The petition
To all condominium/townhome/apartment residents, businesses, public services facilities located on Sands Point, Tarnef, Hornwood, Demoss, High Star and Rookin St. who would be affected by Rookin Street closure:
We, Board of Directors representing six (6) complexes and businesses on Sands Point Drive, Tarnef Street, Rookin Street, and DeMoss of Houston, Texas hereby oppose the implementation of the street closure for the half block of Rookin Street between Sands Point Drive and High Star Drive.
Council Agenda Item #14 December 19th, 2006: Recommendation from Director Department of Public Works & Engineering, reviewed and approved by the Joint Referral Committee, on request from the Directors of the Building Services and Health and Human Services Departments of the City of Houston, in cooperation with Neighborhood Centers Inc., (NCI) (Angela Blanchard, President), for abandonment of Rookin Street, from Highstar Drive to Sandspoint Drive, located in the Sharpstown Industrial Park Section 6, out of the G. C. & S. F. R. R. Survey, Section 2, A-1026, Parcel IT7-005 - DISTRICT F - KHAN
Item # 14 - PASSED by Houston City Councils on December 20th, 2006.
January 26th, 2006 - Reply letter from the Mayor regarding residents protest:
Dear Citizen,
Thank you for your e-mail I received January 4th regarding the closing of Rookin Street. I appreciate having the benefit of your views, and I value your input.
After an analysis of traffic impacts was performed and studied, the closure of Rookin Street between Sandspoint and High Star was approved by City Council in December 2006. The one block section is being closed to provide adequate room for the development of a neighborhood center that will provide amenities and assistance to residents in the area.
Thank you for writing.
Sincerely,
Bill White
Mayor
PROBLEM WITH THE ABOVE REPLY FROM THE MAYOR:
The City's multi-services center and NCI Gulfton center will NOT be serving any local Sharpstown residents in the area. See link to NCI's description of their Gulfton Center. The Gulfton center will be serving residents from the Gulton Super Neighborhood which is NOT a part of Sharpstown Super Neighborhood (location described on Council Agenda # 14). See links for maps of Gulfton and Sharpstown Super Neighborhood. These Gulfton residents will NOT be affected by Rookin Street closing!!! What kind of adequate room and amenities that could be provided by closing a half-block street section with the length of about 6 car length? The so-called "analysis of street impacts" was done by NCI which appeared to be biased.
MAJOR PROBLEMS FOR THE ACTUAL LOCAL RESIDENTS:
The closing of Rookin would be very detrimental to the value of our property since it would divert more traffic to the remaining routes, particularly through Tarnef Drive which cuts directly through a residential family area of six (6) condominiums, townhomes and apartment complexes.
We can attest to the following facts and circumstances in support of our protest against the Rookin Street closure:
1. The subject route has residential usage of over 50% of residents from our condominium and townhouse complexes. This is the main route many of the local residents use to get to U.S. Post Office on Rookin.
2. By closing Rookin, all traffic from the four (4) condominiums and townhouses on Sands Point Drive, two (2) trucking & moving companies, a child care center, emergency vehicles and incoming traffic from US 59 would be diverted to Tarnef Drive.
3. Tarnef Drive is already heavily burdened by residential footage from five (5) condominiums, townhouses, apartment complexes, a Mosque, a Church, Harris County Hospital District Office, Harris County People’s Clinic, Twelve Oak Medical Clinics, not to mention residential vehicles from 5 complexes, Clinic’s patients and commercial 18 wheelers who park along Tarnef curbside.
4. The Homeowner's Associations representing all
homeowners and residents from at least six (6) townhouses and condominium complexes are NOT in support of this closure. It would affect all of the residents who live and work in this area, not to mention traffic jams at Mosque hours, Clinics hours, diverting traffics due to accidents on U.S. 59, etc.
5. There have been recurring flooding problems in typical rainstorms at the intersections of Sands Point @ Tarnef and Tarnef @ Hornwood. Diverting more traffic to these intersections would only create a burden for personal vehicles, commercial vehicles, emergency vehicles and pedestrians.
6. By proposing to close Rookin Street with the reason of enhancing the safety of pedestrians on Rookin, NCI and the City of Houston have severely overlooked the effects it would impose on near-by streets, particularly Tarnef Street, thereby defeating the very purpose they were trying to achieve in the first place. Pedestrians on Tarnef include students walking to and from 4 or 5 complexes on Tarnef to Jane Long Middle School, pedestrians walking to Harris County Hospital District, Harris County People’s Clinic, Moslem Mosque, Church, etc.
7. Council member M.J. Khan and City Department Directors at a Townhall meeting (requested by local residents) on July 19, 2006 have promised to carry out a thorough "traffic study", then they obtained our email addresses and said they would inform all Townhall meeting participants of any future Public Hearings so we could attend. They failed to keep their words. The only contact the local residents received was before the Townhall meeting from NCI initially seeking for approval from Board of Directors of ONE (1) single complex in the area. To this day, we have not seen any street studies made either by the City or by any City's contractors (independent from NCI). In fact, the single street analysis was initially completed by NCI itself.
None of the residents in the to-be-affected area have neither been informed of any Public Hearing nor Public Speaking Session on December 19 and even the City Council Vote on December 20, 2006. There was no "public notice or posting sign" announcing the intention to abandon Rookin St. section. Two months after the Council vote, there is still no public notice for the implementation of Rookin St. section abandonment. This is a clear VIOLATION of City's normal process & procedures on Neighbhorhood Traffic Project (see link on the right column). We happened to find out about the Rookin Council agenda by chance just 3 days before Council vote.
NCI's president, Angela Blanchard (her name even appeared on City's agenda), was seen greeted by at least 2 members of City of Houston City Councils before voting, a possible tie in relationship and possible connection that influenced Councils' decision.
Therefore, Rookin Street closing issue appeared to be a "done-deal" since the beginning. Even before Council vote, NCI probably already had the blessing from Council member M.J. Khan, among others, and City Department Directors.
We presented more than 200 signed petitions and spoke in front of City Councils. The Mayor left early without hearing. Our 200+ signatures meant nothing compared to the bus load of NCI's employees and people they brought in from somewhere else. The Councils voted without a single discussion on this matter.
We have nothing against the City's and NCI community centers and the service that would be provided for the Hispanic community. We are questioning the need to close down a public street without any consideration for the local residents and without following proper process of a Neighborhood Traffic Project. The City absolutely has no residential support on this closure, despite the fact that NCI constructed support from residents gathered from somewhere else mimicking the "real" local residents.
Therefore, the attached undersigned respectfully request that the closure decision for Rookin Street within the City of Houston, Texas, be immediately be put on halt for an independent and unbias study, be reconsidered or withdrawn.
Sincerely,
Homeowner Associations Attached
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