Heights Residents Oppose Development on 5th Street

Residents in the Heights are protesting a planned development in a ravine at the end of E. 5th street. The ravine is in the 100 year flood plain and is a Harris County Flood Control ditch. Nevertheless, the developer was approved by the City Planning Department to build a seven story apartment building in the ravine elevated on piers or columns. Residents went before City Council last month to express their opposition to the plan. A Heights Association board member explained that their opposition was more than just preserving the historic nature of the neighborhood. They are also concerned that new buildings be compatible with the area and maintain original tree lined street patterns with sidewalks. The apartment building, they feel, is an intrusion, creating traffic congestion on a small street and impacting the ecosystem of the neighborhood. According to one resident, building on the ravine will destroy a natural habitat for birds and other wildlife there. Other residents would like to see the ravine become a park area. Increased building of condominiums and apartments around the street have residents also concerned about flooding and the possibility that the ravine will be compromised as a drainage area. The plan led Council Member Peter Brown to add: "Why in the world would someone buy a piece of land where you've got to put long columns on top of a ravine, where there is a Harris County Flood Control ditch. There must be something inherently wrong with our regulations that would allow a developer to buy such land."

(Near Northwest Banner, February 5, 2007)