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How developers control of local Planning and Zoning boards through donations to the elected officials that appoint them is also documented in an article published in the chronicle. It specifically references the Katy reservoir area, and also Costello inc.
Given that developers are also by far the biggest donors to politicians in Sugar Land, ....and the same engineering company did the work......its a bit of a stretch to call that fake news as well..... but nice try.
Can we just point out that the LID that flooded is in Missouri City ETJ, not Sugar Land.
Good point. I think that was already brought up in another thread but is a fact that does not fit in the poster’s agenda. “The flooding occurred because the developer controls the city” does not sound very compelling when the city did not review/approve that portion of the development. Oops.
How developers control of local Planning and Zoning boards through donations to the elected officials that appoint them is also documented in an article published in the chronicle. It specifically references the Katy reservoir area, and also Costello inc.
Given that developers are also by far the biggest donors to politicians in Sugar Land, ....and the same engineering company did the work......its a bit of a stretch to call that fake news as well..... but nice try.
I hate to hijack this thread - but I am tired of the false narrative being spun by Diana Miller and her surrogates on this website and elsewhere.
I actually was interested in hearing about Diana's plans for the city and her plans to reign in the city budget, but since announcing her candidacy back in October she hasn't added any information about her platform or why she is even qualified to run for mayor of a major city. All I hear is a bunch of rabble rousing (with no support) about loose inferences that the major is in the pocket of developers, that the city is unprepared for flooding and that high density development will be the downfall of Sugar Land.
Let's refute these ridiculous claims:
1.) You and Diana have made claims that the city panders to vendors and developers. I am sure that there is likely some competitive bidding process in selecting vendors, and why would you want to discourage good working relations between the city and developers? My perception is that the City of Sugar Land was one of the best developed communities in the region (reminds me of the affluent Collin County region) with good architectural standards and building codes. If you are going to make accusations that infer nefarious relationships, then bring proof. If not, enjoy the success that the city leaders have had over the last few years.
2.) Zimmermann / Costello are to blame for the flooding. It is sad what happened in Riverstone and throughout the area, but as noted this was a 500+ year storm, which is well in excess of design standards. Diana claims that 230 homes flooded in Sugar Land, or less than 1%, which is a miracle given the devastation that happened in other areas. I say we congratulate our leaders on a job well done and seek out ways to further improve. Last I checked they were making investments (north of Sugar Creek) in flood control which paid off during Harvey. Additionally, Diana likes to include the flooding in Riverstone as somehow applicable to her candidacy as mayor - these residents are not a part of Sugar Land, rather unincorporated Fort Bend, with an alignment to Missouri City. Way to pander to peoples fears & emotions, Diane.
Additionally, why doesn't Diana take some of the blame for her role as a realtor? Did her brokerage sell any homes in Riverstone or in Canyon Gate in Katy? If so - wouldn't that make her complicit?
3.) High Density Development is Bad!! If done correctly it can be good, I'd love to Sugar Land get some major corporate tenant (like Plano or the Woodlands) as all the other pieces are in place (great amenities, safe, good schools). I am not a city planner, but I know that job creation from a major employer will provide a boost to the city, spurring smart development and creating a sustainable tax base for the future. More SFH is not the answer, unless you are a Realtor who wants more business, we need more varied housing stock to compete with other cities for corporate relocations.
Lastly I am no supporter of Zimmerman, and I do think we need some more unbiased people in city leadership. I'd love for Diane or someone else equally qualified to run on a campaign driven by ideas and a mission for the future. Show me where I can find that on her website and I'll consider giving her my vote, but all the nonsense spouted here and elsewhere is highly insulting to my intelligence.
Last edited by TotallyTexasBound; 04-09-2018 at 09:15 PM..
There are different kinds of floods. There’s the storm surge from hurricanes, the runoff from snowmelt, the inundation of riverbanks. But all these examples cast flooding as an occasional foe out to damage human civilization. In truth, flooding happens constantly, in small and large quantities, every time precipitation falls to earth. People just don’t tend to notice it until it reaches the proportions of disaster.
True. Drainage is a regional issue, sort of like traffic/transportation but a little different. But the same in that drainage/flooding knows no city limit lines. It is not contained.
I hate to hijack this thread - but I am tired of the false narrative being spun by Diana Miller and her surrogates on this website and elsewhere.
I actually was interested in hearing about Diana's plans for the city and her plans to reign in the city budget, but since announcing her candidacy back in October she hasn't added any information about her platform or why she is even qualified to run for mayor of a major city. All I hear is a bunch of rabble rousing (with no support) about loose inferences that the major is in the pocket of developers, that the city is unprepared for flooding and that high density development will be the downfall of Sugar Land.
Let's refute these ridiculous claims:
1.) You and Diana have made claims that the city panders to vendors and developers. I am sure that there is likely some competitive bidding process in selecting vendors, and why would you want to discourage good working relations between the city and developers? My perception is that the City of Sugar Land was one of the best developed communities in the region (reminds me of the affluent Collin County region) with good architectural standards and building codes. If you are going to make accusations that infer nefarious relationships, then bring proof. If not, enjoy the success that the city leaders have had over the last few years.
2.) Zimmermann / Costello are to blame for the flooding. It is sad what happened in Riverstone and throughout the area, but as noted this was a 500+ year storm, which is well in excess of design standards. Diana claims that 230 homes flooded in Sugar Land, or less than 1%, which is a miracle given the devastation that happened in other areas. I say we congratulate our leaders on a job well done and seek out ways to further improve. Last I checked they were making investments (north of Sugar Creek) in flood control which paid off during Harvey. Additionally, Diana likes to include the flooding in Riverstone as somehow applicable to her candidacy as mayor - these residents are not a part of Sugar Land, rather unincorporated Fort Bend, with an alignment to Missouri City. Way to pander to peoples fears & emotions, Diane.
Additionally, why doesn't Diana take some of the blame for her role as a realtor? Did her brokerage sell any homes in Riverstone or in Canyon Gate in Katy? If so - wouldn't that make her complicit?
3.) High Density Development is Bad!! If done correctly it can be good, I'd love to Sugar Land get some major corporate tenant (like Plano or the Woodlands) as all the other pieces are in place (great amenities, safe, good schools). I am not a city planner, but I know that job creation from a major employer will provide a boost to the city, spurring smart development and creating a sustainable tax base for the future. More SFH is not the answer, unless you are a Realtor who wants more business, we need more varied housing stock to compete with other cities for corporate relocations.
Lastly I am no supporter of Zimmerman, and I do think we need some more unbiased people in city leadership. I'd love for Diane or someone else equally qualified to run on a campaign driven by ideas and a mission for the future. Show me where I can find that on her website and I'll consider giving her my vote, but all the nonsense spouted here and elsewhere is highly insulting to my intelligence.
Great post. I’m not involved with the politics but clearly there are people spamming up this board with lots of total nonsense. Particularly if they’re blaming flooding not even in sugar lands jurisdiction on sugar land politics. Try reconciling that fact pointed out by another poster above. Lol.
Ah good to see the developer fan boys out again, I was getting lonely.
Joe must be getting nervous. In general he has kept his head down , and tried to pretend there isn't an election....low turn out helps his chances.
High density development is not what the majority citizens of Sugar Land want......if the Mayor and his cronies think it is, then they should offer to put it out on a referendum, and settle this quiet easily, but he won't. Its the developers, and the eco-system of people who make their living off them, that want to build high density housing in Sugar Land.
Not the citizens.
Any kind of development can be good or bad, if done correctly......the problem is to ensure it serves the interests of the people of Sugar Land, it needs to be reviewed and approved by those who have the best interests of Sugar Land in mind, and not those who are employed by the developers and the engineering firms.....Zimmerman is employed and supported by those industries, and focused on what they want. You simply cant trust him.
Why would he remove all limits on multi family housing from the draft land use plan?
I have put a great many links to newspaper articles here on the forum, backing up all my points, you have just spouted talking points, not proof.
High Density development is not something that improves schools, in general it stresses school resources, its only ever damaging to schools.
The only people who want high density development, are those who will benefit from it, that would be the developers who build and sell the apartments.
These same developers will someday use the decreasing quality of Sugar land Schools after they build the apartments , as one of the selling points of the new single family home developments that they will be selling out further along the new 99 Grand Parkway sections near George Ranch.
As for Zimmerman's performance during the flood.... there was one point in time where the county judge gave a live press conference discussing the need for evacuations in order to be safe.... Zimmerman not long afterward issued one of his rambling announcements that residents could return, evacuation was no longer necessary........shortly afterward the county judge came back on, more forcibly stating that it was absolutely important to evacuate the areas he had identified, including parts of Sugar Land.
Did Zimmerman say that because his developer friends didn't want to hurt home sales? don't know.
I don't trust him.
I don't know anyone who thought Zimmerman provided exemplary leadership during the flood.
Zimmerman and Costello may be to blame for the flooding, but I never said that.
Costello is now being sued by a great many people, and hopefully the courts will come to some conclusion.
Several local officials — including Houston’s “flood czar” ( Costello) and a neighboring county executive — said they had no idea the neighborhoods had been built inside the flood pools. Several real estate agents said they didn’t realize they were selling homes inside the pools.
“When I started to rent this house, nobody told me,” Boutor said. “Even the insurance company told me that it was not a flooding area.”
But critics say those officials and developers had to know they were putting people and property at risk.
“They had full knowledge. They knew exactly what they were doing,” said Phil Bedient, a professor of engineering at Rice University who studies flooding in the Houston area. “It’s a huge geopolitical mistake. How are they going to fix it?”
The truth is Costello and Zimmerman are close, Costello has been involved in two communities that flooded....Costello donates to Zimmeman, as they did to ex Mayor Thompson, who while he was still mayor of Sugar Land in 2011 , started "Levee Management Services" the company that manages most of the Levee Improvement Districts in the area....Thompson chose and anointed Zimmerman as his successor.....
These are simply facts......reported by newspapers.....everything else you are hearing from the Mayors fan boys is opinion......no links, no newspaper articles......smoke...they are blowing smoke, hoping that they can keep the focus off the facts.
While we are speaking about the great companies that our Mayor is supported by, here is another great article ( facts...facts....facts...) that
discusses how developers gain control of Planning and Zoning Boards, and then use those Boards to ensure that no serious questioning of projects presented to those boards is allowed.
The "L.S Pat Brown" in the article is the founder of Brown and Gray Engineering.....donors to Zimmerman.
Lee Lennard Engineer- Brown & Gray Engineers-$750
David Johnson Brown & Gray Engineers- $750
Costello-$500
Sugar Land has had developers and engineering company employees on the Planning and Zoning Commission for many years....appointed by the Mayor and City Council. The Mayor is an employee of an engineering firm that developed the Storm water Plan for the City of Sugar Land.
End this mess before it gets worse......Vote Zimmerman out.
Put an end to it...Vote Zimmerman out.
Last edited by SugLandDAd; 04-10-2018 at 11:03 PM..
The fan boys think that it is some "miracle" that only 230 houses flooded inside the city limits.....and that we should somehow be thankful to Zimmerman for what he did to protect us.......
I just wonder what those 230 families think?
miracle?
What do they think of the connections between Zimmerman, Thompson and Costello?
The fan boys think that it is some "miracle" that only 230 houses flooded inside the city limits.....and that we should somehow be thankful to Zimmerman for what he did to protect us.......
I just wonder what those 230 families think?
miracle?
What do they think of the connections between Zimmerman, Thompson and Costello?
I am no fanboy, however on a website that helps people research communities to Sugar Land, you are presenting SL in a bad light, something pointed out my myself and others.
Rather than spout the same narrative, point me to Diana's plan to resolve these issues as I have requested. I mentioned I was still an open vote and no way decided upon Zimmerman.
I go to her website and all I see is her promotional video about not shutting down a public pool, demanding that there must be "change" (I am supportive of this, but I wonder if there is really a demand for a public pool in SL). And a video referencing how development (like the branch of UH) is bad, using selective editing. While sad that some homes flooded, Sugar Land did relatively well during Harvey. Diane is using areas hit hard (Riverstone) but not in Sugar Land to make a faulty connection. But again I ask, did Diane sell homes in Riverstone?
I agree with you that we need better representation in city leadership, and fewer connections to developers would provide more check & balance. No disagreeing with that, however I will prefer to give my vote to the incumbent as it appears to be they are doing a great job.
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