The goal of the protest is to show the city (and our neighbors!) just what a fraction of the 22,000 cars a day looks like. The city says the roads can handle it, but we know they can’t.
We’re meeting at 240 West 18th Street at 10am on 10/30/10, and we’re encouraging everyone to decorate their cars and themselves in red. The route is already set, and it should take about 20 minutes to drive it.
A printable flier may be downloaded HERE.
Joining the Super Neighborhood Alliance, Flooding and Drainage Committee’s recommendations on Renew Houston, we support the position taken by various Council Members with regard to Proposition One as well as Super Neighborhood 22.
SN 22′s statement below:
Earlier in the year, the SN 22 Council voted to issue a qualified
endorsement for the Renew Houston initiative. SN 22 supports the
concept of creating a dedicated fund for use on a pay-as-you-go
basis to implement flooding and drainage projects ranked and
executed in order of need. However, SN 22′s endorsement was
qualified by a call for establishment – before the November election
- of clearly stated, objective standards and criteria to govern
implementation of the initiative. SN 22 members expressed
particular concern that the city’s performance standards for new
development be amended to incentivize use of Low Impact Design
(LID) and to eliminate “grandfathering” that allows previously
developed properties to be completely redeveloped without updated
detention and mitigation so long as the amount of impervious cover
does not increase. Moreover, when community members asked the
Mayor and City Council to make approval of the “380 Agreement”
recently negotiated to facilitate development of a Walmart
Supercenter on an old industrial site at Yale and Koehler contingent
on the developer’s agreement to include LID features and to forego
the “grandfathering” for drainage, the Mayor and 11 City
Councilmembers* ignored the community’s request and approved
the agreement without these provisions.
In late September the Flooding and Drainage Committee of the
Super Neighborhood Alliance wrote to Mayor Parker urging her to
address Super Neighborhood concerns about flooding and drainage
regardless of what the voters decide about Proposition 1.
Mayor Parker has issued a statement of principles that she has
committed to use to craft an ordinance to implement Proposition 1
should city voters approve it. But neither Mayor Parker, nor City
Council has agreed to be bound by those principles. Additionally,
the mayor’s statement of principles does not address the issues
about which SN 22 members have expressed particular concern.
For these reasons SN 22 is unable to encourage its members to vote
for Proposition 1.
* Opposing the 380 Agreement were Councilmembers: Ed Gonzales,
Jolanda Jones, Melissa Noriega and James Rodriquez.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EMAILS SHOW CITY IS ON DEVELOPER’S SIDE
Responsible Urban Development for Houston (RUDH), a 501c4 Volunteer organization of taxpayers and homeowners, releases statement responding to city officials’ emails
HOUSTON, Texas – (October, 15, 2010) – Emails released by the city under the Texas Open Records Act have brought to light apparent bias on the part of the city regarding a controversial Walmart-anchored retail development to be built in a residential West End neighborhood at the foot of the historic Houston Heights..
Buried in a public records release, numerous emails show the City’s Chief Development officer, Andy Icken, talking about concerned Heights residents with obvious contempt and disdain, calling the concerned citizens “effete” and commenting that “[i]n [the Heights] I assume there are some who feel they have access to unique info that makes those folks uniquely qualified to decide what is good for everyone else. … Walmart deals with folks like this everywhere.”
In an October 14, 2010 article by the Houston Chronicle, Mayor Parker and Mr. Icken responded to the allegations of bias by touting the two public hearings held for the community. While hosted by the City, the first public forum featured a presentation by Ainbinder, Walmart and the City with little opportunity for public comment. In the second public forum, Mayor Parker excused herself, leaving Mr. Icken, who sat back in his chair, arms crossed, legs outstretched and crossed while residents voiced their concerns.
It appears from the released inter-office emails that the City’s economic development office crossed over from being public servants to being the developer’s lobbyist. In response to an email from Tim Douglas, Deputy Director of Economic Development, stating that “the public seemed to get no support from the council table.” Mr. Icken further noted “we worked very hard to do that-behind the scenes.” In an email to Mr. Icken, Tim Douglas, Deputy Director of Economic Development went so far as to call Councilmember Ed Gonzalez “squishy” and in need of “handholding” because Councilmember Gonzalez was responsive to the concerns of his constituents and not willing to jump on the developer’s bandwagon.
Most disturbingly, the recently released emails refute the City’s claim that the 380 Agreement with the developer was a way the City could have “leverage” over the development. At the request of the City, RUDH canvassed the community and met with design/development professionals to generate a comprehensive package of recommendations for the proposed 380 Agreement that addressed public concerns and promoted positive urban development. However, with the exception of two amendments by Councilmember Clutterbuck, (one amendment wisely removed the ability of Mr. Icken to allow the developer to go over budget without consultation of City Council), none of the suggestions were incorporated into the final agreement. In fact, the emails show that the 380 Agreement had all but been finalized in July of 2010, but was held back from the public until the last possible second.
RUDH’s vice president Eileen Creed noted that “it looks like the 380 Agreement was set in stone by the time we had a chance to review it and provide recommendations from the community. In light of the emails, the public meetings just look like lip service at this point. The City listened, but did nothing else.”
Mayor Parker insisted that many concerns not addressed in the 380 Agreement would be addressed in an operating agreement with Walmart. Yet, the operating agreement is a non-binding and unenforceable agreement unless the City gives Walmart some sort of consideration for the agreement. And, once again, the public has been virtually shut out of the process.
RUDH is concerned that the City’s bias toward the developer and Walmart will only continue as the development heads to the planning and permitting phase. Many unanswered questions remain about traffic, drainage and public safety. RUDH urges the City of Houston to take appropriate action to ensure that the City fairly represents the concerns of its citizens.
For more information and to view the city’s emails please visit www.stopheightswalmart.org.
About Responsible Urban Development for Houston, RUDH
We are a community organization devoted to preserving the character, traditions, and appearance of the Heights and West End neighborhoods in Houston. It is our goal to represent our neighbors before local government and to educate the community about the potential impacts of real estate development on our infrastructure, environment, taxpayer-funded public services, and quality of life. We are a non-profit, grassroots organization. For more information, visit www.rudh.org.
Contact: Colton Candler
Phone: 979-220-0934
Email: info@stopheightswalmart.org
Rounding out the end of the week…. Here are a few quotes from the recently discovered emails regarding Ainbinder, Walmart, and the City of Houston….
IN THE NEWS
How many “moments” does it take to expose a basic attitude?
Fast on the heels of last weeks’ Miya Shay News 13 segment, Andy Icken, the City of Houston’s Chief Development Officer, is again in the news. Today, Mike Morris of the Houston Chronicle delves further into the emails that revealed that the City of Houston knew of the Walmart anchor early on and actively kept that information from the public. The emails also revealed that, in the course of pushing for 380 Agreement approval, Mr. Icken, an unelected City official, undermined the people’s elected representative–CM Ed Gonzalez–with insults and slights to his character.
Today, Mr. Icken responds that these quotes are somehow errant, simply “moments in time” and that “the actions we took in terms of meeting with people and meeting with the community at large best speak to the overall attitude the city had.”
RUDH has also reviewed this correspondence and it left us wondering: How can Mayor Parker continue to defend a high-ranking City official, who repeatedly demeans and insults the public? How can Mayor Parker tout the City’s community outreach when top staffers admit to working “very hard” behind the scenes to ensure the public got “no support” from City Council. If they’re working against the public concerns, then who are they working for? Is Walmart better represented at City Hall than the public? It sure seems that way. You decide. Read the emails hosted on our site.
MAYOR’S OFFICE EMAILS_UNABRIDGED
FUNDRAISING
Let’s get this job done! Donate today!
Our core group of pro-bono professionals has been working non-stop behind the scenes. We are gearing up to engage traffic engineers, hydrologists and other experts and NEED YOUR DONATIONS! This battle is not over and, if we’re going to get the best urban development, not the cheapest one, we need critical oversight of development issues. We welcome volunteers to join our committees and we welcome your donations. Spread the word! We’re doing the heavy lifting for the entire urban core. Help us fight for Responsible Urban Development for Houston! http://www.stopheightswalmart.org/donations
PUBLIC MEETING
Monday October 18, 2010 @ 6:30 pm
PUT IT ON YOUR SCHEDULES, we’re having another public meeting this upcoming Monday October 18th at 6:30pm. We’ll bring you up to date on discoveries, strategies and what we’re doing to move forward. Join us, bring friends, colleagues, neighbors! Get the word out and BE THERE!
Where: The Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston
303 Jackson Hill Street
Houston, Texas 77007
Phone: 713-942-4100
LOCAL BUSINESS COALITION
Are you a local business owner? Want to protect and promote local business? Join RUDHs Local Business Coalition, find out what we offer and how to fight back against out-of-scale developments in our community! Email localbusiness@RUDH.org. We’re building a solid business community, so don’t delay!
EVENT
Walmart CARnage!
Sat, October 30th @ 10am
Meet at 240 W 18th Street
A protest with a sample of 22,000 cars. A WALMART SUPERCENTER generates 22,000 car trips every day. Get in your car and join us to show the city just what a sample of 22,000 cars looks like. Learn more at: info@stopheightswalmart.org
ELECTION DAY
Renew Houston: Prop 1
We like the concept behind Renew Houston, however, just as we experienced with the opaque public process behind the Ainbinder 380 Agreement, the devil is in the details. While Prop 1 creates a pay as you go, dedicated fund with no CIP process delays, does not incur additional debt and implements a developer impact fee, there are major elements missing.
Absent the exact knowledge of how this program will be implemented, and what the enabling ordinance details will be, it is impossible to know what’s on the table. The detail of the ordinance are critically important to the public—and none will be written prior to election day. RUDH supports the Super Neighborhood Alliance, Flooding and Drainage Committee’s recommendations on Renew Houston. Read about it on our site.
Superneighborhood Alliance Recommendations
Get Out the Vote!
It’s coming up quickly, so set your sights! More than ever, it’s critical to get out and vote. Send a message to the City that our community shows up at the polls (they’ll see an uptick in voter turn-out for our zip codes). Elected officials need to represent the public—so let’s get out the vote and be heard!
Early voting info: http://www.votexas.org/early_voting.html
Harris County Early Voting Clerk to find out where YOU vote: (713) 755-6965.
© 2012 Stop Heights Walmart!
All Rights Reserved