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The West 11th street Park—ENDANGERED???<BR>
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A pocket wilderness in the heart of Houston!<BR>
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Background Information<BR>
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SAVE THE PARK!<BR>
The West 11th Street Urban Forest is endangered.....<BR>
An important piece of “greenspace” within Central Houston is likely to disappear if<BR>
enough money cannot be raised to by Dec. 31st 2006 to save it.<BR>
The property is a 4 square block, approximate 21 acre urban forest, known as W. 11th<BR>
Street Park. Located next to the Timbergrove Manor neighborhood just west of the<BR>
Heights, it lies two blocks west of TC Jester, with W. 11th Street forming its southern<BR>
boundary. It has been a de facto park for decades; many residents reminiscre about<BR>
playing in “the grove” when they were children. This tranquil oasis of large pines, oaks<BR>
and other native trees and wildflowers is the 3rd largest greenspace inside Loop 610<BR>
and the largest greenspace that is not protected with official park status. Only the<BR>
Memorial Park/Houston Arboretum and Hermann Park are larger in size and both are<BR>
protected as official city parks.<BR>
However, the property’s status as a park is in name only. Originally part of the Hogg<BR>
Foundation’s holdings, in 1939 the property was deeded to the University of Texas,<BR>
which in turn sold it to HISD ten years later. It has remained in HISD’s inventory of<BR>
property since then. Significantly, some 7 years ago HISD announced plans to build<BR>
their new High School for the Performing and Visual Arts on the site and despite this<BR>
being one of the most desirable schools a neighborhood might wish for, residents<BR>
overwhelmingly supported the concept of retaining the property as a park. Neighbors,<BR>
in cooperation with city government, persuaded HISD to sign a 5-year lease with<BR>
Houston Parks and Recreation Department. HPARD took over the maintenance of the<BR>
property, giving it the temporary name of “W. 11th Street Park,” with the hope being<BR>
eventually to add it permanently to the City’s inventory of parks.<BR>
But economics intervened. About 2 years ago HISD decided to put the property up for<BR>
auction: times are tight, and they need the money. At the time several developers<BR>
were interested in purchasing the property for townhomes or other housing<BR>
developments. However, people who use and love the park got wind of<BR>
the potential sale and did a huge letter-writing campaign to HISD and the mayor,<BR>
asking them please to preserve this property permanently as a “passive use” (i.e. nonimproved)<BR>
park. As a result HISD and the city negotiated an option-to-purchase<BR>
price of $9.2 million. That's when the Houston Parks Board, a non-profit organization<BR>
dedicated to acquiring park land for the City of Houston, got involved and took over the<BR>
fundraising. HPB had initially hoped someone would want naming rights to the park<BR>
and would come forward with a big piece of the pie, and the rest would fall into place.<BR>
This hasn't happened due to various circumstances - mainly competition with the new<BR>
downtown park and many “crises” over the past year such as Katrina, Rita, the Asian<BR>
tsunami, the earthquake in Pakistan, etc.. As a result only about $1.5 million has been<BR>
raised ($500,000 of which was given by the Houston Endowment immediately after the<BR>
fundraising started). The good news is that the mayor and city council about a year<BR>
ago approved matching funds up to $4 million - so there is approximately $3.7 million<BR>
left to raise at this point. But the bad news is the option-to-purchase contract expires<BR>
December 31, 2006.<BR>
Because most local residents and other park users thought this was a “done deal,” it<BR>
comes as a shock to learn that despite all these good-will negotiations between the city<BR>
and HISD and the efforts of the Houston Parks Board, the site may yet be sold to<BR>
developers. Currently a grassroots fundraising and awareness-raising drive is<BR>
underway with dozens of residents from the surrounding communities stepping forth to<BR>
offer their time and money - but 3.7 million is a huge amount. Corporate sponsors or<BR>
other benefactors capable of making significant donations will obviously have to come<BR>
forward as well.<BR>
Houstonians not yet acquainted with the park should make an effort to see it. The<BR>
property is its own best spokesperson: a green gem in our increasingly urban<BR>
surroundings, a fine spot for family outings, bird and butterfly watching, enjoying native<BR>
plants, jogging or dog walking or simply getting away from it all with a saunter through<BR>
the woods. Whereas HISD regularly mowed the entire property, HPARD, at the<BR>
encouragement of area neighbors, began mowing only an area consisting of the<BR>
baseball field, a strip about 30 feet or so wide around the periphery of the park, and a<BR>
few meandering trails in the interior. As a result, HPARD’s maintenance cost has been<BR>
minimal and a wonderful little piece of East Texas habitat now exists right in the middle<BR>
of Houston. A few nice benches have been installed, thanks to the generosity of The<BR>
Garden Club of Houston. On the southeast corner volunteers maintain a butterfly<BR>
garden, and a strip of annual wildflowers planted by neighbors along W. 11th street<BR>
brings native flowers to West 11th street travelers every spring. The baseball field on<BR>
the southwest corner is used by neighborhood softball groups.<BR>
Birders and other nature lovers find the park particularly interesting. It serves as a<BR>
valuable migratory stopover for many bird species in their northward spring migrations<BR>
after crossing the Gulf of Mexico. As the vegetation has grown up, it has become an<BR>
increasingly good year-round birding spot, especially for woodpeckers. At least 6<BR>
species of woodpeckers have been seen there. Some are surprisingly abundant –<BR>
particularly the spectacular red-headed woodpecker, a species considered rare in this<BR>
area. A great horned owl or two also frequent the park and can often be heard in the<BR>
evening or early morning. Hawks and ospreys stop by, the latter sometimes to eat a<BR>
fish caught in nearby White Oak Bayou. Spicebush swallowtails and gulf fritillaries are<BR>
the most common of numerous butterflies that make the park their home. Due to this<BR>
concentration of wildlife, the Houston Audubon Society and Ornithology Group of the<BR>
Outdoor Nature Club frequently use it as one of their destinations, and the North<BR>
American Butterfly Association’s local chapter also visits it for their July butterfly count<BR>
and other field trips.<BR>
In addition to its beauty and value to wildlife, this undeveloped area provides flood<BR>
mitigation for surrounding neighborhoods. Current flood maps place the entire<BR>
property in the 100 year (1%) floodplain of White Oak Bayou, which is only a block or<BR>
two away (many of the homes to the east and south of the park were flooded during<BR>
tropical storm Allison). The heavy growth of trees, the natural jumble of ground cover,<BR>
and the many low-lying areas in the park’s gently undulating surface all serve to<BR>
sponge up rainwater and prevent and/or slow its time-to-release into the area’s storm<BR>
water system.<BR>
For all these reasons this piece of property should remain in its current state, as<BR>
undeveloped parkland. Houston needs more greenspace, not more townhomes.<BR>
Fulfilling the purchase agreement is a win-win situation for all: HISD gets their muchneeded<BR>
dollars; the City adds 21 acres to its parks inventory; flooding potential in the<BR>
area is not exacerbated; and best of all Houstonians of all ages can continue to enjoy<BR>
the park and the wildlife it sustains for years to come. If the deal falls through, the only<BR>
winner is the developer who profits from building in a desirable area.<BR>
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