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Clear-Cutting The Hardy


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I've only lived here for a year.

I'm concerned about what's happening along the Hardy Toll Road. Several wooded tracts of land have been clear-cut. One of them is a neighborhood with the first houses being completed. I can't help but wondering WHY? Why cut down all those trees - just to plant two sticks in the front yard? The neighborhood would look SO much nicer if some trees were left behind.

There is a new clear-cut section along the end of Rayford where it links to Riley Fuzzel too. I feel sorry for those people who just moved into Legends Run. It looks like a bomb went off over there.

Also - I hate to see smoldering piles of cut trees. Don't we already have a bad enough pollution problem in Houston? It should be outlawed in my opinion.

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Some of the tracts they are building on are very small also. One of them can't be more than about 20 acres with room for maybe 50 houses (since all of the trees are gone). They just put in a "U" shaped street, ran the utilities, and away they went. Since everything is unzoned, your future next door neighbor could be a plastics recycling plant. There's no way to know.

There are a bunch of these developments in North Houston area now. It's very inexpensive to get in, but I read a story in the Chronicle about a year ago that they generally have some of the highest foreclosure rates in the Houston area. My wife's friend lives in one of these neighborhoods and their resale value (on a brand new house) has actually fallen in the last two or three years!

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I've only lived here for a year.

I'm concerned about what's happening along the Hardy Toll Road. Several wooded tracts of land have been clear-cut. One of them is a neighborhood with the first houses being completed. I can't help but wondering WHY? Why cut down all those trees - just to plant two sticks in the front yard? The neighborhood would look SO much nicer if some trees were left behind.

There is a new clear-cut section along the end of Rayford where it links to Riley Fuzzel too. I feel sorry for those people who just moved into Legends Run. It looks like a bomb went off over there.

Also - I hate to see smoldering piles of cut trees. Don't we already have a bad enough pollution problem in Houston? It should be outlawed in my opinion.

You are right on. The amount of clear-cutting along the toll road just sickens me. The forests that used to predominate in north Harris County are making way for tract housing, strip malls, streets, etc... It is really apparent when you fly into Intercontinental, also. These forests were one of the only natural attributes this area can boast... but much like historic structures... people in Houston and Harris County really don't seem to care. Or when they do, it is way too late...

The lack of planning, lack of environmental concern, lack of foresight (all this run-away development is making air pollution and water runoff issues only more profound)... well, it gets a little maddening.

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Ditto, first and goal.

Of course, we'll have people all over this thread in a matter of minutes telling us how governmental regulations are a bad thing and that this is just the beauty of the open market at work.

We are reaching the point of no return soon. There will be nothing left to clear cut if our growth continues to boom and we continue to allow developers free reign.

Also, the Chronicle's lead story on Sunday I believe was about the rising foreclosure rates in Houston (ahead of the rest of the nation despite our lower housing prices) due mainly to questionable lending practices.

In the end, we lose the trees, get fugly neighborhoods and cheap siding, and many of the home owners (home ownership can be a great thing) end up with ruined credit and no home!

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Like I said on the "Going Down: destruction of trees" thread on the Great Northwest forum, people need to organize some kind of group that is against the shameless clear cutting of forests in n/nw houston and create a really catchy logo and slogan, which can draw media attention and create citizen awareness all over the area.

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Austin and SA both have tree cutting ordinances that developers MUST adhere to before getting go ahead for building. Why can't we do this? Is it because we're spoiled by the trees? Maybe when our tree landscape looks like Austin/SA/Dallas someone will finally look into creating an ordinance.

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Austin and SA both have tree cutting ordinances that developers MUST adhere to before getting go ahead for building. Why can't we do this? Is it because we're spoiled by the trees? Maybe when our tree landscape looks like Austin/SA/Dallas someone will finally look into creating an ordinance.

The local city council and county reps should be asked to better represent their constituencies. If enough people voice their concern over this important issue then perhaps some needed ordinances can be put in place to stop the rather quick decimation of this foliage. Otherwise, another example of Houston and Harris County being subpar.

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Of course, we'll have people all over this thread in a matter of minutes telling us how governmental regulations are a bad thing and that this is just the beauty of the open market at work.

No, I've already made my stunningly brilliant free-market arguments elsewhere...multiple times. B)

Btw, this is NOT the "beauty of the open market at work". The current regulatory environment promotes the clear cutting of land, typically for flood control purposes. But I'd argue that there are better means of handling flood control and that such strict measures should be cut back for residential development.

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See there. You all jump on TheNiche too quickly without hearing fully what he has to say.

There needs to be more checks and balances on these stupid flood regulations that necessitate the clear cutting of trees. What a foolish regulation. Whoever implemented this policy needs to attend a presentation or lecture on the importance of trees and what they mean for residents. If that doesn't help, they should be dropped off in a huge empty field somewhere along Fry Rd stretching for miles and forced to wander around for hours in a state of madness induced by the lack of trees.

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I am so with you all on this subject. The East Belt is a freeway running through a forest. Except one small thing: the forest is being cut down and replaced with shopping centers, houses and stuff. :angry2: I am already missing the trees that grew so tall and majestic. I don't think there is an answer. It is all about money and I guess that's the bottom line. :( Houston's trees, jungle-like, can't be replaced.

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Atlanta has a huge forest of trees (more than us) and they have ordinances in the city, plus the suburbs about the cutting of trees. Many houses there have three or more trees on their property.

I remember Atlanta (visited there many years ago) having lots of trees. Fortunately, Atlanta is looking out for its trees of which environmentalists say we have to have. Difference in Houston and Atlanta, while they may have more trees, our humidity does provide us with gorgeous tropical plants that thrive. I want our trees to stay! Dammit! :angry2:

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at least txdot is getting on board with tree replacement. now, if we could convince the developers to save some.

TXdot has done some pretty commendable things in the last 2-3 years. The problem with city ordinances is that they are for cities, not for an ETJ. So the developers clear the forests and then the cities come in behind to annex the remaining concrete,plastic and wood. Not a great planning model.

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actually, IMHO, the dumb idiots who buy houses in the new neighborhoods are the problem. it is so easy to get caught up in the decorator model home and easy financing. who can blame someone for taking a stab at the "american dream"? it's sad, really.

i'm still waiting for the dateline story on the increase in foreclosures due to fraudulent lending practices by greedy developers. it will happen.

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actually, IMHO, the dumb idiots who buy houses in the new neighborhoods are the problem. it is so easy to get caught up in the decorator model home and easy financing. who can blame someone for taking a stab at the "american dream"? it's sad, really.

i'm still waiting for the dateline story on the increase in foreclosures due to fraudulent lending practices by greedy developers. it will happen.

it's already happening...talk to buyers of gil ramirez homes.

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Even if the COH adopts laws - The problem is that much of the area described is in unincorporated Harris County..

I know that many of the neighborhoods will end up as low income housing - E.G. I saw Remington Ranch along IH 45. I later did research - it was zoned to Spring ISD's Westfield High, which may improve once Dekaney opens - but it's not considered to be the best of Spring ISD schools.

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Riley Fuzzel - Spring Trails is a pretty nice subdivision, further down is a really neat development called Benders Landing.

Westfield - was a great HS from the late 1970's thru the early 1990's back when Spring ISD was a respectable school district. It was the best HS in SISD and one of the better ones in NW Houston for many years. Of course, it has now gone downhill due to the influx of apartments and low-income housing changing the demographics from solid middle/upper middle class school to one more like an Aldine or HISD school. The opening of Dekankey will help somewhat, though its too bad they didn't open that school 10 years ago.

Edited by mrfootball
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  • 5 weeks later...
Speaking of Riley Fuzzel - was that a person, or was someone drinking when they named that road? Found it when we were evacuating.

BTW - How did all the evacuaees get dumped onto Riley Fuzzel/Rayford anyway? Rayford was a parking lot for abut 24 hours and I never understood where everyone came from....

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  • The title was changed to Clear-Cutting The Hardy

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