Guidelines for
Subcommittee Proposals
Now
that the various subcommittees for the CLC Green Plan Golf Course Reutilization
Advisory Group have started to work on their proposals, a number of questions
have come up about the current status and plans for the land. The following
will attempt to address some of these questions and can be used as a guideline
for considering options by the subcommittees.
Current
Status
The
CLC Water Authority Board has purchased the former Clear Lake Golf Course for
the purpose of adding stormwater detention capability consistent with the CLCWA
charter. Approximately 2038 acres drain into the land. Most of that drainage is
from the north and west sides of the golf course, but some of the land on the
other sides of the course also drain into it. This is only a portion of the
area known as Clear Lake City, but the stormwater detention provided by the
plan will help prevent flooding in much of the area through related impacts in
waterways like Horsepen Bayou.
The
land purchased by the Water Authority totals 178 acres. Hydrology studies
contracted by the Water Authority indicate that the Harris County standard of
detaining a 6 inch rain is insufficient to prevent significant flooding in
Clear Lake due to the heavier rainfall experienced in the southern part of
Harris County. By increasing the detention standard to accommodate a 12 inch
rain, the flooding potential in Clear Lake can be greatly reduced. This is the
standard the Water Authority has adopted, and the one they are trying to
accommodate with the former Golf Course land.
To
hold a 12 inch rainfall from the 2038 acres draining into the golf course land,
the average elevation must be reduced by 11.4 feet. This is a very simplistic
way of looking at the engineering involved, but it gives some idea of the
changes needed. The depth of the land can be easily calculated using the
following formula:
Depth = 2038 acres drained X 1 foot (12 inches) of
rainfall / 178 acres in the golf course
This
calculation sets the average depth, which is 11 and ½ feet. Since the
digging would not be straight down, and since some “set back” is needed to
prevent erosion by the stormwater runoff from the surrounding homes, the lowest
depth will be greater than the average, probably closer to 12 – 13 feet.
Drainage and other hydrology considerations will further adjust the specific
elevations at any specific location.
The
only unwavering standard from the Water Authority is that the land will be used
for stormwater detention, and it must be engineered to detain the 1 foot
rainfall from the 2038 acres draining to the land.
Since
the purchase of the land, the Water Authority has initiated the CLC Green Plan
Advisory Group and commissioned various subcommittees to recommend additional
“shared” uses for the land. The Water Authority has also hired SWA Landscape
Architects to assist in preparing a Master Plan to be used in further
negotiations with the City, Harris County, and Harris County Flood Control. The
Master Plan will also be used to apply for funding grants from businesses,
local, State and Federal agencies to construct and maintain the amenities that
will be planned for the shared uses of the land. At this time, a MASTER PLAN
DOES NOT EXIST. The Master Plan will be developed from decisions made by the
Water Authority; these decisions will be based on the recommendations of the
various subcommittees, recommendations from SWA, the Water Authority evaluation
of the feasibility of the various proposals, and the Water Authority evaluation
of the greatest benefit to the community from the amenities. The Master Plan will not be
the final design document. It is still a broad conceptual document laying out
the general direction the CLCWA intends to go, with many details yet to be
worked out.
The preliminary sketches created by SWA are not the Master Plan. The
sketches are merely potential concepts that carry no more weight than any
recommendations from the subcommittees. The sketches and concepts from SWA
should not be considered constraints or final plans in any manner.
Subcommittee
Constraints
The
only hard and fast constraint is that the land will be used to hold the one
foot rainfall from the 2038 acres being drained. The other constraints
presented at the May 10 Town Hall Meeting should be viewed as City, County or
Flood Control standards. These standards could be negotiated as long as the
intent of the standard is met by the proposals. In particular, the 30 foot
setback standard can be negotiated; SWA assumed that the setback could be
changed in developing their proposal. Subcommittees have this same capability
in developing their plans. However, when any of the secondary constraints from
the May 10 meeting are “violated” in a proposal, the Subcommittee should
highlight this as an area that will need to be negotiated between the Water
Authority and the other governmental bodies. Similarly the setback does not
have to be fixed at all locations. If it is desired to vary the setback to
accommodate large trees or other “nature preserves”, this can be considered as
long as the primary use of stormwater detention can be met. Please note that
the negotiation around these secondary standards is a Water Authority
responsibility. Subcommittees are free to recommend deviations from the
standards, but the negotiations regarding them will be done later by the Water
Authority during the subsequent development of the Master Plan.
Other
constraints like access and additional parking are likewise flexible. While it
is desired that no “hard surface” areas (concrete or asphalt) be added,
additional access and parking using permeable surfaces could be considered.
There are likely to be many requests for land near the existing hard surface
parking areas, so highlighting of alternate access and potential permeable
parking areas might be well received.
The
“constraints” created by the SWA proposal that uses much of the land as lakes
should not deter subcommittees from proposing alternate uses for the land. The
SWA concept has no more weight than any subcommittee proposal.
Conclusion
Both
the Clear Lake Green Plan Advisory Committee and the Water Authority want to
express our gratitude to the many volunteers who are working to develop
proposals. We see this effort as a key in defining the best uses for the land
that bring the greatest benefit to the entire community. We want your ideas and
concepts, and the ideas should not be fettered by unnecessary constraints from
any source. All ideas are welcome, and the Water Authority also wants to hear
any potential concerns so that they can better evaluate the various proposals.
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