The Consequences From Unchecked Development Without Zoning Laws

While there has been plenty of news about hurricane Harvey and the flood in Houston, there hasn't been much news about an important, related issue which affects all taxpayers. This report by the QZ site highlights the consequences of unchecked development while ignoring environmental concerns:

"... Houstonians have been treating its wetlands as stinky, mosquito-infested blots in need of drainage. Even after it became a widely accepted scientific fact that wetlands can soak up large amounts of flood water, the city continued to pave over them. The watershed of the White Oak Bayou river, which includes much of northwest Houston, is a case in point. From 1992 to 2010, this area lost more than 70% of its wetlands, according to research (pdf) by Texas A&M University."

Unchecked development affects all taxpayers when federal bailout money is spent to repair the damage in areas subject to repeated, frequent floods:

"... the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey has raised water levels in some parts of the watershed high enough to completely cover a Cadillac. The vanished wetlands wouldn’t have prevented flooding, but they would have made it less painful, experts say. The Harvey-wrought devastation is just the latest example of the consequences of Houston’s gung-ho approach to development. The city, the largest in the US with no zoning laws, is a case study in limiting government regulations and favoring growth—often at the expense of the environment. As water swamps many of its neighborhoods, it’s now also a cautionary tale of sidelining science and plain common sense..."

The consequences from lax laws favoring unchecked development:

"Wetland loss... The construction of flood-prone buildings in flood plains is another one: The elderly residents of La Vita Bella, a nursing home in Dickinson, east of Houston, were up to their waists in water before they got rescued. The home is within the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) designated flood zone... too few people have flood insurance. Although federal rules require certain homeowners to carry it, those rules are based on outdated flood data. Only a little over a quarter of the homes in “high risk” areas in Harris County, where Houston sits, have flood insurance."

So, not everyone who should be is paying their fair share (via flood insurance). And, it seems that things will get worse. All of the above was:

"... before [President] Trump came into office and started removing layers of regulation. Just 10 days before Harvey struck, the president signed an executive order that rescinded federal flood protection standards put in place by his predecessor, Barack Obama. FEMA and the US Housing and Urban Development Department, the two federal agencies that will handle most of the huge pile of cash expected for the rebuilding of Houston, would have been forced to require any rebuilding to confirm to new, safer codes. Now, they won’t."

Lax laws allowing the repair and construction of new buildings in high-risk areas subject to repeated flooding sounds foolish. It's basically throwing taxpayers' hard-earned money out the window. Do you want to pay for this? I don't. A few local developers may get rich, but at the expense of taxpayers nationwide.

There are always consequences -- intended and unintended. Be sure to demand that your elected officials consider and understand them.