DISCUSSIONS WITH MARY NAN HUFFMAN

Steve Wormald – August 3rd, 2022

Mary Nan,

I presume from your email that you have seen this petition content, but to avoid errors and omissions, below is the full text which will eventually come to you with signatories:

“The undersigned residents of Fleetwood, Memorial Thicket, Barkers Landing, Briar Hills, Marywood and Thornwood sub-divisions in West Houston are extremely concerned that THREE high-density housing units (“Memorial at Six” in the 800 Block of Addicks-Howell, “Caroline at Memorial” on the former Kickerillo property; and the Westlake 4 conversion to apartments) are being or have been permitted for construction, all of which will add to our already strained infrastructure:

These three developments will compound existing storm water drainage deficiencies in an area flooded numerous times due to insufficient drainage capacity and proximity to Buffalo Bayou. During the Harvey flood, almost all of these properties were under several feet of water and sewage. 

Even if the apartments are built above the Harvey flood level, how will these residents safely evacuate in the next flooding event? Exposing hundreds of new residences to the risk of life-threatening flooding is irresponsible plus exposes the City and County to future legal liability.

We believe the available sanitary sewer gravity conduits from all three sites to the Turkey Creek wastewater treatment plant are already at or near capacity. Expansion underway now at the nearby Eagle’s Trace Senior living community and the City project already underway to migrate all the apartments and businesses off Park Row (north side of I10) over to the Turkey Creek treatment plant will further compound the strain on this elderly sanitary sewer infrastructure.

We believe the only available CenterPoint electrical distribution circuits WI41, WI42, ME03 and ME04 are at or near capacity now.  The substation supporting ME03 and ME04 were the first to go offline during Harvey due to proximity to the bayou and flooding. This resulted in the loss of the Turkey Creek Wastewater treatment plant, causing raw sewage to back up into many homes during Harvey.

We believe that the existing City Water supply mains may already be too strained due to the expansion at Eagle’s Trace; these three high-density apartment complexes will further exacerbate this potential deficiency.

The proposed Addicks Howell project will significantly increase traffic crossings at an already congested section of Memorial Drive, where (as recorded by TXDOT records of Peace Officers Reports) there were 620 crashes between HWY6/Addicks & Eldridge between 2015-2022, of which NINE WERE FATAL, five of the fatalities were in 2021 alone, and the majority of which were pedestrians and cyclists.  Overall, the three complexes will add major load to the already congested Energy Corridor roads and highways, which as the fatalities demonstrate, lacks adequate infrastructure even now. 

These three proposed developments will require additional Katy ISD school buses navigating in an area already congested, placing school children at risk, at a time when, even now,  children are being required to sit on the floors of buses.  These developments, if allowed to proceed, will create a demand that will further exacerbate the current shortage of teachers and shortage of drivers. 

We request that You, Councilwoman Mary Nan Huffman, and not an intern, get seriously involved in this situation, and personally respond to district residents’ concerns and questions on what action is being taken, can be taken and will be taken to prevent these developments happening. 

Further, we remain concerned that there has been no opportunity for a Public Hearing on any of these properties.”

Regards,
Steve Wormald

Response to Petition – Mary Nan Huffman
August 3, 2022

Good morning Mr. Wormald,

I appreciate the spirit of this petition and encourage your residents to sign and become informed about some of these issues. I have similar concerns about these developments, especially relating to the strain that they may place on our district and city infrastructure, and have requested more information from the from the Houston Housing Authority about these projects.

As you know, the Housing Authority is not a city department and generally operates outside the governance of City Council. Further, these are private projects that are not requesting the kinds of low-income tax credits that typically come before council. Regardless, I have directed my entire staff to work with residents to get responses to their questions about these developments.

In regards to your statement about not wanting an intern to handle this- my intern, Macon, is starting a Masters program at the University of Houston in Public Administration and spent last summer working under Councilmember Travis.  He is a District G resident and is very excited to immerse himself in public service.  Even though I was having him look into this issue,  I have been working closely alongside him, as I do take this issue very seriously. 

I intend to communicate any new information that I receive about these projects in a newsletter as soon as we receive it. Please know that I share your concerns and will continue to work on you behalf to limit the impact that these kind of developments have on the quality of life in District G.

Sincerely,

Mary Nan

August 10, 2022 – Sarah Truby
Hi all! Just got off the phone with Huffman. Lots of updates:
  • Watch this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-j0736lRXxc&feature=youtu.be
  • Houston housing authority does not answer to the city council. She’s made numerous attempts to set a meeting and they aren’t responding
  • Everyone on HHA is on the Lakeside Place board (the Org that’s buying up the properties)
  • Next public HHA meeting is August 23. Huffman would like as much attendance as possible, and people willing to speak. She will help with scripts to hit all the major topics (infrastructure, transportation, education). Unsurprisingly, Lakeside has their meeting right after HHA!
  • She’s stalling all permits going to them until we get some more answers
  • She’s involving the city engineering to see what info they have received about these developments
  • Tiffany Thomas who sits on the housing committee is also very involved
  • She apologized for the delays in reaching out. The hold up has been HHA’s lack of response. She’s been working on the backend to stall and try to get answers.
August 11th, 2022
James Rains, Office of Council Member Mary Nan Huffman

Good morning Mr. Wormald,

I wanted to take a moment to follow-up on your request for information about the Houston Housing Authority that we discussed last week.

As I stated, the housing authority is not a city department, however their board of commissioners is appointed by the mayor. Because the housing authority is independent of city council, the projects they pursue generally do not come to city council for approval. Similarly, they do not seek insight from council members when a project is proposed in their district.

You can see the full list of board members on the city’s boards and commission’s site: https://houston.granicus.com/boards/w/b44c131b5903a652/boards/14063.

Note that the terms for all board members seems to be expired. When I reached out to the Mayor’s Office about this, they stated that this information was accurate and that it is possible that they could continue to serve despite their terms being expired – but they will check to be sure.

The housing authority has provided to our office the memo and resolution in support of the development at 15635 Memorial (Resolution 3460/Page 66), which I think you may already have. Unfortunately, as of today, they have not provided much else in terms of details about this project. There is an upcoming public meeting of the housing authority scheduled for August 23 where residents will have the opportunity to express their thoughts to the board. The meeting details can be found here: https://housingforhouston.com/leadership/board-meeting-schedule/. As of today, it does not appear that the agenda for this meeting has been posted, but the meeting will be at 3PM at the HHA headquarters on Fountain View.

Because the housing authority uses federal resources to subsidize these developments, it might also be advisable for you and your neighbors also reach out to your federal representatives about this problem and express your concerns to them:

Senator John Cornyn – (713) 572-3337 (Houston Office)

Senator Ted Cruz – (713) 718-3057 (Houston Office) southeast_texas@cruz.senate.gov

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher – (713) 353-8680 (Houston Office)

If you would like to reach out to the Houston Housing Authority directly, you can find their contact information here: https://housingforhouston.com/contact-us/

I hope this information is helpful. As always, if you have any additional questions or concerns, please let me know and I will do my best to assist.

Kind regards,

James C. Rains, MPA

Deputy Chief of Staff – Office of Council Member Mary Nan Huffman

Steve Wormald – August 12th, 2022

James,

Thank you for your comprehensive response yesterday.

Mary Nan,

   Our Steering Committee would appreciate answers to the following questions, which relate to the City of Houston rather than the Houston Housing Authority:

  1. Has there been any discussion or planning within the City Council or elsewhere as to the use of funds to facilitate the three proposed developments (the 3rd now relates to Westlake 3 instead of Westlake 4)?
  2. Has there been any budget proposed to undertake the almost inevitable infrastructure improvements  – roads, traffic control, sewage, water – should any one or all of these developments proceed?
  3. Have there been any traffic studies undertaken and on file (required for any development of over 100 units).   If so, we would like to receive copies.
  4. Have there been any Environmental Impact Studies undertaken.  If so, we would like to receive copies.

Your help with these items would be sincerely appreciated, as would your continued help to discuss the developments with the relevant officials,

Sincerely,

Meeting with Mary Nan Huffman, November 16th, 2022

Janis Mecklenberg (Fleetwood West POA President), Aubrey Haines and Steve Wormald (Fleetwood residents) attended a one-on-one (almost) meeting that we requested with Council Member Mary Nan Huffman, and James Rains, Chief of Staff, on November 16th at the City Hall Annex Building, downtown Houston.  The intent was to openly discuss various items relating to Greater Fleetwood reps without the distractions of being in a public forum, primarily the upcoming traffic and safety debacle at Addicks and Memorial unless the proposed design is changed.   Here’s all of what was discussed and any resulting action items.

First of all we asked Mary Nan (“MARY NAN”) if she had any news, good or bad, for us. 

NEW APARTMENT COMPLEX

Mary Nan only had “bad” news in informing us of yet another lower income apartment complex that was approved for the vacant space opposite Six at Memorial on the West side of Hwy. 6, on which construction will start in 2023.  Note this is NOT an HHA-related development, it is a private development, with some tax-exemptions.

The new complex to be built on Addicks Howell, between Wolfe and the restaurants, will be townhomes.

MEETINGS WITH PUBLIC WORKS

We were informed that Mary Nan and James have quarterly meetings with Carol Haddock, Director, Houston Public Works, and that these points below would be discussed with her where relevant at the next meeting, TBA.

FLOODING

We expressed continued concerns with flooding as new apartment complexes are added, with no apparent improvements in drainage in the area, with the next new apartment complex only adding to that.  Developers for each of the complexes have stated in their conversations with MARY NAN that detention will be included in these projects, but as yet we have not seen how this will improve the drainage from the detention ponds.   To be discussed with Carol Haddock.

CRANE

We asked for help with the problem of the “Six at Memorial” tower crane boom swinging loads, and also parking its boom, over the houses at the West end of Fleetwood West (while noting that this has not happened since Friday Nov. 12th).   Mary Nan agreed to approach the developer to secure an insurance certificate, (multiple requests by Greater Fleetwood having been ignored) – see “MEETING” below. 

CLOSURE OF ADDICKS HOWELL

We asked if Mary Nan could attempt to try and get the current closure of Addicks Howell overturned for safety reasons, and they did not feel that would be possible, Public Works staff being as non-responsive to Mary Nan as they are to Greater Fleetwood.

TRAFFIC & SAFETY

We expressed major concern over the proposed traffic arrangement for the Addicks Memorial intersection, which will not enable any west or northbound turns for traffic heading north either from Hwy. 6 or the new development, therefore forcing traffic, including school buses, west on Memorial, and in many cases, likely to attempt U-turns.

We also expressed major concerns about the proposed plan to rely on crosswalks across five lanes of Memorial traffic, especially for kids who might need to reach Wolfe Elementary from the new apartment complex; and adults needing to reach westbound public transport on Memorial.  We stated that the crosswalks were totally unacceptable and would result in fatalities.  Mary Nan noted that the City of Houston typically only react to situations, instead of proactively.  One suggestion from Fleetwood was that an overhead walkway be installed, in addition to a traffic light system at the intersection.  The predictable situation was discussed, being the cost of both.  To be discussed with Carol Haddock, and in addition, the developer perhaps bearing some or all of the cost.

REQUESTED MEETING

We asked that Mary Nan arrange a meeting with the Six at Memorial Developer so that Mary Nan and Greater Fleetwood could discuss the relevant points above, either onsite or a suitable nearby location.

THE “ONE MILE RULE“ “BETWEEN LOW INCOME DEVELOPMENTS

This is one of the 17 questions that we have posed to HHA and the City. We will keep trying to get an answer. We brought it up at this meeting but it is not something that can be overturned by Mary Nan. That would need legal action and you all know where that went.  

Friday January 13th, 2023

eMail to Mary Nan Huffman

Dear Mary Nan,

Following our meeting with Allied-Orion that you attended, we have since had a meeting with Ahmed Ghaly and his staff on Dec. 28th at Houston Public Works (“HPW”) (in copy), and yesterday, January 12th, again with Allied-Orion.   The major concern that we addressed at both meetings are the SIX KNOWN developments in our area (see map below) and their potential effect on the Memorial-Addicks Howell area in general, and on the Addicks-Howell/Memorial intersection in particular.

The known developments are:

  1. Six at Memorial (Allied-Orion)
  2. Caroline at Memorial (Morgan Group)
  3. Westlake Complex
  4. Addicks-Howell adjacent to Wolfe Elementary and the restaurants
  5. A new Development across Hwy. 6 from Six at Memorial
  6. Extension to Eagle’s Trace

all of which will bring additional traffic to the area, and to one degree or another, additional traffic to the Addicks-Howell/Memorial Intersection.

We believe the minimized concerns in the TIA’s for “Six at Memorial” and “Caroline at Memorial” are invalid, and that the estimated 1,500 to 2,000 new residents in the area will bring an equal or greater number of vehicles, and much of that traffic will impact the area between Hwy. 6 and Eldridge, including the Addick-Howell intersection.

The HPW meeting was productive in several ways.  While the constraints of traffic pattern design as addressed in the Infrastructure Design Manual were explained and understood, HPW appeared to concur that:

  • The proposed traffic layout for the Addicks/Memorial intersection is counter-productive given all the current and planned developments, and needs to be re-addressed to avoid both a waste of public funds and yet more re-construction as the developments come on line;
  • There is a need for traffic control at Addicks-Howell/Memorial for reasons of both traffic, and equally importantly safety, given that children from at least ‘Six at Memorial ” are likely to be accessing Wolfe Elementary on foot;
  • That the TIA for at least “Six at Memorial” will need to be readdressed and reviewed.
  • There is a possibility that HPW could direct that Addicks-Howell south of Memorial to be one-way, southbound, which would assist the traffic problem, but not address the pedestrian  safety problem;
  • There is a need for a wider review of area traffic patterns within HPW, which we understand will be headed by Khang Ngyuen of HPW; and that cooperation and input between HPW and the affected neighborhoods would be the preferred way forward;
  • There will be a properly-notified Public Meeting, hopefully within the next month, arranged by HPW, in the immediate area.

In our meeting yesterday with Ricardo Rivas and staff (Allied-Orion), we addressed the above points.  It was discussed that while their “Six at Memorial” development would be the one most affected by any potential resolution, and that Allied-Orion certainly understood that improved traffic control was needed at the Addicks-Howell/Memorial intersection, they requested that the situation be addressed in cooperation with and by The Morgan Group, the other developers and HPW in terms of the finance that would be needed to install that traffic control.

We believe that discussion and cooperation would be best managed by your office as our Council Member, given that you are presumably aware of, and in touch with, each of the other developers.  We will certainly be pleased to cooperate with your office however we can assist.

We look forward to you managing this important effort going forward.

West Houston Steering Committee

We received the following reply:

Thursday February 2nd, 2023

From James Rains, Chief of Staff to Mary Nan Huffman, responding to our email of January 13th, 2023

Thank you for following-up on this. We have received your email and will continue to advocate for the interests of the residents who are, and those who will be, impacted by these developments. We remain open to holding and participating in meetings about these issues as the need arises. Given Mr. Ghaly’s comments from January 13th and that conversations regarding the improvements intersection are ongoing, we will continue to work with our public works department to ensure that appropriate traffic control and safe pedestrian crossing measures are part of any final plan.

Additionally, we will continue to share updates about these developments as we receive them – including announcements about public meetings.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly if I can be of any additional assistance in this matter.

James Rains

Subsequently, we received the following from Mary Nan’s office:

“In order for the one-mile rule to apply, the developer would have had to receive Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) tax credits. The developments seeking to use TDHCA credits are the developments which would typically seek resolutions of support from city council before the tax credits are authorized by the state.

Neither of the developments on Memorial pursued this route.”

CAROLINE AT MEMORIAL

Separately, we asked if Mary Nan could find out why work had stopped on Caroline – related to our discussion with COH permitting, or maybe (highly unlikely, second thoughts), or some other reason, and Mary Nan agreed to ask the developer for this information.

Newsletter from Mary Nan – August 12th, 2022
I wanted to take a moment to apprise you of a situation of particular concern to our neighbors on the west side of District G. While the immediate concern is theirs, this issue is one that affects our whole district – and our whole city.It was brought to my attention that there are two large developments slated for construction in a portion of our district that was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Harvey. These developments, at 15635 Memorial Drive and at 816-850 Addicks-Howell Road, are less than a mile from one another on lots that are currently vacant. Residents in the surrounding neighborhoods are understandably concerned about how these projects will affect traffic, infrastructure, and particularly drainage in the area.The two proposed developments will be known as Memorial at Six (816-850 Addicks-Howell) and Caroline at Memorial (15635 Memorial). Both will be large developments which could add substantial impermeable surface and traffic congestion to an area already distressed by an abundance of both.

Neither of these developments are applying for the competitive (9%) or non-competitive (4%) Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) low-income tax credits which normally come before council – so I was not alerted in advance to these projects. Thankfully, several vigilant residents quickly brought this issue to my attention.
As a nearby resident whose home suffered substantial flooding, I absolutely share these concerns. This is personal for me and for the past few weeks it has been the top priority of my office.
Photo source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
When I began to examine these developments more closely, I discovered that they are being guided by the Houston Housing Authority (HHA). The Houston Housing Authority, despite its name, is not a city department and is not accountable to City Council. Appointments to its Board of Commissioners are made by the mayor and are not presented to City Council for confirmation, as is the case for most other boards and commissions. This exclusive power to make appointments to a municipal housing authority is given to the mayor by Sec. 392.031(a) of the Texas Local Government Code which states: “… The presiding officer of the governing body of a municipality shall appoint five, seven, nine, or 11 persons to serve as commissioners of the authority.” Similarly, Sec. 392.041(a) also gives the mayor the authority to remove a commissioner.

The Houston Housing Authority’s website states their mission is “[t]o improve lives by providing quality, affordable housing options and promoting education and economic self-sufficiency.” This is a laudable goal and something that few reasonable people would ever oppose. Housing authorities just like the HHA have been established across the country to connect residents and developers with federal resources to increase the supply of affordable housing across the country. Despite their intentions, I have concerns about the administration of this agency that I want to share with you.

Both projects are being assisted by an entity created and controlled by the Houston Housing Authority known as Lakeside Place, PFC. The commissioners of the Houston Housing Authority also serve as board of directors to this PFC – a Public Facility Corporation. The agreement between these developments and Lakeside Place, PFC will provide both with an exemption from sales and property tax. Yes, you read that correctly. Neither development will be financially contributing to the infrastructure improvements which will be eventually needed as a result of the increased strain they will cause.