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Landfill West Of Shadow Creek Ranch


noodlemonger

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No more than two years ago, SCR was the hottest thing in suburban Houston. Now, it is starting to sound like a dump (no pun intended).

I definitely wouldn't call SCR a dump. It's still a beautiful neighborhood, with very nice homes, and a number of residents who were caught off guard by this mess. It's unfortunate that things have gone down the way they have. I wish them the best.

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I need some help guys. I live in Shadow Creek Ranch in Riverside Place which is just West of Kingsley and South of Trininty Bay. I'm trying to protest my property tax valuation. I signed the papers to build my home around April '06 and closed in November of 06. The cost was 180k for 1935 sqft. My tax valuation was at 174k. I went to the informal hearing today arguing that my value should be lowered because of possibility of the landfill expansion and that several neighboring houses were appraised at a much lower value. It turned out that the neighboring houses were valued lower because they were only partially completed. They dropped my valuation to 170K before I even mentioned the dump issue and then when I raised the issue he said it was the best he could do. He also mentioned that if I chose to continue to the formal hearing that the dump expansion would be the best way to go. Here's where I need the help. Is there any where I can find sales trends/closing prices over some time period? I also hired an independent appraiser. Besides these things are there any suggestions on what I should do?

Brian

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TCEQ Grants Contested Hearing On Blue Ridge Landfill

The Texas Commission On Environmental Quality just ruled this morning at a hearing in Austin that sufficient evidence did exist to allow for a contested case hearing on the proposed application for the Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion near Missouri City, Arcola, Fresno & Pearland. This is good news for the nearly 1100 homeowners who signed the petition against this project. We will update this section as time and information permits.

http://missouricitychatter.blogspot.com/

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/for...ws/4998528.html

A state environmental agency Wednesday granted a contested case hearing to opponents of a landfill expansion proposed in east Fort Bend County.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality decided that the opponents, including a group of residents dubbed Coalition Against Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion, and three local television stations, KTRK (Channel 13), KRIV (Fox 26) and KHOU (Channel 11), are "affected parties" in the landfill project.

The opponents are backed by state Reps. Dora Olivo, D-Rosenberg, and Mike O'Day, R-Pearland, who spoke against the expansion by Allied Waste at Wednesday's meeting in Austin. The commission only allowed comments by elected officials.

After deliberation for about 20 minutes, the three-member commission referred the issue to the State Office of Administrative Hearings, granting the case "contested" status for a hearing by a judge with the office

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/for...ws/4998528.html

Appears like TCEQ does not want another lawsuit to deal with like this one

This is a great news.

We brought a home in shadow creek, will be closing soon in 1-2 months. We have decided to move to Shadowcreek even after hearing about landfill. We are not much worried about this, we really liked the location, price, businesses around, distance from downtown/galleria. I have some friends who moved to Shadow creek recently. They love the place.

I think once after the Pearland Town Center, Presidential Park, Promenade shops, Houston Library and Other shopping complexes in this area open to public there will be more opposition to the landfill.

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This is a great news.

We brought a home in shadow creek, will be closing soon in 1-2 months. We have decided to move to Shadowcreek even after hearing about landfill. We are not much worried about this, we really liked the location, price, businesses around, distance from downtown/galleria. I have some friends who moved to Shadow creek recently. They love the place.

I think once after the Pearland Town Center, Presidential Park, Promenade shops, Houston Library and Other shopping complexes in this area open to public there will be more opposition to the landfill.

Welcome to the forum and welcome to Shadow Creek scrres. As the rest of your friends, you will love SCR; is a great place to live.

Personally I have never been worried about the landfill either, worst case we will have a great golf course in 50 years as editor pointed;

I doubt the big mountain will be approved, best case for Allied Waste I think is to get approval to increase acreage maintaining the height limit they currently have. The issue with the weather radars is to big IMO for anybody to give a green light to the expansion; and then you add Barium in water samples, inconsistencies with the flow of traffic in the expansion request, all the new housing and commercial development going up closeby, "tipping fees", etc.

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I am also buying a house in SCR; Will be closing in 1 month; I really fell in love with the neighborhood. I had no idea about the landfill issue when I put dwon my option money, and even after hearing, I still want to live there. I really hope this thing gets limited, but I cant wait to move in to my new home. BassPro, Town Center, Waterlights are all icing on the cake!

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Finally good to hear from people who love SCR. Frankly I am a little concerned about the landfill expansion but not much. I am glad we have a great organization fighting against it along with Morrison. My main concerns were smell from the landfill and water supply. I know for sure water supply to SCR is not from underground water, so thats ruled out. And I have never smelled a foul smell from the landfill so far. We also will be closing in coming 1-2 months and cannot wait to move into SCR!!

I really hope that Allied is not successful in getting an expansion approved for the height. I do not mind the accreage approval because it will be on the farther side from SCR anyway.

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Finally good to hear from people who love SCR. Frankly I am a little concerned about the landfill expansion but not much. I am glad we have a great organization fighting against it along with Morrison. My main concerns were smell from the landfill and water supply. I know for sure water supply to SCR is not from underground water, so thats ruled out. And I have never smelled a foul smell from the landfill so far. We also will be closing in coming 1-2 months and cannot wait to move into SCR!!

I really hope that Allied is not successful in getting an expansion approved for the height. I do not mind the accreage approval because it will be on the farther side from SCR anyway.

As has been mentioned on here by me and others there is an occasional smell in the area. I live in Brookglen and notice it about once every two weeks, usually in the morning. I don't know if it comes from the dump or from the chem plants.

The commercial construction going on is incredible right now. There need to be more infrastructure improvements ASAP, especially to SCR Parkway. I don't really know why all those buildings are empty up there. I know it all comes down to money and who's buying but I still think the state of 2234 and 518 east of 288 is ridiculous for this point in the development. Once a couple more of the big stores open, the entire area will change. Bass Shop, HEB, Macy's, Dillard's, Barnes and Noble. That's a ton of jobs in the SCR area which means there will certainly be a massive increase in smaller stores and restaurants, too. I really have no question that SCR will be a highly desirable area to live in 5 years from now and more.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have worked in Southern Trails (just South of FM 518 & SCR) for 2 years and have never smelled anything!

Growing up in the 80's I lived at 2234 and S Post Oak and never smelled anything....

The wind usually blows inland from what I can tell! ...away form SCR and me...

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The outcome of the hearing is now available for reading here, at the Houston Chronicle site. My layman's interpretation is that the final resolution has been delayed once again, until next year. Even then whatever decision is made can be appealed in district court, by either party.

So the whole issue drags on. Still, this is good for those folks currently living in the vicinity of the landfill, since the expansion remains on hold. However those who are trying to decide whether or not it is safe to buy homes there (like me) are still left in limbo.

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It appears landfill/Foreclosures are hitting hard on SCR. This house (3,814 sq.ft) in SCR is listed for 240K. ie, around $62/ sq.ft. Granted, it's a foreclosure but asking prices this low is a definitely a sign of what lies ahead IMO

Since landfill expansion is not granted yet, this makes me to think that landfill will dent the image of SCR whether it expands or not. HUGE number of foreclosures adds oil to the fire. I doubt how much damage could be reduced by having an HEB/Accademey/WholeFoods/StarBucks/Barnes-Nobles/PresidentialHeadsPark/etc nearby.

Also, this particular house is on the EAST of Kirby and EXTREMELY adjacent to the new apartments. If you look at the first pic, you can see the apt JUST behind the fence. It appears that buyers (who bought in 2003-2004) were not aware that an apartment is going to built next to their backyard and now when they SEE it, many are trying to sell their homes but cannot find a buyer.

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Also, this particular house is on the EAST of Kirby and EXTREMELY adjacent to the new apartments. If you look at the first pic, you can see the apt JUST behind the fence. It appears that buyers (who bought in 2003-2004) were not aware that an apartment is going to built next to their backyard and now when they SEE it, many are trying to sell their homes but cannot find a buyer.

According to the maps I have, those are supposed to be 'luxury' apartments, but they still will be noisy and an eyesore. Too bad the current owners didn't check things out closer before they bought, because the maps of SCR I have (which came from the SCR visitors center) clearly showed those apartments going in there.

I'm not really surprised that many homes are for sale in SCR at discounted prices, but the fact that many of them are on the EAST side of SCR (away from the landfill), seems noteworthy. There must be several factors at work here, which are combining for a synergistic effect on the market prices.

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According to the maps I have, those are supposed to be 'luxury' apartments, but they still will be noisy and an eyesore. Too bad the current owners didn't check things out closer before they bought, because the maps of SCR I have (which came from the SCR visitors center) clearly showed those apartments going in there.

I'm not really surprised that many homes are for sale in SCR at discounted prices, but the fact that many of them are on the EAST side of SCR (away from the landfill), seems noteworthy. There must be several factors at work here, which are combining for a synergistic effect on the market prices.

I must say I find these homes at these prices tempting. I don't like the look of SCR very much, but an inexpensive home on the east side of the community might be a pretty nice solution to our current where-to-live conundrum.

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It appears landfill/Foreclosures are hitting hard on SCR. This house (3,814 sq.ft) in SCR is listed for 240K. ie, around $62/ sq.ft. Granted, it's a foreclosure but asking prices this low is a definitely a sign of what lies ahead IMO

Since landfill expansion is not granted yet, this makes me to think that landfill will dent the image of SCR whether it expands or not. HUGE number of foreclosures adds oil to the fire. I doubt how much damage could be reduced by having an HEB/Accademey/WholeFoods/StarBucks/Barnes-Nobles/PresidentialHeadsPark/etc nearby.

Also, this particular house is on the EAST of Kirby and EXTREMELY adjacent to the new apartments. If you look at the first pic, you can see the apt JUST behind the fence. It appears that buyers (who bought in 2003-2004) were not aware that an apartment is going to built next to their backyard and now when they SEE it, many are trying to sell their homes but cannot find a buyer.

The apartments have been on the maps for years, so if they didn't know, it's their own fault.

As for foreclosures, I'm not seeing any more in SCR than anywhere else that has homes that are at least a few years old. The reason we have this mortgage crisis is that people bought houses (all over the country) that shouldn't have been buying them in the first place. Builders and their lenders were making it easy for almost anyone to qualify. These buyers are now being forced out of their homes because they just can't afford them.

The landfill will never be a positive for SCR, but it shouldn't have a huge long-term impact if the expansion isn't granted. If it is granted...well, we'll just have to wait and see.

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TimWendy,

Just a little FYI for you...those maps from the SCR "visitor center" aka "The developer's marketing arm", change all the time. I can assure you that when those people built in 2001-2003 the apartments were not scheduled. There are still SEVERAL inaccuracies on the current map.

When we started building in 2004 they told us all of the area east of the property was zoned commercial, and we needed to be aware of that. They expected at least one of the hospitals to be built, but could not promise what else went in there.

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TimWendy,

Just a little FYI for you...those maps from the SCR "visitor center" aka "The developer's marketing arm", change all the time. I can assure you that when those people built in 2001-2003 the apartments were not scheduled. There are still SEVERAL inaccuracies on the current map.

When we started building in 2004 they told us all of the area east of the property was zoned commercial, and we needed to be aware of that. They expected at least one of the hospitals to be built, but could not promise what else went in there.

Ah, ok. We got our map from them in 2005, and it was marked then, so I can't attest to what they were showing earlier.

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I have lived in 'luxury' and 'non-luxury' apmts and I can say its all the same (more-or-less). Its not like the difference between 1-star motel and a 5-star hilton.

Another marketing gimmick.

When you go to starbucks and order a 'TALL' cup, you know that is the SHORTEST size. LOL!!

According to the maps I have, those are supposed to be 'luxury' apartments, but they still will be noisy and an eyesore. Too bad the current owners didn't check things out closer before they bought, because the maps of SCR I have (which came from the SCR visitors center) clearly showed those apartments going in there.

I'm not really surprised that many homes are for sale in SCR at discounted prices, but the fact that many of them are on the EAST side of SCR (away from the landfill), seems noteworthy. There must be several factors at work here, which are combining for a synergistic effect on the market prices.

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I am living in Shadow Creek Ranch. Actually, the odor is a problem here. I have a little two year old girl and it worries me a lot that we live close to landfill. For example, yesterday the order was so bad that first I smell it inside the house. I checked it outside how strong it was, and it was unbelievably bad. I could not believe that in the US something like this possible to happen. Why did they build such a butterfly community close to such a big landfill?

I would not recommend my friend to buy a house here. Shadow Creek Ranch is a butterfly place, but I don't enjoy living here. I always afraid that this smell could be poisoning to my baby. Think very carefully before buying house here. First you have to smell the bad odor we have here, before making your decision about moving to Shadow Creek Ranch. I am disappointed in Shadow Creek Ranch. I wish I knew about the odor before we bought a house here.

That is what I realy think. Sorry.

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I am living in Shadow Creek Ranch. Actually, the odor is a problem here. I have a little two year old girl and it worries me a lot that we live close to landfill. For example, yesterday the order was so bad that first I smell it inside the house. I checked it outside how strong it was, and it was unbelievably bad. I could not believe that in the US something like this possible to happen. Why did they build such a butterfly community close to such a big landfill?

I would not recommend my friend to buy a house here. Shadow Creek Ranch is a butterfly place, but I don't enjoy living here. I always afraid that this smell could be poisoning to my baby. Think very carefully before buying house here. First you have to smell the bad odor we have here, before making your decision about moving to Shadow Creek Ranch. I am disappointed in Shadow Creek Ranch. I wish I knew about the odor before we bought a house here.

That is what I realy think. Sorry.

Maria..which side of Shadow Creek do you live in? Is it east or west of Kingsley?

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Maria..which side of Shadow Creek do you live in? Is it east or west of Kingsley?

I was about to ask the same question. It seems a logical theory that the odor fades the further east into SCR that you are. Perhaps we can gather enough ancedotal reports here to decide if Kingsley is indeed a boundary, for a 'normal' garbage-day at least.

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Maria..which side of Shadow Creek do you live in? Is it east or west of Kingsley?

I live in the wettest part of Shadow Creek Ranch on Pelican Shores. We are very close to Almeda and Shadow Creek parkway intersection. You know it does not meter actually, if it is a west or east part of Kingsley. I smell this odor even in our mall (very east) on the other side of 288 across from Shadow Creek Ranch. Even in the Mall the odor could be very-very strong. The mall is 2-3 miles east from us.

It is actually hard to believe that people can breathe air that smell so bad and live in such places for years. I live in Shadow Creek Ranch for just 4 month and hate the fact that I was fooled around by people how sold the house to me. They should not at all sell houses here. I am very afraid that this smell could be poisoning.

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I live in the wettest part of Shadow Creek Ranch on Pelican Shores. We are very close to Almeda and Shadow Creek parkway intersection. You know it does not meter actually, if it is a west or east part of Kingsley. I smell this odor even in our mall (very east) on the other side of 288 across from Shadow Creek Ranch. Even in the Mall the odor could be very-very strong. The mall is 2-3 miles east from us.

It is actually hard to believe that people can breathe air that smell so bad and live in such places for years. I live in Shadow Creek Ranch for just 4 month and hate the fact that I was fooled around by people how sold the house to me. They should not at all sell houses here. I am very afraid that this smell could be poisoning.

Well, Pelican Shores is on the far west side, in the Fort Bend County part of SCR. I see why the odor is so strong for you.

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