BACK IN THE WATERWAY, EVERYONE! City Council voted earlier this week to relax restrictions on the construction and renovation of homes in frequently flooded areas. The restrictions had been enacted quietly 2 years ago and protested by floodway residents ever since. “Under the revised rules, permits for construction on vacant land in floodways will be issued only if the building uses a pier and beam rather than a slab foundation, and if the applicant pays for any necessary mitigation, [deputy public works director Andy] Icken said.” [Houston Chronicle]
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This was only fair. The City basically condemned these people’s land, many of whom had ever flooded, and was not going to pay for it. It would have ultimately cost the City billions of dollars in lost lawsuits and wasted everyone’s time. The compromise: requiring people to build high enough for water to flow underneath the structure is a common sense solution that benefits everyone.