COMMENT OF THE DAY: KEEPING BUFFALO BAYOU IN ITS PLACE 
“Sounds nice — but that little part about the bayou being in the middle of the city, that’s why it can’t be left up to nature. . . . I understand the need to conserve and protect, but the Buffalo Bayou we know today is man-made. Ship Channel, Turning Basin, the resevoirs, Allen’s Landing, even the ill-fated Shepherd’s Dam all took a meandering stream and turned it into an industrial workhorse for Houston. Basically the ‘natural flow’ is impossible to get back; for that matter it never was something that the majority of Houstonians wanted. There are other bayous and creeks in the area that can take up the cause that don’t happen to be in one of the most expensive and sought-after flood plains in America. It is a noble battle but it was doomed to be one of beautification, not naturalization the moment the Allen Brothers decided to build a better New York City in Texas.” [SimplySid, commenting on Stop Trying To Fix Buffalo Bayou, Says Save Buffalo Bayou] Photo of Barker Dam outlet structure on Buffalo Bayou: Swamplot inbox
Sign up for the Newsletter
So, whenever anyone in Houston gets upset about the impact a new development will have on their neighborhood, the chorus rises up and yells at them about how they should have seen it coming when they bought in a no zoning area. Fingers wag in their face about expecting government to save them from the impact of development when they had a choice to buy in a deed restricted neighborhood in the burbs but chose Houston’s zoning free wilds instead.
But, when it is mother nature at work, the same logical gets thrown out the window. River Oaks CC and the high end River Oaks neighborhood have been around since before WW II. Everyone buying land along the bayou knows that it is a very active waterway that is constantly reshaping its banks. But when a few dozen owners of very expensive real estate (i.e. people with lots of cash) and the River Oaks CC (i.e. a club with lots of cash) come crying to the government to protect them from a problem that was very open and obvious to them when they developed their properties, suddenly they are given a free pass from having to be responsible for their decisions. Hundreds of native trees and acres of natural bayou environment must be stripped away on the public’s dime (yes, I know ROCC is contributing, but they are also benefiting from public funds in a big way) because these poor folks are the victims of mother nature’s wrath that could be seen coming decades ago. And for the $6 mil that will go into this project, not a single inch of right of way will be given to the public to be able to enjoy the bayou and finally link Memorial Park to Buffalo Bayou Park.
Buffalo Bayou is just fine the way it is. Anyone with a stabilization issue can pay their own way to deal with it. They knew moving in that they were living on an active waterway and do not get to take public funds to engage in the wholesale destruction of a natural resource just to protect their property.
@OldSchool: Using government to prevent water from destroying property is normal, even in a city without zoning. Same for fire.
@Memebag: Nobody’s property is flooding there, and nobody’s house is crashing into the bayou. This project is nothing more than a city-subsidized property-improvement plan for a handful of owners. Its method is unproven, and its results are unknown. If you want your bayou shoreline redone, then pay to have someone do the work, but don’t ask the rest of to subsidize your pet idea.
houstonreader times one million
@Houstonreader: Which project are you talking about?
@ Memebag: Memorial Park Demonstration Project
@Houstonreader: I wasn’t talking about that project.
@Memebag: your latest comment strains credulity.
It just seems that with all the money Houston has thrown into Buffalo Bayou, they could have instead focused on the other waterways, which is something that could really improve the beauty and quality of life of Houston. Houston is “The Bayou City” after all, not “Buffalo Bayou City”. I realize it’s the route from downtown to affluence, but enough is enough. That one small stretch has gotten more attention than all of the other streams combined.