County should prepare for undesirable growth
As you have undoubtedly seen on the front page of this week’s paper, a company called GreenFirst (a subsidiary of Green Group Holdings) wants to build a landfill off Highway 6 just north of Hempstead.
If you’re like most people – and I’m assuming most of you are – the idea of having a landfill in our back yard is less than appealing. In fact, I heard tell of organized opposition to it well before the project was officially announced to the public.
To be sure, no one wants a landfill near their home. I don’t. But before flying off the handle, I think the folks at GreenFirst deserve to have their say. It’s only fair to give them an ear just as residents would like to be given an equal chance to be heard.
As undesirable as a landfill may be, we need them and they have to go someplace. Whether or not it should be just north of Hempstead on Highway 6 is not for me to say. As someone whose livelihood depends on the economic prosperity of this community, I certainly don’t want to see it in Hempstead’s back yard.
Wherever it goes, there will be fierce opposition. The same goes for the proposed power lines that CenterPoint Energy wants to run across the middle of Waller County. I expect people in the county will be in full protest mode for quite some time over these projects. It should be noted, however, that the county does not have the power to say yay or nay to projects like these. That power is in the hands of state regulatory agencies.
The power lines and landfill are symptoms of a much larger problem the county has failed to adequately address. It comes as no surprise to anyone that massive growth is on its way to Waller County from Houston. I hear it talked about frequently. But what I have not heard is a lot of talk about how to manage it. It’s a simple matter of being proactive rather than reactive to growth in the county.
Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe Waller County has a long range development plan. Does the county, or its municipalities, have regulations in place governing what type of development and industry can locate here? Are there designated zones for what most people would call undesirable growth?
Several times I have asked Hempstead Mayor Michael Wolfe if the city has ordinances governing sexually-oriented businesses. I have yet to receive an answer. If it doesn’t, what’s to stop someone from opening a strip club or adult video store in the heart of downtown or next to a church or school?
As far as the landfill issue goes, I don’t think the county has any ordinances designating proper zones, distances from residential areas, environmental protections or the like in place. The same could be said for the location of power transmission lines, sewer plants, chemical plants, pig farms, slaughterhouses, prisons, shooting ranges, nuclear power plants, or any number of things people don’t want in their back yards.
It’s hard to fault companies wanting to locate here. I do, however, fault local government for not being prepared for the growth it knows is coming.
Waller County is close enough to the Houston metro area to be convenient, yet far away enough to be unseen. That makes Waller County an ideal spot for developers to locate their undesirable projects. Believe me, they are thinking way ahead of us country folk out here. They’re going to get their infrastructure and industry in place before we’re organized enough to regulate or stop them. I know the county is working on fire and building codes, but that’s hardly enough.
There is a community near my hometown in Colorado that was home to a regional landfill. When it closed, two more opened nearby to take its place. There was nothing the residents could do to stop them because there were no laws governing such things. You can be sure there are now.
If the people of Waller County don’t wake up and take care of Waller County, you can bet Harris and other neighboring counties will take advantage of that. The same thing goes for each of the cities. Regulations don’t necessarily have to be limited to unwanted development. As the growth comes, do you want to see super-sized box stores taking over? How about another trailer park? Perhaps a high-rise apartment building or condo is what you would like to see in your neighborhood.
Now is the time for Waller County to give this some serious thought. As the saying goes, if you fail to plan you can plan to fail.
If you’re like most people – and I’m assuming most of you are – the idea of having a landfill in our back yard is less than appealing. In fact, I heard tell of organized opposition to it well before the project was officially announced to the public.
To be sure, no one wants a landfill near their home. I don’t. But before flying off the handle, I think the folks at GreenFirst deserve to have their say. It’s only fair to give them an ear just as residents would like to be given an equal chance to be heard.
As undesirable as a landfill may be, we need them and they have to go someplace. Whether or not it should be just north of Hempstead on Highway 6 is not for me to say. As someone whose livelihood depends on the economic prosperity of this community, I certainly don’t want to see it in Hempstead’s back yard.
Wherever it goes, there will be fierce opposition. The same goes for the proposed power lines that CenterPoint Energy wants to run across the middle of Waller County. I expect people in the county will be in full protest mode for quite some time over these projects. It should be noted, however, that the county does not have the power to say yay or nay to projects like these. That power is in the hands of state regulatory agencies.
The power lines and landfill are symptoms of a much larger problem the county has failed to adequately address. It comes as no surprise to anyone that massive growth is on its way to Waller County from Houston. I hear it talked about frequently. But what I have not heard is a lot of talk about how to manage it. It’s a simple matter of being proactive rather than reactive to growth in the county.
Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe Waller County has a long range development plan. Does the county, or its municipalities, have regulations in place governing what type of development and industry can locate here? Are there designated zones for what most people would call undesirable growth?
Several times I have asked Hempstead Mayor Michael Wolfe if the city has ordinances governing sexually-oriented businesses. I have yet to receive an answer. If it doesn’t, what’s to stop someone from opening a strip club or adult video store in the heart of downtown or next to a church or school?
As far as the landfill issue goes, I don’t think the county has any ordinances designating proper zones, distances from residential areas, environmental protections or the like in place. The same could be said for the location of power transmission lines, sewer plants, chemical plants, pig farms, slaughterhouses, prisons, shooting ranges, nuclear power plants, or any number of things people don’t want in their back yards.
It’s hard to fault companies wanting to locate here. I do, however, fault local government for not being prepared for the growth it knows is coming.
Waller County is close enough to the Houston metro area to be convenient, yet far away enough to be unseen. That makes Waller County an ideal spot for developers to locate their undesirable projects. Believe me, they are thinking way ahead of us country folk out here. They’re going to get their infrastructure and industry in place before we’re organized enough to regulate or stop them. I know the county is working on fire and building codes, but that’s hardly enough.
There is a community near my hometown in Colorado that was home to a regional landfill. When it closed, two more opened nearby to take its place. There was nothing the residents could do to stop them because there were no laws governing such things. You can be sure there are now.
If the people of Waller County don’t wake up and take care of Waller County, you can bet Harris and other neighboring counties will take advantage of that. The same thing goes for each of the cities. Regulations don’t necessarily have to be limited to unwanted development. As the growth comes, do you want to see super-sized box stores taking over? How about another trailer park? Perhaps a high-rise apartment building or condo is what you would like to see in your neighborhood.
Now is the time for Waller County to give this some serious thought. As the saying goes, if you fail to plan you can plan to fail.
posted by Joe Southern | 11:21 AM
2 Comments:
Joe - you live in Rosenburg, so your property values and quality of life are not impacted by this Landfill. You are also employed by Waller County, given the current economic crisis facing our state and local counties, you must be feeling the heat of a potential layoff or salary cut. Does the benefit for a few Waller County civil servants really justify the loss of an entire communities public investments such as schools, parks, roads, utilities, and land value?
bark9, Thanks for your comment. Apparently you misunderstood what I was saying. I'm not in favor of the landfill. I'm opposed to it. I just think everyone deserves a fair shake before the door is slammed. It's only fair.
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