SUBJECT: Motion establishing a date for a public hearing on the proposal to use 1,940 square feet (0.0445 acres) of the Bayou Greenways – Hall Access land for the FWSD#23 Tunnel and 14,110 square feet for temporary construction staging area within the park.
RECOMMENDATION: Approve a motion establishing a date for a public hearing on the proposal to proposal to use 1,940 square feet (0.0445 acres) of the Bayou Greenways – Hall Access land for the FWSD#23 Tunnel for a variable width utility corridor in conjunction with the replacement of an existing 24-inch water line aerial crossing along W. Tidwell at Halls Bayou.
SPECIFIC EXPLANATION: The city acquired 1,940 square feet (0.0445 acres) of land (Parcel BY15-071) as part of Bayou Greenways, an integrated system of connected linear parks with walking, running and bicycle trails along the City’s major bayous. Houston Public Works has identified a need for the existing 48-inch wastewater line (WWL) and three-barrel siphon that conveys sewer flow from the north side of Halls Bayou be replaced with a deep 60-inch gravity sewer crossing under Halls Bayou and connecting to a deep influent lift station at the FWSD #23 Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) that was built in 2017. The new gravity sewer will be installed via Micro tunneling. In addition to the utility corridor, a staging area within the park property will be required for construction activities consisting of total area of 14,110 square feet (0.324 acres).
Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Chapter 26 requires the City to publish three public notices and hold a public hearing prior to authorizing the use or taking of park land for non-park purposes. Notices will be published in the Houston Chronicle on October 9, 2023, October 16, 2023, and October 23, 2023. The proposed date of the public hearing is Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. in City Council Chambers, 901 Bagby Street, 2nd Floor, Houston, Texas. At a later date, an ordinance will be presented to Council to make findings relating to the public hearing.
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Kenneth Allen, Director
Houston Parks and Recreation Department
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Carol Ellinger Haddock, P.E., Director
Houston Public Works
WBS No. R-000265-131A-4