Lives before profits

Developers’ push to delay flood measures seems to find a responsive ear in Houston.

We’re all breathing a sigh of relief that Barry, the first hurricane of the season, brought only scattered showers to the region.

But any storm gathering in the Gulf raises the specter of Harvey in the minds of many Houstonians.

How could it not? The 2017 storm dumped almost 30 trillion gallons of water on Southeast Texas and Louisiana, flooded hundreds of thousands of homes and killed more than 60 people. The devastation that Harvey wrought — along with the Memorial Day and Tax Day floods — doused any hope that we were prepared for a major deluge.

This recognition led to the adoption of tougher regulations for flood plain development in the city and county, as well as the approval by Harris County voters of a $2.5 billion flood infrastructure bond to build more than 200 projects over the next 10 to 15 years. While developers, engineers and real estate professionals supported the bond issue, no doubt in part because of the work that would come their way and the increased value of land under a reduced risk of flooding, these same groups have sought to delay the new building rules.

Their efforts postponed a Harris County Commissioners Court vote on the new regulations for weeks, until the court acted earlier this month and unanimously approved the measures. We worry that the developers’ push seems to have found a more responsive ear in the city of Houston, which is still delaying adoption of the rules.

In the county, the new standards expand by 65 percent the area considered at risk of flooding. That area is subject to stricter home elevation mandates. The changes also require developers to set aside a larger area for detention, enough to offset flooding in the 500-year flood plain. Previously, county requirements covered only the 100-year flood plain.

The new rules attempt to get ahead of updated federal flood maps, to be completed in 2021, which are expected to cover much more area given recent rainfall data and more frequent and intense storms.

Developers say the changes will have a significant impact on building costs at a time when affordable housing is at a premium.

West Houston Association President Auggie Campbell told the editorial board that it’s premature to use the 500-year flood plain as a stand-in for the future map, noting that taking into account only rainfall data without considering other factors, including topography, paints an incomplete picture. He said the county’s haste also left some compromises unconsidered, such as allowing off-site detention.

Developers are not arguing the county should keep the same regulations, Campbell said. They just want more time to discuss changes with local officials.

The county should be willing to continue the discussion, but delaying the inevitable is pointless. We’ve known for years that the 100-year maps are obsolete. And each week that goes by brings the possibility of another storm, the chance that it will veer west instead of east. Using the expanded maps isn’t even acting out of an abundance of caution at this point since local officials threw caution to the wind for so long. It’s merely responding to reality, considering almost threequarters of homes damaged by Harvey were outside the 100-year flood plain.

Cost should be a consideration when it comes to regulations, but unchecked growth is what got us into trouble in the first place. For far too long, development has dictated the rules, paving over land that can barely absorb water as it is and building in places where no one should be living — just ask the people who bought homes in the flood pools behind the Barker and Addicks reservoirs.

Comments by developers suggest they know those freewheeling days are over — Harvey exposed too many of the abuses of the past — but their campaign to delay the new rules shows they still aren’t above dragging their feet, even when they know the possible consequences.

We commend the county for taking action and adopting rules that put people’s lives and property before developer profits. The city of Houston should follow suit before it’s too late.

Comments by developers suggest they know those freewheeling days are over — Harvey exposed too many of the abuses of the past — but their campaign to delay the new rules shows they still aren’t above dragging their feet, even when they know the possible consequences.