The Tree Hugger's Revenge
Speech by Wendee HoltcampI. Intro
A. Story about Clear Creek
Last year I was writing an article for Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine on a proposed channelization project for Houston's Clear Creek. Biologist Woody Woodrow, took me down the creek by boat to show me what would be affected by the project. While we were in the narrow upper reaches the boat stalled, and while Woody was fixing it, we encountered a woman standing on her land, sort of staring out at us. I assumed she was wondering why we were sitting there near her land, but she came out to us and started talking about flood control and started going on about the how the recent rains caused over $9,000 in damage to her property, and that they were never going to complete this channelization project.
She had no way of knowing that we were there because I was writing on article on that very channelization project so it was a bit of serendipity. When I told her I was writing an article for Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, she rolled her eyes and said, "oh so you want to save the frogs."
Sometimes people who care about the environment -- saving the frogs or the trees -- are pigeonholed as extremists who care more about the plants and animals than about people.
But the truth is, as I wrote in my article on Clear Creek, "What's Good for the Frogs is Good For the People." Time and again, research has shown that which benefits fish and wildlife, and that which improves the environment that sustains us -- including the air, the water, the forest and the wildlife also benefits humankind in terms of health, finances and quality of life.
So it is not really an "us" versus "them" situation. It's not about "big, bad developers" versus radical tree huggers. It's really about all of us here tonight, and I think it's pretty safe to say that we all want to live in a safe, healthy environment that provides the goods and services that we need and want to purchase, without damaging the quality of our community and our environment.
Over the past few weeks, I have spoken with a lot of citizens in this area, and nearly without fail they tell me that
(1) they moved to this area because of the trees and forest, because of the natural beauty.
(2) And I'm hearing a great deal of concern and frustration over how rapidly this forested community is turning into concrete and buildings, and
(3) how little influence the people feel they have about how the community is developed.By the time rumors circulate about a planned subdivision, apartment complex or store, the bulldozers are already there. By that time, the property's been sold, studies have been completed, and architect's have drafted the plans. There's a huge burden on individual citizens -- We have to become detectives to find out what is planned, and who to contact to voice our concern. Few people have the amount of time, energy, and dedication it takes to stay on top of these things, even when they want to.
It doesn't have to be that way. As Margaret Mead said,
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can make a difference. Indeed its the only thing that ever has.
II. Agenda -- Tonight I'm going to discuss four things:
1. Benefits: One, I'll tell you exactly how living in a forested community benefits every citizen.
2. Vision of the Future: Second, I'm going to talk about a vision for the future of this region that is in line with some plans that the City of Houston is working on.
3. Threats: Third, I'm going to talk about the current threats to our forested community.
4. Solutions: Last, I'm going to offer some realistic solutions. I'm going to discuss how we citizens can build bridges and work together with developers and stores that wish to do commerce in our region.
III. Tree Hugger's Revenge: Benefits of A Forested Community
The nice things about wanting to "save the trees" is that they're not just a frivolous luxury. Trees provide so many benefits that once you're made aware of them, it becomes hard to justify apathy over their widespread removal.
1. Trees Increase Real Estate Values and Community Pride
-- An Atascocita Real Estate Agent recently told me that trees increase real estate values. And then I found a USDA stat that says a single, well-placed mature tree increases property value by 10%. So an individual tree could be valued at $10,000. This is true on individual lots, and it is also true of the community as a whole. You may notice that the most wealthy neighborhoods are without fail heavily forested. Living in a forested community tends to decrease crime, improve health and wellness, and foster a sense of community pride. I have research papers on these items on file if anybody is interested.
2. Trees Buffer Against Flooding
-- Forests buffer against flooding by absorbing rainfall in their canopies and in the soil. A recent American Forests study indicated that over 50% of water from a rainfall is retained in a forest's canopy, in the treetops. Other rain is absorbed into the soil, or is detained on top of the soil.
On the contrary, every time another slab of concrete is put in, the flooding risk increases. Wherever you have concrete and rooftops, the rain runs off into the stormdrains and into river and bayous. The intensity of flooding after heavy rainfalls will absolutely get worse as what is now forest turns into concrete. This can be prevented by intelligent planning.
3. Trees Reduce Urban Temperatures, and Lower Your AC Bill
Trees and other vegetation actually absorb heat, and hence cool air temperatures, whereas black asphalt and dark-colored roofs absorb and re-radiate the sun's rays making it hotter. As a result, urban temperatures are 6-8-degrees higher than the surrounding rural regions because of all the asphalt, concrete, and rooftops. This is known as the Urban Heat Island Effect.
4. Trees Reduce Smog and Improve Air Quality
They accomplish this in two ways Trees filter air pollutants that contribute to smog formation. Two, trees lower the air temperatures.
-- Studies have linked smog to asthma in the Houston area, so air quality is also a health issue.
So it is clear that forests provide many benefits to the residents of this area. Let me pose a question:
Is it acceptable that developers can take away these benefits without somehow mitigating their loss to the community?
HISTORY
I'll come back to that question when I get to Solutions, but first let me tell you a brief history of this area. This entire region used to be covered by Big Thicket forest, which extended beyond the San Jacinto River.
This is an extremely biologically diverse forest type, with a higher diversity of trees than nearly anywhere else in the U.S. What was originally 3 million acres is now down to 300,000 acres, with only 85,000 saved in the Big Thicket National Preserve (part of the National Park System), which is due east of us. Pockets of this forest still remain in this area, particularly along the river. But it's disappearing fast.
Forest Cove and Kingwood were begun in the 1960s and 1970s, and were built to maintain the forested nature of the area. Forest Cove developer Howard Edmunds told me he developed the area with the attitude that, "It had been this way since God made it, and we were going to keep that rustic, woodsy look."
It wasn't until the 1980s and 90s that development in this area began to just proliferate. Sometimes growth happens so fast that the people in the community don't have to sit back and say, is this really what we want?
IV. Visions of the Future
So Let's Take Stock of what we have in our community right here, and then see where can go from here.
SLIDES: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
1. We have some incredible natural beauty, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities on Lake Houston, the San Jacinto River, and the creeks and bayous that run throughout our region and the entire Gulf Coastal plain.
2. Nice vs unsightly: we've got some nice apartment complexes and strip malls mixed in with some downright unsightly ones.
3. We've got older strip malls that are 25-50% occupied because the main grocery store went out of business, and a couple large grocery stores.
4. Churches often do a good job at maintaining the forest
5. Most of the undeveloped forestland along FM 1960 and W. Lake Houston Parkway and FM 2100 in Huffman is "Real Estate" ready and waiting to be developed as stores.
Real estate and wildlife habitat seem to be mutually exclusive. But it need not be so.
Opportunity: NATURE TOURISM
One of the greatest opportunities that would benefit our community economically and environmentally, is to Promote Nature Tourism in the region. It is becoming quite a lucrative business nationwide, and in Texas. 3
Our lakeside community can attract the kind of commerce that will help protect the unique habitat of the region.
-- We have bald eagles, at least two bald eagles nest on the lake, and will continue to increase in numbers if their habitat is not destroyed.
-- Texas boasts more bird species than any other state in the U.S. and birdwatching has become extremely popular contributing $155 million in retail sales in Texas alone during 1997.
-- We also have the Big Thicket in our backyard. The forest is unique enough to be designated a United Nations Biosphere Reserve, which is a representation of the world's habitat types.
Olympics in the Bayou City
In the recent election, Houston voted to bid for the 2012 Olympics. There are 7 US cities that are bidding to be chosen by the US Olympic Committee as their candidate city. According to Dewayne Huckabay, Houston City Council Member, "The idea is, quite honestly, to use the Olympic proposal as a way to improve the environment in the Houston region."
Environmental improvements are a requirement of the Olympic bidding process. Houston will be tree planting and water quality projects throughout the Houston areas, mostly using volunteers. Houston is doing these improvements to prepare for a visit by the US Olympic Committee in 2001 as part of the selection process.
These environmental improvements will take place whether or not Houston is actually chosen for the Olympics. This provides a great opportunity for our communities to think about how we might plan for a possible 2012 Olympics. It would draw in millions of people from around the globe, who would come to the city and besides attending Olympic events, they are going to be getting an impression of this city. Is it a place worth returning to? Are there tourism opportunities in our region for people who will be passing through?
What will Atascocita and Huffman look like in 2012?
An ugly concrete jungle, or a forested lakeside community?
-- Do we want the traffic problems of Humble near the mall to come into our neighborhood? The proposed HEB and Lowe's at the corner of 1960 will increase traffic to the already most congested intersection in Atascocita, according to the development company's own study.
V. What Are Our Alternatives
1. Planned Developments: What brought a lot of you here is concern over the currently planned developments: the HEB/Lowe's complex that will deforest 52 acres on the corner of FM 1960 and W. Lake Houston Pkwy, and a Super Walmart center that will deforest a large tract behind Sonic. Their current stores will be abandoned, and it can take years to get a new tenant, if they ever do.
I want to talk about these stores, but I also want us all to think beyond just these developments and to our community as a whole.
A. HEB/Lowe's complex: I have seen the site plans for the shopping complex that will contain the 80,000 square foot HEB store. To their credit, HEB has seemed cooperative in working with us to maintain the forested nature of the plot of land. I am concerned that they will not have the authority over how the complex is developed because HEB will not own the land like they like to do with their stores, according to Holly Montalbano. HEB will be a lessee of Transwestern Commercial services, who will do the development work, and contract out the various jobs.
And according to the site plans, the area where HEB is will be more landscaped than the rest. One of the other major parking lots has no trees at all. What the development company does, is leave these Reserve Tracts, which remain forested for up to several years, so people think, oh they did a great job leaving the forest. Then after the main businesses are successful, they start leasing out the reserve tracts, as happened with Chick-Fil-A and as you now see signs around the Kroger parking lot about commercial property for sale.
B. Super Walmart: Which brings us to the proposed super Walmart that will go in behind Sonic, gain deforesting a large acreage of land and abandoning their current store. I don't have the site plans yet, however the public comment period for this Walmart has been extended until next Thurs, a week from today, because of this meeting. There is a sample letter on the Information Table, you can use it or write your own. These comments are addressed to the Corps of Engineers, because of the federal law protecting wetlands.
Although the comments are used to modify plans, the reality is that only 1 in about 500+ permits in the Galveston district Corps office is rejected each year. Our letters to the Corps are one avenue that we have to make our voice heard, but certainly not the only one. The public comment period for the HEB/Transwestern development is closed, but that does not mean it is too late to influence the development.
Revitalizing infrastructure
Recall about 10-15 years ago when there was a big issue made about revitalizing the inner cities. Inner cities had "gone to pot" because the nicer communities kept building outward and leaving behind the old, instead of working with what was there? Then the inner cities started paying attention to the problem and improved the internal infrastructure. But now the suburbs like Atascocita -- are falling into the same trap that happened in the inner city years ago.
2. Alternatives for the proposed developments
Instead of denuding the landscape of forest, instead of destroying the forest that sustains and strengthen the vibrancy of our community, these companies should utilize and improve the infrastructure that we already have.
Because once forest is razed and turned to concrete, that's it. Nobody rips out concrete to replant a forest.
These stores that wish to do commerce in our community must be accountable to the community for the impacts they cause!
For the sake of our community and for the environmental issues that face us, I believe that HEB should pull out of the deal and take their store plans to another plot of land. And Walmart should build on their existing plot of concrete.
V. Solutions
Yes, we can. But it requires planning. Right now, there is no plan for the area's development. And as a result, we are shooting ourselves in the foot, because one of the main attributes that attracts people to the area is the forest.
If we don't plan it, you can rest assured it will turn into a concrete jungle.
1. Get a Plan!
The Houston Metroplex has a plan, called A Vision for Houston that was developed by the Houston Environmental Foresight Committee, on which my Kingwood College colleague Dr. Brian Shmaefsky served. The Vision will be used by those working on the 2012 Olympic bid, to encourage the US Olympic Committee to choose Houston as their city of choice.
-- I encourage the two Chambers of Commerce represented tonight, and the County Commissioners Court to facilitate the formation of a Citizen's Development Advisory Board. The Board can then work with the county and the Chambers of Commerce to develop a Regional plan that considers area residents' concerns and encourages smart growth that offers tangible benefits to residents. The survey that Dr. Bates is conducting will provide extremely useful information about area residents' attitudes toward these issues, their concerns, and their ideas.
2. Citizen's Development Info Line
I recommend Harris County implement a Citizen's Development Info Line, which lists information regarding planned developments and provides an opportunity for citizens to leave a message with their concerns. Alternatively or in conjunction to the phone line, an email or internet system could be set up. Citizens should have easy access to what is public record without having to expend extraordinary amounts of effort and time.
3. Infrastructure Fees
I encourage the state politicians to introduce legislation for an infrastructure fee that mitigates for the costs which developments impose upon the citizens in terms of our higher taxes and lower quality of life when forest is destroyed, runoff is increased, and traffic and air quality is made worse. These fees are absolutely reasonable for developers who can easily absorb it financially, and they can be designed in a way that discourages developers from cutting down forest and encourages them to renovate the existing infrastructure, the buildings and parking lots that we already have.
The way it is now, without these infrastructure fees, the costs get passed right along to you and I. We end up with
-- higher taxes to fund road projects, flood projects, clean-up projects.
-- We get higher auto insurance rates, and
-- a lower quality of life.
4. Ecotourism Development Board
I recommend the formation of an Ecotourism Development Board on the Chambers of Commerce. The Board could investigate ways to encourage and promote investors in nature tourism, the possibility of opening B&Bs along the lake, and generating awareness of the ecological uniqueness of the region.
5. More Greenspace Preserved
I encourage more land be set aside as parks and greenspace for the area. Instead of turning an entire forest into concrete and buildings, Friendswood Development Corporation and other developers could set aside several acres of forest adjacent to the stores as buffer zones that will remain forested. This land can be used to mitigate for increases in stormwater runoff and as rainwater detention areas.
We can also encourage some of available lakeside property to be purchased by The Nature Conservancy or USFWS or another organization for a nature preserve that would provide hiking trails and other opportunities for area residents.
These are my ideas, and in a few minutes, I'm going to let you offer your ideas and concerns as well.
So to summarize, yes, development and real estate companies and stores need to turn a profit and they wield a lot of political power. But so do citizens. These companies can and will be responsive when the citizens speak
After all, we are the consumers who will or will not shop in their stores. We are taxpayers, and we are voting citizens.
Kay Crooker of the Houston Planning Commission recently told me, I love this quote, "I abhor greed, taking from the public realm in order to line your already full pockets. That is the mentality we do combat. A lot of developers make a nice profit but they don't destroy the public realm. They give something back to the land and quality of life. We need to find a handful of those champions."
It may not be easy, but we are in this for the long haul. We need to care not only for our quality of life, but what we leave for future generations, and that depends on the amount of planning we do right now. We can support economic development without destroying the environment and the forests. We can implement these ideas. We can make a difference!