VOL 10 No. 24
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2017
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Missouri City
Pecan Grove residents to sue county over Owens Road connection By SESHADRI KUMAR The Board of Directors of Pecan Grove Plantation Property Owners Association has unanimously voted to engage an attorney “to protect the property owners and children of Pecan Grove from the ill advised proposed direct connection of Owens Road to Plantation Dr.” Fort Bend County Commissioners Court on June 6 awarded the construction contract for Owens Road paving and drainage improvements at a cost of $936,000. It is one of the Mobility Bond projects in Commissioner James Patterson’s Precinct 4. Owens Road will be connected to Harlem Drive at the signalized intersection, where Plantation Drive meets Harlem. Pecan Grove residents have been opposing the proposed Owens Road connection for more than two years now. Pecan Grove itself is in Commissioner Andy Meyers’ Precinct 3. The county is connecting Owens Road at the signalized intersection. If the road is connected to Harlem a few hundred feet away from Plantation, there will be no signal and it will be a safety hazard to cross over a four-lane boulevard, according to the county. On June 6, two residents spoke during the public hearing, opposing the Owens Road con-
nection. Some of the reasons for the opposition are that Plantation Drive was not intended for heavy traffic and the road has not been built to withstand heavy traffic; there is a school at the intersection and the increased traffic will endanger the safety of students and parents waiting to pickup their children; people drive slowly through the historic Christmas lights in Pecan Grove. Owens Road, originally a small road meant for the prison property traffic, was given to the county and it was not meant to become a major east-west thoroughfare, another speaker said. He appealed to the commissioners court to alleviate the traffic congestion and help preserve the ambience, safety and property value of Pecan Grove residents. In May, residents in PGPOA, sent a letter to Commissioner James Patterson, opposing the direct connection of Owens Road as a regional thoroughfare to directly connect to Plantation Drive, where one of the schools for neighborhood children is located. “This thoroughfare will require our children at the middle school to have to walk along and cross this major thoroughfare just behind a hidden levee. This is a major health and safety concern for our children and residents. We have engaged Counsel to take any and all steps reasonably possible to prevent this di-
rect connection of Owens Road to Plantation Drive. “On behalf of our 2139 property owners and residents, we implore you to use all of your powers to help protect the health, safety and welfare of our neighborhood children and residents. “We implore you to prevent the direct connection of Owens Road to Plantation Drive. It would be reprehensible to allow this project to go forward without opposition in the event a child is injured or killed.” Patterson made a presentation to the residents on the “Owens Road” project and why it should be re-routed to meet Plantation Drive. But, the POA Board agreed with Pecan Grove residents that this action will have an adverse effect on the community. “The overwhelming majority of questions centered around the large increase in vehicles pouring onto Plantation. And as much as Commissioner Patterson attempted to express his opinion, the audience did not agree.” Commissioner Meyers attended the Pecan Grove POA meeting last week. In his presence, the board voted to take legal action against the proposed Owens Road connection. Meyers, on legal advice, declined to make any comment on the Owens Road connection in view of the impending litigation.
Missouri City updates comprehensive plan By BARBARA FULENWIDER The proposed amendments to Missouri City’s 2009 comprehensive plan were voted on by Missouri City Council members at their June 5 meeting and there weren’t many changes to them. Mayor Allen Owen brought up the fact that “flex zoning” was not being understood by residents and that industrial rather than commercial was also upsetting citizens. So, Jennifer Gomez, with the city’s development services, explained that flex zoning means flexibility in multiple land uses -- flex portion comes with flex space. Then she explained that the city’s zoning in its business parks currently “allow for commercial, retail and certain industrial uses.” Gomez said since 1981 the planned community development option has been used by the city to mix uses and provide flexibility. Owen said, “The whole purpose for this is what we can do to add to the Texas Parkway corridor, 1092 and Cartwright with different types of businesses, different tax base, more employment opportunities -- take the tax burden off homeowners. “We need to be looking at things that would make jobs for our citizens.” Sixty-eight percent of the city’s tax revenues come from residential rooftops, the mayor said. “We need to look at ways we can revitalize those three corridors.” District A Council Member Yolanda Ford, told council that her constituents do not want any more warehouses in their district. “This plan really leaves it open. It’s not about flex or flexibility. My constituents are having problems with all the recommendations in here.” She said they do not want another nail place or dollar store or any more fast food restaurants and no distribution,
no type of logistics. “We don’t want trucks going through the neighborhood. They will riot if we put another warehouse in their neighborhood,” Ford said. Sue Darcy, with Marsh Darcy Partners, a land and policy planning firm, stepped to the podium and said, the recommendations she gave council are “a menu for you to decide for your constituents what they are willing to have. “Our recommendations are to capture those things that have market potential. It’s a snapshot of what you look like now. What we’re saying is take what the market plan says and account the needs and wants of your particular residents. You look along your corridors and we are submitting that those uses aren’t viable there. We are giving you a palate you can choose from.” The consultant went on to say that she and her group also questioned using the term industrial from the very beginning. “We recommend you scrub your zoning ordinance for nomenclature – traffic and setbacks are all components of that along with noise, lighting, etc. You will have to look at all that.” She concluded by saying, “You have information you’ve never had before. We’ve tried to introduce a concept to you in broad categories and most importantly tried to create some jobs. Your whole issue is your daytime population. At no way are your concerns at odds with our recommendations.” At-Large Position 1 Councilman Jerry Wyatt said to be flexible means zoning changes and Darcy said absolutely. Each zoning ordinance may be different for each corridor, Darcy said. She told council they should not unilaterally rezone anything until a market condition/demand is there and then only rezone for that.
Ford then said she wants to take out the word industrial from the conversation. “I don’t want this road map we have to even leave that conversation on the See PLAN, Page 3
Carol McCutcheon wins Sugar Land City Council race By SESHADRI KUMAR In Sugar Land’s District 4 city council runoff election, Carol McCutcheon with 1,304 votes defeated Q. Imam, who got 973 votes on June 10. In an unusual trend, in the runoff election, more people voted than in the May 6 general election. On May 6, out of the 14,401 registered voters in the district, only 1,931 people voted. In the runoff election last Saturday, 2,286 people voted. In the three-way contest on May 6, McCutcheon got the maximum of 702 votes, followed by Imam with 653 votes and Sean Burnett, finished third with 576 votes. It may be safe to assume that McCutcheon got most of Burnett’s votes, but Imam also seems to have gotten a share of Burnett’s votes. At least 355 people who did not vote on May 6, voted in the runoff, but they cannot be labelled as Burnett voters. Out of eight voting precincts, the turnout was about the same in three voting precincts. But in five others, the new voters were more in numbers. For example, in Telfair (Pct. 4135) 174 voted in the runoff against 150 in the May 6 election. Telfair has a total of 489 registered voters. In Telfair, Imam got 90 votes and McCutcheon 84 votes. McCutcheon got one vote less than her May 6 tally here, while Imam improved his votes from 64 to 90. Burnett got one vote in the May 6 election here. Next, in Avalon at Telfair (Pct. 4102) the highest num-
McCutcheon ber of 495 people cast their votes, 135 people more than in the May 6 election. There are 2,343 registered voters in this precinct. Here Imam got his highest total of 320 votes to McCutcheon’s 175. McCutcheon improved her total votes in this precinct from 82 to 175 and Imam increased it from 236 to 320. Burnett had received 42 votes here. In Pct. 4047, between Lexington and Sweetwater Blvd., McCutcheon’s own neighborhood, the turnout was slightly higher in the runoff, with 229 people voting, against 197 in the May 6 election. Here McCutcheon trounced Imam with 197 votes to 32 polled by Imam. The number of registered voters here is 886. In the May 6 election, McCutcheon got 172 votes here and Imam 16, with Burnett receiving 9 votes. In Sweetwater (4119) 497 people voted in the runoff and 368 voted in the May 6 election. Here McCutcheon got 285 votes and Imam 210 votes. The number of registered voters here is 3,277. In
Sweetwater, in the May 6 election, Burnett got 146 votes, followed by McCutcheon with 136 and Imam 110. In Riverstone, (4129), McCutcheon got 285 and Imam 207. In the May 6 election, 336 votes were divided among Imam 167 votes, Burnett 146 votes and McCutcheon 123 votes. Here, Imam lost his lead to McCutcheon. McCutcheon actively wooed Burnett’s voters as a sure strategy to win. Since, both Imam and McCutcheon did not differ much on issues or in their platform, the choice boiled down to personalities and who knew who. It would be naive to think that ethnicity did not have an impact on the election outcome, though it was not a dominant issue. In the neighboring Pearland City Council race, Democrats played a role and a Muslim woman candidate ran unsuccessfully. In Sugar Land, the Republican Party officially endorsed McCutcheon because Imam is a Democrat. The party did not care about city elections being non-partisan and the justification is that Democrats have done the same thing in school board and Missouri City elections. As a countervailing force, Imam was supported by many Indian-Americans as well and outgoing Councilman Harish Jajoo endorsed him. In the past 20 years, at least four Muslim candidates, including Imam, have run unsuccessfully for Sugar Land City Council.
National Charity League welcomes Sugar Land chapter
The National Charity League, Inc., Sugar Land Jewels Chapter (NCL, Inc.) held its first Spring Kick Off meeting on April 27th at the T.E. Harman Center in Sugar Land. With over 200 members, the NCL, Inc., Sugar Land Jewels Chapter has a strong future in the city. National Charity League, Inc. is a non-profit national organization of mother-daughter members in chapters throughout 26 states. The mission of NCL, Inc. is to foster Mother-Daughter relationships in a philanthropic organization committed to community service, leadership development, and cultural experiences. The vision of NCL, Inc., is through the Mother-Daughter
relationship, NCL, Inc., will develop strong women leaders serving and impacting their communities today and for generations to come. The members experience these areas while providing support to the local communities as their daughters develop into young women. The NCL, Inc., Sugar Land Jewels chapter was founded by Chapter President, Felicia Smith. “When I heard of the NCL, Inc. chapters in Houston, I immediately wanted a chapter in Sugar Land. I knew it would be perfect for me and my daughter, Gaby. I love the three pillars of NCL and how it begins in middle school versus high school. 7th and 8th grades are such formative years for a girl. It is
amazing to volunteer side-byside with your daughter! NCL definitely nurtures the Mother Daughter bond like no other organization!” said Felicia Smith, the Chapter President. To help make her dream a reality, Smith invited eight members of the community to join her on the Board of Directors last summer. To begin their philanthropic journey, the Sugar Land Jewels Chapter selected four initial philanthropies in which to serve this summer: Gigi’s Playhouse Sugar Land, Hope for Three, Fort Bend Seniors -Meals on Wheels, and the Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center. They look forward to working with them and adding more philanthropies as their membership grows.
National Charity League, Inc., Sugar Land Jewels Chapter currently has 207 members and provides hands-on volunteer service for 4 philanthropic organizations in the community. Members are women and their daughters in grades 7-12. Through this community service, NCL, Inc. develops socially responsible community leaders and strengthens the mother-daughter relationship. The traditional six-year core program also includes leadership development and cultural activities. Mother-daughter teams nationwide are responsible, dedicated, skilled volunteers actively engaged in local community work in 26 states across the country.