Houston does a little land-grab; Spring Branch ISD isn't happy
When the Supreme Court's Kelo decision came down (eminent domain), Mayor Bill White assured us that the city of Houston is not interested in condemning land for private development.
But he didn't say anything about taking another governmental entity's land:
School board trustees in Spring Branch say they've been given the brush-off by city of Houston officials intent on taking land from an elementary school to widen a busy street.
The trustees, who unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the city's decision to add a right-turn lane from Westview Drive to Pech Road because of safety concerns at nearby Valley Oaks Elementary, plan to voice their feelings at today's City Council meeting. Despite that school board vote, the city has moved to condemn the property through eminent domain and proceed with the project.
Wow! Is this a common occurrence?
For the city to seize land from another governmental entity is almost unheard of, if not unprecedented, said Kelly Frels, a private attorney who has represented local school districts, including Spring Branch, for 35 years. He does not represent Spring Branch in this case.
Leave it to the city of Houston to be a trend-setter. And how is the city responding to Spring Branch ISD?
"We asked the city officials repeatedly for any documentation they have to justify the need for this right turn lane," said Trustee Theresa Kosmoski, a former Valley Oaks PTA president. "They still have not shown us anything that shows it's necessary, nor anything to show they have planned for the safety of the children."
[snip]Several letters from the school district to the city have gone unanswered, she said, directing most of her criticism at City Council Member Toni Lawrence, who represents the area.
Lawrence was out of the office Monday and could not be reached for comment, said her chief assistant, Mike Howard.
"It's really hard to figure out what's going on in their heads," Kosmoski said. "The lack of responsiveness to the school board has been mind boggling."
And did the city have any response to Chronicle inquiries?
"There would be no way in the world we would do something like this if we thought it was dangerous. Traffic is getting congested over there and it needs to be improved," said Wes Johnson, spokesman for the city's Public Works Department. "If people obey the law, there won't be any danger at all."
Wait a minute. If people would just obey the law, there won't be any danger? We are talking about doing this in front of an ELEMENTARY school! We are talking about young children! Does Mr. Johnson have young children? Is he as clueless as elementary school-aged children often are?
The city hasn't done any safety or traffic flow studies because they aren't necessary for such a small project, Johnson said.
"This is primarily so we can make that turn more safe and put in an Americans with Disabilities Act-approved ramp," Johnson said. "To us, we don't see why that would be less safe than it is now."
"That concerns us greatly," said Spring Branch Trustee Susan Kellner. "When you're going to do this kind of stuff around an elementary school, you really have to consider all the safety ramifications."
(Susan Kellner is the wife of Continental CEO Larry Kellner.)
This is pretty amazing. Houston does a little land grab from a local school district, doesn't conduct any studies to assess the impact on a local elementary school, and refuses to respond to the school district when questioned about it.
Does the city really need that land to widen a road and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act? Really? How did the city determine the turn lane was needed if no studies were done? And if there is a study, why doesn't the city show it to Spring Branch ISD? Or, if this was decided on a whim, whose whim was it?
I would suggest that Mayor White's assurances after the Kelo decision are not very...reassuring.
KEVIN WHITED ADDS: This is turning into a bad week for the mayor. He's had to back off his earlier attitude towards Councilmember Wiseman on the issue of Houston MediaSource's programming, and now the "Public Safety" mayor has gotten on the side of an issue in which he seems to be favoring an eminent domain land grab at the possible expense of the safety of schoolchildren, AND one of his opponents is the wife of Continental's head man?
Mayor White may need to follow Lee Brown's lead and get out of town for a few weeks.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/12/05 10:37 AM | Print |
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