumps floodwater and silt into West Fork after channeling drainage through sand mines.*

Developers that build new homes closer to the river than destroyed homes now being bought out just a mile upstream.

*Kings Harbor Condos within feet of West Fork*

Ex Post Facto Analysis Won’t Be Needed After Next Flood

I could cite hundreds of more examples, but you get the idea. This is like death by a thousand cuts. When the next big flood comes along, someone will ask, “How’d that happen?” And the answer will be, “We reaped what we sowed.”

It’s been 1536 Days since Hurricane Harvey. If ever there was a wake-up call, Harvey was it.

More than one out of every ten structures in Harris County flooded.
60,000 people had to be rescued by government agencies.
Civilian resources rescued tens of thousands more.
300,000 vehicles flooded.
22 major freeways were cut off and impassable.

Damage totaled $125 billion. FEMA:

Processed 47,000 flood insurance claims.
Made 15,800 small business loans…
And approved 177,600 individual assistance grants.

68 people died directly in Harvey, most from being caught in fast-moving floodwaters.

And we’re spending more than $5 billion on flood mitigation projects in Harris County.

“It Didn’t Have to Be that Bad”

The saddest part is…it didn’t have to be that bad.

A lot of death, damage and destruction could have been avoided…FOR FREE. If only we had learned to listen to and respect Mother Nature more.

That’s a conclusion I have reached after four years of research into flooding in the North Houston area.

My voyage of discovery turned into this website where I share what I learn virtually every day and sometimes twice a day.

The next step in my journey will be to condense everything I’ve learned into a book that hopefully becomes a case study in how to reduce flood damage.

The major themes will be:

Understanding the causes of flooding
How nobody ever wins an argument with Mother Nature.
Learning to respect rivers and giving them room to roam.
Ending the war on wetlands.
Respecting individual property rights while recognizing our interdependence.
Finding a workable balance between upstream and downstream interests.
How conservation and preservation can be so much more effective than mitigation.
How quickly we forget…and trick ourselves into thinking next time will be different.

In the coming weeks, I hope to explore solutions to some of the problems above. If we can learn to work together, we can live together. And if we protect Mother Nature, Mother Nature will protect us. Let’s reap what we sow in a positive sense next time.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/16/21 with grateful thanks to Bayou Land Conservancy and its supporters

1540 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.

GLO Extends Deadline for Harvey Homeowner Assistance Applications

The original deadline for Hurricane Harvey Homeowner Assistance applications has been extended from this Friday to New Year’s Eve at 5 P.M. Applications do not have to be completed by then, just started by then. So if you still hope to receive aid, move quickly. Money is running out and eligible applications will be prioritized based on who applied first.

The process involves a large number of documents and complex rules that govern eligibility. Here is the full text of this morning’s press release from the GLO. It includes information on where to apply.

*What remained of a home washed downstream during Harvey. Photo by Dan Monks.*

AUSTIN — The Texas General Land Office (GLO) has extended the deadline to submit applications for the Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP) to 5 p.m. Dec. 31, 2021. All potential applicants must submit draft applications by the deadline to be considered for eligibility so long as funding is available.

We encourage the community to remember that applications do not need to be fully complete to be submitted. Once application intake concludes, additional program resources will be dedicated to processing applicants for eligibility, through the permitting process and into construction. Applications can be submitted even if documentation is missing as HAP applicant coordinators continue to help applicants who are missing documentation.

The HAP regional offices will remain open, and processing of applications will continue indefinitely until program funds are fully expended. Applications will be considered for award on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the priorities outlined in the Regional Housing Guidelines.

Submitting a complete application does not guarantee eligibility nor funding availability, but applicants must submit a complete application by the deadline to be potentially considered for assistance.

Those residing inside the Houston city limits should apply at recovery.texas.gov/hap/houston, while non-Houston residents of Harris County should apply at recovery.texas.gov/hap/harriscounty. New applicants can also call the toll-free intake center line at 1-866-317-1998.

Harris County and the City of Houston received direct allocations of funding for residents in their jurisdictions. Applicants who previously applied to and are receiving assistance from Harris County and the City of Houston directly should continue to work with their program representatives.

In the City of Houston, applications being processed for eligibility already outnumber available funds, but funds remain available in non-Houston Harris County areas. HAP continues to take waitlist applications in Houston in case additional funding becomes available.

Waitlisted applications will be reviewed for eligibility in the order received based on their submission date, should additional funding be approved. Applications that are started, but not yet submitted by 5 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2021, cannot be considered for assistance.

Thus far, in all 49 counties eligible for Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the GLO has approved nearly 6,900 applications for construction, with about 850 homes currently under construction and more than 4,000 completed with keys in the hands of homeowners.

The GLO continues processing completed applications with the expectation of rebuilding up to 10,000 homes total for those needing assistance with available funds, with approximately 3,000 of those homes expected to be rebuilt in Harris County and the City of Houston.

Individuals affected by Hurricane Harvey may qualify for assistance through the Homeowner Assistance Program if:

They owned their home
It was damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Harvey
It was their primary residence at the time of the storm
Other eligibility factors also apply.

The program offers qualified homeowners assistance to repair, rehabilitate or rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Potential applicants should review the Homeowner Assistance Program Checklist to have all applicable documents ready prior to applying.

Interested homeowners can visit recovery.texas.gov/hap/houston or recovery.texas.gov/hap/harriscounty to find more information.

– End of Release –

For More Information About Homeowner Assistance Applications

The GLO’s main Homeowner Assistance Program website – https://recovery.texas.gov/hap – also provides links to these important documents:

Applications, including all necessary documentation, must be completed and submitted BEFORE the GLO and its partners will begin processing it for eligibility. Each application submitted must be individually evaluated to determine eligibility. If applicants or potential applicants have questions, please contact 346-222-4686 or 1-866-317-1998 (toll free).

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/15/2021 based on a Texas GLO press release.

1539 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Will Redistricting Affect Flood-Mitigation Priorities?

The recent redistricting of Harris County precincts could not have been more disruptive. More than half the county’s residents changed both precincts and commissioners. Can you say, “Tossed Salad”? It will take some time to work this out. In the meantime, “Many are asking how will new precinct boundaries affect flood-mitigation priorities?”

We’ve already seen how Commissioner Adrian Garcia tried to divert flood bond money from an area he was giving up in the redistricting process to one he was inheriting. That got voted down, but…

Priorities Already Altered Multiple Times in Past

We’ve also seen how Democrats re-ordered flood-bond priorities in 2019, shifted money from other budgets to accelerate projects in poor watersheds, and are suggesting another flood bond with new priorities based on so-called racial equity.

Officially, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) does not allocate flood-bond mitigation money by precinct. They allocate it by watershed and project – with the most money going to the most heavily flood-damaged areas.

But those who watch Commissioners Court regularly know that Commissioners control HCFCD priorities, and no project moves forward without their approval.

Lake Houston Dam Example

All this raises the question, “How will the re-alignment of Commissioner’s precincts re-align flood-mitigation priorities?”

For instance, the Lake Houston Dam was half in Precinct 1 and half in Precinct 2 both controlled by Democrats. But P2 Commissioner Garcia has given that area up. The east side of the dam will now be in Precinct 3 now controlled by Republican Tom Ramsey. Ramsey will now also control virtually all the homes around the lake with the exception of a small area in Summerwood. The flood bond allocated $20 million to help support expansion of the flood gates on Lake Houston (Project CI-028). How solid is that commitment now that Democrats have given up most of the area?

Across the county, from Cypress Creek to Armand Bayou, people have dozens of questions like that about projects affecting them. The answers will take time to sort out.

New High-Resolution Precinct Maps Finally Available

Until a few days ago, the lack of resolution and streets in redistricting maps made it difficult to tell exactly where the new precinct boundaries were.

But just last week, the Harris County Attorney posted a new high-resolution map showing new boundaries. The map also shows major streets and voting precincts (in addition to the county precincts).

The biggest changes happened on the north side of the County where Commissioner Adrian Garcia staged a strategic retreat from Republican voters to bolster his re-election chances. Also, Precincts 3 and 4 switched positions. P3 formerly on the west side of the county is now on the north and east sides. And Precinct 4, formerly on the north and east sides is now mostly on the west and north sides.

The plan, designed and approved by Democrats, will force Commissioners Cagle and Ramsey to run for re-election in areas where they are relatively little known – unless they want to move their residences. Commissioner Rodney Ellis carefully drew district boundaries so that Cagle and Ramsey would no longer live in precincts they once represented. And by law, Commissioners must live in the precinct they represent.

Ramsey and Cagle will now have whole new watersheds to learn.

Watershed Boundaries Not Yet Shown on New Precinct Map

Unfortunately, the new high-res precinct map does not show watershed boundaries, although it shouldn’t be hard to create one – for someone with better Photoshop skills than mine!

At the moment, to see how your watershed could be affected, compare two maps side by side.

The new high-res precinct map and
Harris County’s Flood Education Mapping Tool (HarrisCountyFEMT.org).

The latter shows watershed boundaries if you click on the Watershed button in the left-hand column.

Most of the Lake Houston Area including Huffman, Kingwood, Humble (east of Bush Intercontinental Airport), Atascocita, Crosby and Spring will now be in Precinct 3 with Commissioner Tom Ramsey.

*New Precincts adopted by Harris County Commissioners Court in 2021. Click link for high res map.*

To learn more about redistricting and your new commissioner, visit the landing pages for Harris County Precinct 3 or Harris County Precinct 4.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/15/2021

1539 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.

Loophole Cuts RV Park Detention Pond Capacity Requirement in Half

When examining the floodwater detention pond capacity for the Kingwood Area’s first RV park at 1355 LAUREL SPRINGS LANE, it seemed impossibly low. The park will build a pond with 7.68 acre feet of stormwater detention. That’s more than the required 6.675 acre feet, but about half of what the City of Houston (COH) would require under new guidelines that went into effect within 90 days of the plan’s approval.

Because of that 90-day grandfathering loophole, the RV park will escape current City and County requirements for floodwater detention.

Current Regs Would Require 13 Acre-Feet of Detention Pond Capacity

Under today’s requirements, a 20.032-acre RV Park would require 13 acre-feet of detention pond capacity (20 acres x .65 = 13 acre feet). That’s because the COH 2021 infrastructure design manual makes properties larger than 20 acres follow HCFCD guidelines (see below).

*New Harris County guidelines require a minimum rate of .65 acre-feet per acre.The RV Park is slightly larger than 20 acres.*

This requirement is based on NOAA’s new, higher Atlas-14 rainfall probability tables adopted in the wake of Harvey.

COH 2021 Infrastructure Design Manual Defers to HCFCD Regs for Lots This Size

The City’s Infrastructure Design Manual imposed new criteria in July 2021 that would have required developments greater than 20 acres to follow the HCFCD standard for detention pond capacity. See screen capture below which bridges two pages.

*Screen Capture excerpted from Pages 9-29 and 9-30 of COH 2021 Infrastructure Design Manual.*

City’s 2020 Regulations Required Far Less Detention

However, the City’s 2021 standards also provided a 90-day grace period for plans initially submitted before July. That meant the City’s 2020 Infrastructure Design Manual applied. And those standards only required following HCFCD’s higher standards if the lot was larger than 50 acres – which this is not. It’s 20.032 acres. So the RV Park developer will get away with installing far less detention than current regs require.

Differences Between Old/New Versions of City/County Regs

Two primary differences exist between the City and County regs in 2020 and 2021.

The first is the basis for calculations. In both years:

The County bases required detention pond capacity on the total size of the site.
The City, except where it defers to HCFCD regs, bases detention pond capacity on the amount of impervious cover within the site.

The City also changed the minimum lot size required to follow HCFCD regulations between 2020 and 2021.

Sites larger than 50 acres had to follow HCFCD guidelines in 2020.
Sites larger than 20 acres had to follow HCFCD guidelines in 2021.

The 2020 requirements apply in this case because of when plans were first reviewed (January 2021). The 2020 Infrastructure Design Manual read as follows:

*COH 2020 Infrastructure design manual requires 20- to 50-acre tracts to have detention volume (in acre feet) equal to half of the impervious cover.*

Developer Applied Before Detention Pond Capacity Increased

Using that formula, the developer planned a detention pond that holds 7.68 acre feet of storm water detention, an acre foot more than required at the time the plans were first submitted, even though they were finally approved four months after the new regs went into effect. But that’s still far less than the 13 acre-feet required under today’s regulations.

*Screen capture of detail from detention and mitigation plan approved on 10/14/21.*
*The City previously reviewed a version of the plans on 1/21/21* *which were originally submitted in 12/20.*

Impervious Cover Calculations Need Further Review

I question whether the amount of impervious cover above is correct. That’s because the developer’s permit allows 182 RV spaces, but the plans show 226 – about a 24% increase. However, the impervious cover shown on the plans before and after the permit approval did not increase. That could also affect detention pond capacity requirements.

Timing, Impervious Cover Issues Raise Public Safety Questions

Assuming the impervious cover calculations above are correct, and that’s a big assumption, the developer is providing more than the minimum amount of required detention under 2020 requirements. But if they are not correct, the developer would be short.

And if the 2021 requirements applied, the developer would have to provide virtually twice as much detention.

A half-sized detention pond would require the RV Park to pump water into Lakewood Cove’s drainage system sooner and faster than with a larger pond. And under severe conditions, when Lakewood Cove’s drainage is already stressed, the extra water could over-stress it.

No Drainage Impact Analysis

I’ve requested a drainage impact analysis from the City for the RV Park on at least two occasions and have not received one. I therefore deduce that one does not exist. Such an analysis would quantify the impact on Lakewood Cove, Edgewater Park and surrounding roads.

*Detail from most recent approved construction plan shows all water from detention pond going under Laurel Springs to Lakewood Cove storm sewer system* *toward homes below.*

*All the runoff from the 20 cleared acres will be funneled via a 24″ pipe toward the homes in the foreground.*

Bottom Line: Park Will Provide Half of Today’s Detention Requirement

If this developer, LS RV Resort, LP, submitted plans today, it would have to provide almost twice as much detention pond capacity.

2021 requirements call for .65 acre feet per acre times 20 total acres. That equals 13 acre feet of detention.
2020 requirements call for .5 times the claimed 13.349 acres of impervious cover. That equals 6.675 acre feet of detention.

And we wonder how floods happen! Remember this the next time you see water rising toward your home.

I wonder if investors in the RV Park will be notified of the potential liability in a prospectus. Undersized detention ponds based on a similar grandfathering loophole in Montgomery County regulations became the central issue in lawsuits by hundreds of Elm Grove residents against Perry Homes, its subsidiaries and its contractors. The defendants recently settled those lawsuits.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/13/2021

1537 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.

Kingwood Middle School: November Construction Update

Construction of the new Kingwood Middle School appears on schedule for opening with the next school year in 2022. Compared to my October update, no new major milestones have been reached. Everything just looks a little further along.

Kingwood Middle School Construction Sequencing

Construction started on the west and is moving toward the east. As subcontractors finish one phase such as foundations or structural , the next group picks up the baton and works on roofing, exterior walls, windows, etc.

The most visible change between October and November: progress on exterior walls and roofing.

I took all the pictures below on Saturday, November 6, 2021.

*Looking W.* Judging from the amount of erosion around the banks, the temporary detention pond appears to be getting a lot of use. This pond will be replaced with a larger permanent one after the old school is demolished to make room for it.

*Insulation, vapor barriers, brick and glass now surround more than half the site now. Roofing on the westernmost section looks complete. But many roofing materials remain stacked on other sections.*

*Looking south with the old school visible in the top of the frame.*

*Masons have completed the brickwork on large portions of the westernmost section. Shot taken from over Woodland Hills, looking east.*

*Portions of the exterior at the west end still need work, but it’s more done than not.*

*A view from the SE looking NW clearly shows the degree of finish evident in the left, middle and right sections.*

*Low level shot shows middle section on left.*

Next Steps for KMS

Next steps will be to dry-in the structure by completing the exterior walls, windows and roofs. The other trades will then start working on interior walls, electrical, wallboard, paint and flooring – all the things that could be destroyed by blowing rain.

I put two kids through the old Kingwood Middle School who became happy, healthy, successful adults. As I look at these pictures, fond memories of plays, recitals, teacher conferences, and athletic contests come to mind. Each month, as the old school comes closer to demolition, I become increasing nostalgic. We will soon witness the end of one era and the start of another in Kingwood.

Architectural renderings on the Humble ISD site inspire confidence that the next generation of Kingwood Middle School students will have an even better learning environment than the last.

And cross your fingers! Despite double the impervious cover now on the site, I have received no reports of flooding from neighbors.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/11/2021

1535 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Guefen Clears 17 Acres Between KPHS, St. Martha for 131 High-Density Homes. Will Detention Pond Be Enough?

Guefen Development Partners has announced that it will build a “luxury single family build to rent multifamily community” [sic] on 17 acres between Kingwood Park High School and the St. Martha Church on Woodridge Parkway.

*Future site of Preserve At Woodridge. Looking W toward St. Martha Church across a drainage ditch that empties into Bens Branch.*

Nine Homes Per Acre with 65% Impervious Cover

Guefen will build 131 units on 14.65 acres. The rest of the 17 acres will contain a detention pond. That works out to nine homes per acre. RG Miller, the firm that engineered the “Preserve at Woodridge” estimates the development will have 65% impervious cover. See the Plans here. (Caution: large file, 21 mb download.)

Grass will definitely be in the minority. I’m not sure what the Preserve is preserving. The site certainly preserves no trees.

Pictures Taken This Week

Here’s what Guefen’s land looks like as of this week.

*Looking E. Cleared area between St. Martha and Kingwood Park High School baseball fields will hold 131 homes and a detention pond.*

*Guefen’s detention pond will border the drainage ditch that empties into Bens Branch about a block south.*

Basis of Detention-Basin Calculations

The technically inclined reader may appreciate the detention calculations below. The basis for the calculations is a 16.1 inch rain in 24-hours which is the Atlas-14 amount used throughout Montgomery County. MoCo specifies an average to keep things simple for developers. Their average is slightly less than the 17.3 inches specified by NOAA for the Kingwood area.

*See pages 17-24 for the drainage portion of the subdivision plans.*

Will the Detention Pond Be Enough?

With other high-density developments going in upstream along Bens Branch, I hope Guefen’s detention pond capacity will suffice. Brooklyn Trails, several blocks upstream on another tributary of Bens Branch, lacks about 30% of the capacity needed to meet Atlas-14 requirements according to my calculations.

Montgomery County’s Subdivision Rules and Regulations specify that outfall ditches, such as the one in the first photo above only need to carry a 25 year rain. (See page 9.) With that in mind, it seems like Guefen’s detention pond so near a ditch would fill up quickly from ditch overflow in a 25-year rain and provide little detention benefit for anything heavier, for instance, 50-100 year rains.

If that ditch ever needs to be widened, like Hall’s Bayou, the fact that so many homes are built so close to it will severely limit mitigation options.

You can’t build mitigation projects if you don’t have the land.

668 SF Homes with “Interior Garages” and “Luxury Vinyl” Flooring

The 131 single-family detached homes will range in size from 668 square feet to 1,255 square feet and feature “luxury vinyl” flooring. The press release boasts of an “amenity suite” including interior garages. It’s hard to imagine how much living space would be left in 668-SF homes with “interior garages.”

So I checked the plans. I found 29 parking spots labeled “garage spcs.” Many more exterior parking spaces exist. But no one, it appears, will be unloading groceries from his/her car directly into a kitchen. Your “interior garage” could be several homes away.

Nor do all the homes front on a street. That’s going to make moving day hard for your college buddies. You know who your real friends are when they’ll go the distance for you.

Speaking of going the distance, in case of an emergency, that firetruck may be parking 250 feet away from some homes. That’s almost the length of a football field.

Build-to-Rent

According to Guefen’s website and press release, the company sees a niche market for this type of housing in the Kingwood area. They are building these homes to rent them, not sell them. The company normally specializes in multifamily and student housing.

While plans show detached homes, they also show five to six feet of separation. That should be enough to dampen most stereos. So party on, Wayne!

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/10/2021

1534 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Are We Winning or Losing the Battle to Reduce Flooding?

Valley Ranch, the new downtown of East Montgomery County, seems to be exploding with growth. The northwest quadrant of I-69 and the Grand Parkway developed first. Now the focus is shifting to the southwest quadrant where more than 500 acres are being cleared near the banks of White Oak Creek. People downstream from I-69 to Caney Creek have experienced flooding recently. This raises the questions, “Will the flood mitigation measures being put in place at Valley Ranch be enough?” and “In general, are we winning or losing the battle to reduce flooding?”

The Relentless Forces of Development vs. Battle to Reduce Flooding

Last week, I posted about the new Amazon distribution center, shown above at A. Today, I’d like to focus on four areas west of Amazon, shown as 1-4. All sizes below are approximate. I used the measuring tool in Google Earth.

1 = 170 acres
2 = 120 acres
3 = 100 acres
4 = 135 acres

I took all the aerial photos below on 11/6/21.

This interactive map of Valley Ranch shows what’s planned where.

Area 1: Marketplace

Most of Area 1 just south of the Grand Parkway will be future retail space dubbed “Marketplace.”

*Area 1 looking SW from over the Grand Parkway will contain retail. However, apartments are now going up in the far top left corner.* *What’s that soupy area in the middle? See below.*

*US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Wetlands Mapper shows a wetland area that corresponds to the soupy area in photo above this one.*

*Here it is again. Looking north toward the future Marketplace and the Grand Parkway.*

*Closer shot of apartment* *construction.*

Area 2: Commercial District

*Looking East from over Grand Parkway toward I-69. Commercial area is the clearing in the distance. White Oak Creek is the wooded area that runs diagonally through the frame.*

*Closer shot of commercial area.* *From over White Oak Creek looking N toward Grand Parkway. I-69 on right.*

Areas 3 and 4: Medical District

*Medical District looking SW from over I-69.*

You can tell by the amount of standing water on this property that drainage could be an issue. Note below how the standing water coincides with the former wetlands mapped by USFWS below.

*Areas 3 and 4 shown in US Fish & Wildlife Service Wetlands Mapper.*

Sediment control during clearing becomes a real issue for sites like this. Note the series of trenches channeling standing water toward the storm drain on the I-69 feeder road below.

*Looking W from over I-69 across southern portion of Medical District. Note attempts to drain the site through the storm sewer in the foreground.*

That basket of rocks is supposed to filter out sediment before it reaches the drain. But when I enlarged the image, look what I found.

Reverse angle *of same area* *looking E toward I-69 shows two large detention ponds under construction on left.*

We Need Regional Flood-Mitigation Scorecard

The pace of development seems to be faster than the pace of flood mitigation.

Four and a quarter years after Harvey, we’re halfway done with dredging the sediment flushed downstream to the headwaters of Lake Houston. We have yet to build one regional detention basin upstream. And according to the Houston Chronicle, the proposed new gates for Lake Houston’s dam are being scaled back to fit the available budget.

And all of that is on the asset side of the ledger.

On the debit side, thousands of acres are being cleared with little to no detention capacity, faster than I can photograph and catalog them.

Somebody smarter than I needs to develop a formula that shows whether society is winning or losing the battle to reduce flooding. Are new developments springing up faster than we can mitigate the runoff from them?

Certainly, responsible developers exist who retain their rain. This may be one. That remains yet to be seen. But other developers exist who do not retain their rain. The question is, “Are there more irresponsible developers than the responsible kind?

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/9/2021

1533 days since Hurricane Harvey

New Caney ISD’s West Fork High School Blocked Out; Access Being Enhanced

Although much finish work remains, contractors have finished blocking out New Caney ISD’s new West Fork High School. Walls, structural steel and roofs are up. Some windows are in. Now they are widening Sorters-McClellan Road. They are also building another access route through woods that will connect to Kingwood Place Drive, the street immediately west of the HCA Kingwood Medical Center.

Photos Taken 11/6/2021

I took all of the shots below on November 6, 2021, with the exception of the last one from November a year ago.

*New Caney ISD West Fork High School Construction as of 11/6/2021. Looking NE from over Sorters-McClellan Road toward HCA Kingwood Medical Center and Insperity in top center.*

*Looking south from over Sorters-McClellan Road, which is apparently being widened in front of the high school and then some.* *Note the wetlands and cypress trees in the upper right.*

*Looking north from over detention pond at south end of campus. I-69 in upper right.*

*New access road through woods will connect with Kingwood Place Drive*

*Looking south. Note windows being installed in center.*

From a higher altitude, you can see the proximity to the San Jacinto West Fork. From the upper left, it curves around the large pond then becomes visible again to the left of the sand mine in the upper right.

Wetlands Gone Forever

From US Fish and Wildlife Service Wetlands Mapper. Green areas are/were freshwater forested/shrub wetlands. Blue/gray areas are freshwater ponds. High school site is in center of frame. Image taken shortly after clearing. *Note large area of former wetlands where athletic fields will be.*

I’m sorry to see the wetlands go, but now that they’re gone, I want to see them complete the drainage for this campus ASAP to make sure everything gets channeled into the detention pond. That will minimize the chance of flooding neighbors.

Progress in One Year

New Caney ISD has posted an update on construction that indicates the percentage of completion for each of the project components as of October 29.

It was just a year ago, that this site was virtually nothing but dirt. Contractors had just started pouring concrete for the first parking pad.

New Caney ISD expects to finish construction by the summer of 2022.

*General plan for New Caney High School #3*

Posted by Bob Rehak on November 8, 2021

1532 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Amazon Transportation Center at Valley Ranch Nears Completion

In the four months since I last posted about the new Amazon Transportation Center at Valley Ranch on I-69 and White Oak Creek, just south of the Grand Parkway, the facility has come a long way. I can’t see inside, of course, but exterior construction looks complete.

In March, Community Impact reported the facility would open this year, but did not specify a date. Amazon said it was one of four such facilities opening in the Houston area this year. “The station will bring in about 300 full-time jobs paying $15 as a starting hourly wage,” said Community Impact.

*Amazon Transportation Facility at Valley Ranch as of 11/6/2021. Looking NNW from the SE corner. I-69 intersects Grand Parkway in upper right.*

According to Amazon’s plans, those brownish grassy areas between the parking lots are wetlands they are trying to preserve.

*Looking SW from over White Oak Creek from NE corner of property.*

The site has two large detention ponds on the left and in the foreground to help slow down all that runoff from the acres of concrete.

Proximity to Bush Intercontinental Airport, US59 and the Grand Parkway make this location an ideal transportation hub.

Development in this area is exploding. While photographing this site today, I noticed three other sites on the west side of I-69 clearing ground. Developers are excavating detention ponds and building has just begun. More on those soon.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/7/2021

1531 Days since Hurricane Harvey