Tag Archives: drainage

Latest ReBuild lawsuit dismissed

One less thing for the next Mayor to worry about. I hope. A district court judge has ruled in favor of Houston leaders in a 4-year-old lawsuit, countering allegations that Mayor Sylvester Turner and the City Council illegally shortchanged the … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Latest ReBuild lawsuit dismissed

The goats are working hard for you

I love this story. Soon Houston residents may actually celebrate a group of city workers standing around eating lunch or lying down on the job. Houston Public Works is poised to expand its use of goat herds to clear detention … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

City passes Mayor Turner’s final budget

Get ready, whoever is up next. Houston city staff will see pay raises, money will go toward sidewalk repairs and residents won’t have to maintain their own drainage ditches anymore. All are part of the $6.2 billion budget that passed through Houston … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

“I bless the drains down in Africa”

Whoever came up with the Adopt A Drain program is a damn genius. When it comes to naming storm drains, it seems Houstonians have a hard time keeping their minds out of the gutter. In 2018, the city of Houston … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on “I bless the drains down in Africa”

Another ReBuild Houston lawsuit

Gotta say, this puzzles me. A pair of Houston residents filed a lawsuit against Mayor Sylvester Turner and city council Monday, accusing them of failing to follow the will of voters who approved a charter amendment last year for funding … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

ReBuild re-vote approved

Add another item to the ballot. City Council on Wednesday unanimously agreed to put the controversial street and drainage program known as ReBuild Houston before voters again in November, but not before tweaking the ballot language in hopes of avoiding … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

ReBuild re-vote

Sort of. It’s complicated. Eight years after voters narrowly backed the idea, the controversial street and drainage program known as ReBuild Houston is expected to appear again on the November ballot in the form of an amendment to the city … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

ReBuild re-vote?

It could come to that, but it’s not clear to me that it has to. The funding scheme for ReBuild Houston, the city’s street and drainage repair initiative, remains in limbo after a state appeals court agreed Thursday that the … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Be careful what you flush

Yeesh. Grease blockages are the main cause of Houston’s epidemic of sewer overflows, a problem so widespread that it has drawn the city into negotiations with the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The multibillion-dollar enforcement action that could result – likely … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Be careful what you flush

Memorial residents file lawsuit over flooding

This ought to be interesting. A group of residents sued the city of Houston and one of its local redevelopment authorities Wednesday, alleging that they approved commercial development in the Memorial City area without requiring adequate storm water mitigation, resulting … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund

From the inbox: After receiving calls from corporations and others who want to help financially, Mayor Sylvester Turner is establishing The Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund, to accept flood relief donations. “We’ve been hearing from residents who are confused about … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund

On drainage and flooding

Two items of interest from Gray Matters, both on the subject of the week. First, from Cynthia Hand Neely and Ed Browne of Residents Against Flooding: Man-made, preventable flooding has surged dirty, sewage-ridden water through Houston living rooms three times … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Back to square one for ReBuild Houston

Here we go again. A state district judge on Thursday voided the 2010 charter referendum that enabled the city to create the ReBuild Houston program, muddying the fate of the multi-billion-dollar funding scheme to dramatically improve Houston’s streets and drainage. … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What now for road projects?

What do we do with road projects that were going to use ReBuild Houston funds now that the Supreme Court has ruled the 2010 referendum to have been illegal? A necklace of neighborhood streets encircling Hudnell’s home is among the … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What now for road projects?

ReBuild Houston and the Mayor’s race

It’s all about the conservative voters, because no one cares what anyone else thinks. When the most conservative candidate in the Houston mayor’s race dropped out two months ago, the battle to win over right-leaning voters became a two-man show: … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

ReVote Houston?

Mayoral candidate Bill King calls for a do-over on Renew/ReBuild Houston. Houston mayoral candidate Bill King wants to put ReBuild Houston, the city’s controversial streetand drainage program, back up for a vote. […] King, the most vocal opponent of ReBuild … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

New litigation against ReBuild Houston

To be expected at this point. A class action lawsuit has been filed against the city, seeking to reimburse residents who pay the drainage fee that helps fund ReBuild Houston, the multibillion-dollar streets and drainage improvement program that voters narrowly … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Supreme Court deals a blow to ReBuild Houston

Ugh. Houston’s divisive, multibillion-dollar effort to fund two decades of street and drainage improvements faces an uncertain future after the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the ballot measure voters narrowly approved in 2010 obscured the nature and cost of … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Holmes Road

It kind of blows my mind that something like this could be the case in 2014 in Houston. Holmes Road in south Houston, for a stretch, feels less like a city street and more like a weathered country road in … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Holmes Road

Revamped Chapter 42 ordinance finally passes

Strangely enough, in the end it was not very contentious. Houston City Council on Wednesday voted 14-3 to allow greater single-family home density outside Loop 610, while also strengthening the proposal’s already robust protections for neighborhoods concerned about unwelcome development. … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Developer impact fee approved by Council

I did not know that this hadn’t been done yet. Developers will join property owners in paying drainage fees following City Council’s approval Wednesday. The developer impact fee was included in the voter-approved 2010 city charter amendment now known as … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Developer impact fee approved by Council

Reliant drainage deal?

Will wonders never cease? There may be a resolution to the spat over whether the county has to pay the city drainage fee imposed on Reliant Park – an annual bill of $353,000. Tuesday’s Commissioners Court agenda includes an item … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Reliant drainage deal?

When the landed gentry squabble

Am I a bad person for thinking this is funny? Was it sewer sabotage or self-defense? That was the question hanging in the genteel air of two of Houston’s toniest suburbs [last] Thursday after Hunters Creek Village city officials verbally … Continue reading

Posted in General snarkiness | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on When the landed gentry squabble

CM Costello on fixing water leaks

CM Stephen Costello writes a letter in response to the Chron story about leaks in the city’s water pipes. The article “City lost millions to water leaks” (Page A1, Dec. 30) was a timely discussion of our aging water/sewer system. … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

New drainage fee structure announced

From the Mayor’s office. Mayor Annise Parker today instructed the director of the Houston Department of Public Works and Engineering to adjust drainage fees for every property owner required to pay the fee. The adjustment will be accomplished by reducing … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on New drainage fee structure announced

Since we’ve been speaking of drainage

Meanwhile, over in Washington Heights, Ainbinder is doing a commissioning a study of streets and drainage. It’s their second study, as apparently they didn’t like what the first one told them. Go read They Are Building A Wal-Mart On My … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Since we’ve been speaking of drainage

Eight, not five

Mayor Parker says that initial estimates of how much the average homeowner would pay for the new drainage fee were understated. Mayor Annise Parker acknowledged Tuesday that her administration erred in telling voters that the average homeowner’s monthly Proposition 1 … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Patrick’s blackmail bill goes to the House

The assault on the will of the voters takes another step forward. The Texas Senate voted 30-1 for Sen. Dan Patrick’s bill to broaden the exemption from Houston’s drainage fee to cover non-profit groups and expansion by churches and schools. … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Drainage fee passes with exemptions

Council has passed the drainage fee ordinance required by Renew Rebuild Houston, with exemptions for existing church and school properties. The fee will apply to all future “impervious cover” at church and school buildings, such as roofs and parking lots. … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Drainage fee passes with exemptions

Costello opposes exempting the churches

From the inbox: Houston City Council Member Stephen Costello asks the Mayor and Council to exempt only state-mandated property from the drainage fee. Costello, the At Large Position 1 Council Member, offered an amendment Wednesday to the Municipal Drainage Utility … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Costello opposes exempting the churches

“Nobody likes a sore winner”

Mayor Parker’s updated drainage fee proposal, which would allow for exemptions to schools and churches, was introduced to City Council amid a torrent of whining from the pro-exemption forces. Church and school leaders testified at a special council meeting that … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

More on the drainage fee exemptions

Here’s the Chron story about the Mayor’s change in direction to exempt churches and schools from the new drainage fee. Under previous numbers published by the administration, exempting those institutions would raise the monthly fee on other property owners by … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

City caves on drainage fee for churches

From the inbox: Mayor Parker Announces New Rebuild Houston Funding Plan with Exemptions and Assistance for Low Income Mayor Annise Parker today announced that she will ask City Council next week to approve a new Rebuild Houston funding plan that … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The “Dan Patrick thinks you’re too stupid to know what you’re voting for” bill

Ugh. A bill that would remove churches and schools from the drainage fee Houston voters narrowly approved last November as part of Proposition 1 is scheduled for a public hearing Wednesday before the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee. Dubbed Rebuild Houston, … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments