FBI: More High Density Apartments In The Works For Missouri City?

After many contentious council debates and media exposure, a recent article to advance more high density apartments in Missouri City deserved a response. Read this entire piece from the "Fort Bend Independent" below:

Apartment developments need critical thinking

Apartment developments need critical thinking

This is in reference to the article “Revitalization of Texas Parkway/Cartwright Road,” published in the May 28 issue of Fort Bend Independent.

The article said “Using demographic trends of young professionals and empty nesters the study showed why we may need to change our thinking about apartments.”

These groups prefer apartments (not conventional apartments, but more multi-use spaces with second and third floor apartments and town homes) that are incorporated with shopping, food buying and “walking” for services and a “genuine town center.”

...The standard error, at least in Texas, for high density apartment development, is the method in which they are taxed.

Without an impact fee to equalize the costs, most entities, including the city, that rely on property taxes, would be negatively impacted, thus shifting the cost burden to homeowners once again and causing more school over-crowding because of the high density.

Only a few years ago developers fought this battle and during those debates it was learned that many families move to Fort Bend apartments with a very high percent attending FBISD schools.

The dollar figure that was placed on the per head student coming from these high density apartments was about half the dollar amount that attends the children coming from single family homes.

This appears to be yet another thinly disguised developer sponsored “futures group” pushing this. Is this really an aspect of this plan that will benefit our kids and the school system?

Looks to me like another attempt to urbanize and label it something else.

Certainly there are aspects of this plan that will work and add value to the community, but more high density apartments will not.

They are the only form on land-use that starts off depreciating.

Of course corporate America loves them for the tax shelters they offer, but they change the very character of the community over time.

The Fort Bend Economic Development Council in 2005 & 2006 published its concerns regarding the over-development of this type of housing in our county and the alarming rate it is occurring at.

Many areas of Houston, Sugar Land are already witnessing the problems associated with over development of this land-use regarding city services, crime increases.

Think critically about this plan before blindly endorsing it. Much of it will add value over the short-term, but think long-term if you own a home.

Morrison Wins Primary Run-off

Richard Morrison, running in the recent primary run-offs, is best known for his stances against the Blue Ridge Landfill expansion proposed near Missouri City, opposition to the tolling of TX99 (the Grand Parkway) and his concern over the repeated attempts to expand the AXH airport with fly-ways over Sienna Plantation and surrounding communities, was victorious in his race this past week. MCC has endorsed him and will continue to follow his candidacy for the commissioners race in precinct 1 against Bob Hebert supporter and former toll road authority board member Greg Ordeneaux.

Also see this related piece on the ongoing AXH airport saga:

http://fortbendnow.com/pages/full_story?hash=comments_54974&page_label=home&id=54974&article-Arcola-Mayor-Demands-Airport-Be-Brought-Into-Compliance-Or-Closed%20=&widget=push&open=&#comments_54974

Click the title link above for the entire Chronicle piece...

FB Sun Interviews Mayoral Candidates In Missouri City--click the title link for the full story--

Owen, Poats hold differing views on Missouri City’s future
By DIANE TEZENO

The Missouri City mayoral race has drawn two candidates – incumbent Allen Owen and challenger Greyling Poats - each with differing views and plans for the city’s future.

The upcoming May city elections will be the second time the two have faced off for the city’s top spot. The first time was in May 2006. Owens won the race with 68.55 percent of the vote to Poats 31.45 percent.

Owen has held the mayor’s seat since 1994. Poats, a local insurance agency professional, has lived in Missouri City for 26 years.

Each candidate was given an opportunity to respond in his own words to a series of questions to enlighten voters on his plans for the city’s future.

Q. What are the top priorities of your campaign platform?

A. Owen

The top priorities of my campaign are basically the same they have been since I took office 22 years ago - to promote the city of Missouri City as a place that people want to call home and to provide the quality of life that is necessary to do so. That involves public safety, air and water quality, a good mixture of residential and commercial growth, and to continue to work towards replacing or at least reducing property taxes with sales taxes. That can only be done by continuing to attract commercial and retail businesses. I also want to see the Quail Valley Country Club issue resolved with as small an impact to the community as possible. I want to see us continuing working with our consultants on developing a master plan for the Texas Parkway/Cartwright Road corridors that will redevelop and vitalize that part of the City that serves as one of the gateways to our community.

A. Poats

My top priorities will be within the corporate city limits of Missouri City. I will work to revitalize our current subdivisions. I will work to revitalize Texas Parkway, Cartwright Road and FM 1092 by bringing new businesses and assisting current center owners and businesses in upgrading their investments. I will work to have the amenities that define a city in Missouri City for the use of our citizens.

Q. What is your vision for Missouri City's future?

A: Owen

My vision for the City is one of being a premiere place to live and work. I see us growing to well over 125,000 people in the next 10 years and we need to be prepared for that. We have aging infrastructure that will need replacing - streets, side-walks, park improvements, and adding the necessary police and fire personnel to keep up with that growth. We will truly embrace the "Show Me" slogan as we begin to attract major employers and industry to our area. This will provide many new jobs as well as stimulate the housing market, while we may see other areas of the State and country not do as well.

A: Poats

My vision is for Missouri City to be the premier city in the state of Texas and in a very short time the premier city in the United States. We have the people and the diversity to attain this goal. I will utilize the many positive ideas of our citizens and stop dealing in antiquated ideas where the interest of one segment of our citizenry or one subdivision’s interest is above the rest of the city’s.

Q. What are some of the concerns expressed by Missouri City residents that you have plans to respond to?

A. Owen

My concerns are how we keep ahead of the growth so we do not lag behind and find ourselves trying to catch up. Replacing that aging infrastructure gradually and as we can afford to do so. Making sure that our staffing is adequate in all areas of the City, and especially public safety. Making sure that we have adequate fresh water for our future will be a tremendous task and one we prepared for over 10 years ago. We will have to start treating ground water before it enters our streams and this will be a costly measure, yet necessary one to provide our future generation with clean water.

A. Poats

Within the corporate city limits of Missouri City, council has failed to address the basic needs of our citizens. Highway 6 at Lakeshore Harbour has needed a traffic light. Gessner in the Colony Crossing needs a traffic light. I will protect our children and citizens by first taking care of our basic needs. We will install sidewalks to assist our children who have to walk to school. Our police department will further its efforts to serve and protect our citizens. We are not going to over commercialize Highway 6. Our fire department will be the best in the area.

Q. What characteristics does the city have to be proud of as "The Show Me City"?

A. Owen

As we adopted the "Show Me" slogan earlier last year, we did so saying that we truly do have things to show. We have a highly educated, highly paid, very diverse population that will continue to attract people who want to be part of our City. We will work through the Quail Valley Country Club issue and end up showing people 400 more acres of beautiful green space, water features, mature trees, and an opportunity for everyone to enjoy some part of it. Diversity is the strongest asset we have. We live, work, and play together in a healthy environment that has proven to be our best known strength. We will continue to do that even as we reach a population almost twice what it is today.

A. Poats

We need to be proud of our people. We have a very diverse population and a very good income level in our city, but we don’t work with the people within the corporate city limits. We focus upon minutia instead of focusing on the large things. The large things we need to focus on are our citizens and our children. What are the amenities we have as a city? Why don’t we have real theatre, why don’t we have movie theaters? We have been here long enough to have those things, to have culture. We are focused on Quail Valley which is very good, but why did Quail Valley go down? I believe the answer to that question is that the mayor and his contemporaries have not been proactive, they’ve been reactive. We are going to be a proactive administration, wherein we look at things and try to work with those things now. We want to enhance the wonderful things that we have and then look to add to things in Missouri City.

Q. What areas need improving to make it the "The Show Me City"

A. Owen

We have an aging infrastructure that will need replacing, such as streets, sidewalks, park improvements, and adding the necessary police and fire personnel to keep up with that growth.

A. Poats

Drive around, look at the gateway of the City. Drive around and look at the strip centers on 2234 and on Cartwright Road. Look at how people are really in morose. Why is it that in every facet of the city people are arguing? Quail Valley argues because of the golf course; First Colony argues because of sidewalks; FM 2234 and Cartwright Road residents are arguing because of the way it looks. The subdivisions are arguing because they are not getting any assistance from the city or any direction from the city on what they should do and how they should do it. Our mobility plans are not in place for the city? Those are the things that need improving.

. . . Q. What will you focus on in the first six months should you be reelected?

A. Owens

We will work through the Quail Valley Country Club issue and end up showing people 400 more acres of beautiful green space, water features, mature trees, and an opportunity for everyone to enjoy some part of it.

A. Poats

My initial focus will be on the health and safety of our citizens. Traffic signals, sidewalks and children’s safety will be the initial undertakings. Concurrently, I will make Texas Parkway’s appearance reflective of the gateway entrance of the greatest city in Texas. I will bring business to Cartwright Road and FM 1092 that reflect the character and values of all Missouri City residents. I will determine where the money from past bond issues has gone and establish and use line item spending for new bond proposals. I will work to bring back community pride and that feeling one has when you know any venture you take on can be accomplished. I will have the citizens of Missouri City knowing their elected officials are working on their behalf and not some entity who may come to Missouri City for that entities financial gain to the detriment of our citizens. I will push for term limits. I will bring back civility, credibility and accountability to the Mayor’s office. I will initiate the work to increase property values. My focus will be proactive, not reactive as things are done with the present office holder.

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MCC Comment: Apparently Mr. Owen believes his administrations neglect of the 1092, Cartwright and TX Pkwy corridors, support for the expanding landfill, loss of the hospital and continued catering to the special interests is due more time since his taking office nearly 2-3 decades ago?

FBN: Several Missouri City Neighborhood Leaders Attend First Colony-MC Unofficial City Congress

First Colony Residents Begin Discussions On Neighborhood Priorities
by Jamie Mock

Residents of the portion of First Colony in Missouri City met tonight at the Fort Bend YMCA to begin the process of creating a “position paper” for their neighborhood and to discuss the possibility of endorsing a candidate in this year’s Missouri City Council election.

Greyling Poats, who has announced he will run for mayor but has not yet filed, was in attendance, as well as Noel Pinnock, Kevin Tunstall and Robin Elackatt, who all indicated they are considering running for one of the two at-large positions.

Sidewalks, police and fire pay, development on Hwy. 6, a perceived lack of communication between the city and first colony and de-annexation were discussed.

Sidewalks were a major concern, with many voicing the opinion that the city’s plan will take too long. It was suggested that the city allocate $50,000 a year to the neighborhood for sidewalk repair.

The possibility of de-annexation seemed to be taken off the table quickly, as Tunstall voiced his opinion that it would be “impossible,” because he says if the issue got enough votes to get on the ballot, the current council would “spin” the issue to cause other residents in the city to vote against it to preserve the tax base. . .

Register For Upcoming Elections (click the title link for contact info)--

Don't forget local elections (school board and city council races) are approaching too. MCC attended a gathering of several local potential candidates & citizens from various neighborhoods at the Town & Country Shopping Center off 1092 recently. Most of the candidates demonstrated a genuine concern about the direction the city has been taking under the current long-term leadership of Allen Owen, Jerry Wyatt and Buddy Jimerson.

Recent property tax increases, voted in by this council (5-1), special interest influences and campaign disclosures from the '07 district races were just some of the topics examined. One particular report came from a local news outlet regarding how the city is using the coming bond election to refinance a "shortfall" in the municipal court accounts. This would mean that future debt will be incurred to cover this "shortfall". In our opinion, not a good way to resolve city operational budget matters. They also discussed a new vision and equitable plan for city growth, authentic voter/taxpayer representation (minus special interest control), real tax reduction, attracting a hospital to the city, opening up more city contracts to fair bidding processes, just to name a few...

Stay tuned as the races approach for the inside story on the challengers! Get updates on the candidates registered with http://mcelectioninformation.blogspot.com (with contact information)...

Another Possible Missouri City Council Candidate!

Hunter May Make Another Run At Council In 2008!
This just in:

Lou Hunter, who ran for the district B city council seat in 2007 and later helped support the landslide victory of Professor Cynthia Gary, may seek an at large position on Missouri City council. This information was shared via confidential sources, but appears to be a strong rumor. We should know before March, which is the filing deadline, if this is more than local chatter.

We will update this thread as the need warrants!

Stay informed and keep in touch...

Missouri City, After Decades, Finally Considers A Tax Reinvestment Zone For Cartwright & Texas Parkway!!!

MCC OP/ED:

"Charges that the city has neglected Cartwright Road and Texas Parkway, which runs past City Hall, became an issue in recent council elections. Candidates said the city was focusing its attention on the development of Texas 6, near affluent new subdivisions, at the expense of these once-vibrant commercial and residential corridors.

Pictures of empty commercial buildings, potholed parking lots and other eyesores were part of Monday's presentation.

"After a year of talking about it, it's something we've finally done something about," Mayor Allen Owen said just before Monday's vote. "I think it's a great deal." Houston Chronicle Report


This position is in stark contrast to April of 2007 when the mayor and other, now former council members, said that TIRZs couldn't be used in this corridor. See this release from Ap. 18th 2007 (local media at: http://www.fortbendnow.com/opinion/2801/the-politics-of-land-development-and-tax-breaks). My concern as always is how this particular mayor and his diminishing council supporters are reactive rather than proactive on growth issues. They pushed and fully supported the TIRZs (reinvestment zones) on the hwy 6 corridor for large Houston development companies (many with executives and mgmt employees on campaign disclosure lists for those directly benefitting from these tax abatements) in prime commercial areas, which is not what they are supposed to be used for. Then after nearly two decades in office he is finally supporting a TIRZ where it belongs.

"Tunstall said he’d been prompted to study up on the concept of a TIRZ, after two other Missouri City residents – one a past political candidate and the other a current council candidate – had approached council at consecutive recent meetings to suggest a TIRZ should be used to attract business and development along Texas Parkway and Cartwright Road. Council members suggested the two citizens were short on facts about TIRZs and how they operate." FortBendNow.com


Who were these citizens pushing for proper use of the TIRZs within the city? They were Lou Hunter, Rodney Griffin, Greyling Poats, Kevin Tunstall, Cynthia Gary and many other reform minded citizens and volunteers. Finally, after decades of neglect, Owen sees this as a "good thing".

We need new, fresh and more proactive people on this council, starting with a NEW mayor with vision. One who will represent all the people of the community and NOT just the special interests!

Chronicle Update On Landfill: TV stations dealt a blow in landfill controversy

Click on this article for the full story!

MCC Exclusive: Poats Confronts Council On Possible Misuse Of Reinvestment Zones In Prime Commercial Areas--

At the December 3rd city council session on item 7a the council was taking the second and final vote on a new taxing zone that may increase the ad valorem taxes coming from Missouri City and county taxpayers. Mr. Poats expressed his concern about setting up such a tax zone in a prime commercial area rather than using them to rehabilitate older areas of Missouri City, as is the intention according to chapter 311 of the Texas Tax Code.

When Greyling engaged the mayor on the misuses of reinvestment zones in this manner, a somewhat heated exchange took place between Owen and Poats, which lead to the district B council member, Cynthia Gary, asking for a return to civil debate. Repeatedly, throughout the evening, council member Jerry Wyatt and mayor Allen Owen grilled resident after opposition resident speaker in an attempt to defend the project.

One of the opposition speakers pointed out the potential for conflicts if Owen and two other council members continue to participate in this vote based on their campaign disclosure reports, which links the mayor and two others on council with some of the principle corporations that will be benefitting from their overt support and vote on the establishment of this zone (TIRZ #3).

This piece will be updated at intervals. Currently 3 TIRZs are either proposed or confirmed for this 2 to 3 mile stretch of prime commercial land along highway 6 in Missouri City.

From FB Star: City Sells New Taxing Zone To City & County Residents/Taxpayers Near City Limits In Prime Commercial Area--

Missouri City approves TIRZ for Sienna area lifestyle center

By Barbara Fulenwider

The first official step to start Missouri City’s lifestyle center at Sienna Plantation was taken with Missouri City Council’s approval on first reading of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 3.

The action came at their Nov. 19 meeting after David Hawes, with Hawes Hill Calderon LLP, outlined what the development can do for Missouri City. And it’s a lot. He told council that the purpose of the TIRZ is to “bring about a higher value development than might otherwise occur but for creation of the zone” and that it will include a hospital, retail, offices, high density-residential, a county library, Houston Community College (HCC).... (click the title link for the full one sided story that doesn't mention the nearly 30 million requested from taxpayers for these projects, many already receiving tax funding).

--No one can accuse FBS of balanced reporting. Not a single quote from neutral or opposition grass-roots tax advocate groups on the redirection of county & city tax dollars to these private Houston corporation projects. The article also does not mention how long before the 4 to 5000 homes in this neighborhood will be annexed and the city will gain from the property taxes of conservatively nearly a billion dollars in property value. See this piece for a balanced report on the politics of reinvestment zones and how they are supposed to be used (http://www.fortbendnow.com/opinion/2801).

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MCC/CRD Comment:

Not mentioned in this article is the reason TIRZs were created. See this FBN piece from April of this year on these controversial taxing zones often used by politicians for big development companies at the expense of taxpayers:

http://www.fortbendnow.com/opinion/2801/the-politics-of-land-development-and-tax-breaks

CITY ELECTIONS ARE COMING, hang on to your hats!


(c) Calvin 2007

Developer Gets Go Ahead On Another Reinvestment Zone In Missouri City (In prime commercial area) Possibly Passing The Buck To County & City Taxpayers!

Click the title link for the full story...

Just In: Former District A Council Candidate Rodney Griffin Supports Professor Garys Opposition To MC Council Vote To Increase Property Taxes!

Griffin Supports Professor Gary Opposition To Missouri City Tax Increase!
Griffin update:

In a recent turn of events Rodney Griffin, former district A city council candidate, complimented the efforts of Cynthia Lenton-Gary, new city council member for district B, "on her principled stand for her constituents" in a recent opposition vote against the Allen Owen lead tax increase at city council in September. . . (click the title link for more).



Stay informed and keep in touch!

MCC Exclusive: Blue Ridge Landfill Contested Hearing Begins In Richmond

MCC Exclusive: Blue Ridge Landfill Contested Hearing Begins In Richmond


At 10 am yesterday morning (Tuesday) the contested hearing began in the case of the Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion proposal being advanced by Allied Waste (formerly BFI) lawyers for this billion dollar corporation in Richmond at the commissioners courtroom. This hearing was almost history 6 months ago, but because of the efforts of about a dozen communities in the Missouri City/Fresno/Arcola/Pearland areas and several t.v. stations this permit is undergoing a court-like review by the state.

During the morning session Allied attorneys spent much of their time challenging the viability of witnesses and whether or not they had “effected party status”. Much of the argument stemmed from earlier actions by the company to limit the numbers of parties claiming an environmental and health impact.

In January of ’07 a petition was presented to the TCEQ with nearly 1100 homeowners within a 3-4 mile radius of the landfill. These numbers have been severely restricted as this process moves forward. One individual on the original petition questioned how this could happen, “How can lawyers decide who is effected and who is not, it is almost like thousands of us don’t even exist”.

This hearing was further complicated when it was learned that a 2005 Barium leak may have made it to the areas water table with hundreds of wells in the nearby communities. Barium is a highly toxic nerve agent that poses serious health risks to animals and humans. Additionally, in 2006, it was learned by media sources that Missouri City officials (approved by the current mayor and some on council) and the Fort Bend county commissioners, lead by Bob Hebert and Tom Stavinhoa, had signed a contract with Allied Waste agreeing not to oppose the future expansion of the landfill to the great dismay of many area voters and taxpayers. This was, and has been, defended by current commissioners and city officials because of the controversial “tipping fees” paid by Allied for this “non-opposition”.

Richard Morrison, a Sugar Land attorney, is representing the group and vigorously defended those remaining on the effected party status list. At the hearing, several news and media outlets were present to cover this event. Another hearing is expected to be scheduled in June and we will follow this as it progresses.

Stay informed and keep in touch!




Pict above from FBN>

From FBN: Missouri City Residents Ask For Change In Coming Spring Elections!

Rating Missouri City
Oct 12, 2007, 09 08 AM


I see that Missouri City has spent about $62,000 for a company to see why our image is so low. They have compiled a list of our pluses and no where do I see lower taxes on that list. Just recently the citizens had to inundate city hall to protest an ordinance requiring Misery City citizens to be responsible for all infrastructure to the middle of the street. (Ordinance 46-4) Its had a band-aid put over it to satisfy some of the citizens but Id bet the ordinance still requires citizens to be responsible for the streets, curbs, and gutters to the middle of the street. . . (click title link for more)

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MCC comment/editorial: Decades long control of MC council by Houston special interests will be strongly tested again this spring. Hopefully those that live in the city limits of Missouri City will turn out in droves to support challengers and end the politics of division and separation that have dominated the city through the use of intimidation and alienation. Good luck reformers as you work to take back local control, establish term limits and a REAL ethics committee that actually investigates wrongful doing!

We will track this election from the reform perspective up close and personal. Already Nick Lampson and special interest backed mayor Allen Owen have teamed up for an upcoming event. The irony being that Lampson ran against the very political machine Owen is part of to gain his CD-22 seat with promises of change. MCC endorsed Mr. Lampson in his first run, but now offically withdraws it since Lampson is accepting the the same special interest campaign financing that Owen and the network have long used to maintain control of the area. Much has changed in little over a year. So don't follow the party, follow the money and watch the incumbents voting patterns. Already Owen has opposed CAD caps, rate CAPs and supported higher taxes consistently as well as voted for thousands of additional apartments in the Sienna hwy 6 area and Colonial drive communities (is this in your best interests?). VOTE-VOTE-VOTE!

Stay tuned for more!

Fort Bend Sun Covers Missouri City Tax Increase Controversy--

Missouri City Tax Hike Draws Pointed Words--

At the Monday city council session more words were exchanged by Jerry Wyatt, Allen Owen in support of a recent 5-1 vote in favor of a 5%+ increase in city property taxes with newly elected reform council member Cynthia Gary, who voted against the increase.

Missouri City already touts the highest taxes for a city its size in Fort Bend County and has many retirees and people living on fixed incomes. This was some of the reasoning given by Professor Gary, the district B council representative for her opposition. She continued that she couldn't in good conscious vote to raise homeowners and business taxes even before the purchase of the potentially tax consuming QVCC.

The controversy came to a head at the Sept. 17th regular city council session at the only reading and vote on the property tax hike. Most city ordinances involve two readings and votes giving the public time to attend and comment. Later the city would deny that this was "rushed" through. Kevin Tunstall, rumored to be viewing one of the at large city council seats, confronted city council in a challenge to them to just "say no" to more taxes and to re-examine your spending habits first.

MCC will continue to follow-up on this as we approach the spring council races. . . -stay informed and keep in touch!

BLUE RIDGE LANDFILL EXPANSION TIPPING FEES TO MISSOURI CITY COUNCIL & FB COMMISSIONERS BACK IN THE NEWS AS OCTOBER HEARING APPROACHES

From the FB Star:

BFI “tipping fee” brings firefighter to Fresno/Arcola

By Cheryl Skinner
As opponents of the Blue Ridge Landfill ready for a court battle they hope will keep the refuse company from building a tower of trash. Fort Bend County Commissioners were voting on an agenda item that would allow the sometimes controversial “tipping fees” to be used to bring a full-time firefighter to the Fresno Volunteer Fire Department.

The agenda request was made by Precinct 1 Commissioner Tom Stavinoha who said the county receives in excess of $400,000 yearly from what is known as the “BFI tipping fees.” The funds were allocated to the county some years ago and are designated, at least in part, for improvements to the Arcola and Fresno areas, Stavinoha said. While the allocation is set at $200,000 yearly with the remainder of the funds going into the general fund, residents who oppose the landfill’s plan to expand the Blue Ridge facility, say the county “sold out” and the fees amount to nothing more than a legal pay off. . . (click the title link for more)

Background at:

http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/3080/allied-blocking-of-weather-radar-by-17-story-landfill-not-a-matter-of-public-welfare#c015505


COMMENT/Opinion:

I wonder why the commissioners waited 4 years to use the money for something like this and get it out to the media right before the Oct. 16th hearing. Maybe they're helping the company with their PR?

Pt.2--Should elected officials be accepting tipping fees to not represent their constituents?


--Lead picture from FBN.

Watch Video Minutes Of Mo-City Council Breaking Another Promise (Raising Taxes Over 5%)--click the title link here--

Buried in the 9/17 Missouri City Council session agenda in item 8b was the first and only vote for a 5%+ tax increase in a city with the highest taxes already in Fort Bend County. For the last several years, through the media, city officials have been claiming they were about to "turn the corner" on taxes. Scroll into the video to the 45th minute to watch this segment and subsequent 5-1 vote. Professor Gary, reform council member, was the lone opposition vote (we applaud you for your independence). With so much of the cities tax dollars going to newer highway 6 development, via the reinvestment zones, should council be asking residents for more? Additionally this was apparently a banner year for revenue collection for the city. What happened to the money boys?

See related piece: http://www.fortbendnow.com/opinion/2801/the-politics-of-land-development-and-tax-breaks


Stay informed and keep in touch!

FB Chronicle Reports On Increasing Tax Vote In Missouri City--

Click on the title link for the full story...

Chronicle: Missouri City Taxes Going Up Again?

Click title link for full story...

TCE Covers Blue Ridge Landfill Victory!

Blue Ridge Landfill Opponents To Get Their Day In Court, TCEQ Rules

Opponents of industry giant Allied Waste’s plans for a major expansion at Blue Ridge Landfill will get a chance to air their grievances in what’s known as a “contested hearing,” the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality decided Wednesday.

“They granted us a hearing on every issue we asked for,” said environmental attorney Richard Morrison, who represents a citizens group called Coalition Against Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion, which opposes the expansion.

Morrison also said the TCEQ ruled that three Houston TV stations have standing in the case and can present arguments at the contested hearing, which likely will be scheduled at a hearing next month.

Allied had argued that the three stations – KTRK Channel 13, KHOU Channel 11 and Fox affiliate KRIV – shouldn’t be allowed to raise concerns they have, that the Blue Ridge expansion would result in refuse being piled so high it would block out the stations’ Doppler radar signals.

Allied Waste operates Blue Ridge Landfill at 2200 F.M. 521, a mile north of Fresno in Fort Bend County. Allied wants to increase the landfill “waste footprint” from the current 302 acres to 784 acres, and increase the maximum height at which refuse can be piled, from the current 58 feet to 170 feet.

But at that height, say officials with the TV stations, the giant mound of garbage would block weather radar signals from the stations’ towers, 3 miles or less away to the northwest, hampering efforts to track hurricanes, tornadoes or other severe weather. . . (click the title link above for the full story).

Get updates on this grass-roots effort at: http://cabrle.spaces.live.com/

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Side note/comment:

This blogger finds it a wonder that with all the real problems threatening our homes/health (i.e. no MC hospital/school over-crowding/high foreclosures/expanding airports & landfills that this city administration/mayor supported) that Mr. Owen would be pushing a tax buster purchase of a private golf course by the city. They don't even discuss the possibility of the involved MUD & HOA fund handling the purchase and protecting the tax paying public.


Stay informed and keep in touch!