You know that when chemical companies (Greater Houston Partnership), environmentalists, home builders and politicians all agree, either hell has frozen over or there is hope for all of us! Coalition backs parks as quality-of-life issue By MIKE SNYDER Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle Business, political and environmental leaders joined forces Wednesday behind a major initiative to expand Houston's parks system, beautify its public spaces, reduce visual blight and develop new recreational amenities. Completion of the city's parks master plan, to be funded in part through a $400 million bond issue, is a key element in the recommendations announced by the Quality of Life Coalition. The group was formed last fall by business and environmental leaders who discovered areas where their interests converged and began lining up support. The success of these grass-roots efforts was evident at Wednesday's news conference, where representatives of some 30 groups ranging from the Katy Prairie Conservancy to the Greater Houston Partnership held up signs bearing the groups' names to show their support. While environmentalists have long called for more park development and beautification efforts, business leaders recently have recognized that such measures are necessary for their companies and the broader community to prosper, said Charles McMahen, vice chairman of Compass Bank. "Studies show that skilled workers want to live in cities they can be proud of and that offer them outstanding outdoor recreational opportunities," said McMahen, a Quality of Life Coalition member representing the Greater Houston Partnership. "I'm a businessman, and I support this agenda because I believe it is absolutely essential to the economic life of this city." Mayor Lee Brown said he intends to submit the parks master plan to the City Council soon for approval. The estimated cost of its first phase is $520 million, including $400 million from a bond issue and the remainder from unidentified philanthropic sources. City officials have not decided whether to ask voters to approve bonds solely for parks or to include additional money to cover library development, Brown said. Nor have they determined whether a tax increase would be required to support the bonds, he said. In general, however, Brown said he believes Houstonians are prepared to pay for improvements to parks and other public amenities. The breadth of support reflected in the Quality of Life Coalition is evidence of this, he said. "This coalition is something that I believe is God-sent," Brown said. Homebuilder Richard Weekley, a coalition leader, said that in polls commissioned by the group, voters by a 2-to-1 margin said they would be willing to pay higher taxes for more parks. Coalition leaders said the master plan would help to make Houston competitive in the area of parks and green space. Houston now has 17.6 acres of park land per 1,000 people, the coalition said, compared to 20.7 acres in Dallas, 27.9 acres in Austin, 31.5 acres in Phoenix, Ariz., and 39.5 acres in Denver. The National Recreation and Parks Association standard, the group said, is 21 to 31 acres per 1,000 people. In addition to the parks recommendations, the coalition called for: · Extensive tree-planting and landscaping along freeways, interchanges and city thoroughfares. · Passage of a city ordinance requiring that 1 percent of capital and special facility budgets be dedicated for trees and landscaping. · Strict enforcement of city ordinances that require tree-planting and landscaping in private developments, and examining the possibility of strengthening these requirements. · Development of attractive visual landscapes at places where visitors gain their first impressions of Houston, such as city airports. · Establishment of a system of canoe trails. · Enforcement of billboard removals required by city ordinances, passage of state legislation prohibiting new billboard construction in Texas and creation of scenic districts where additional restrictions on billboards and other signs are imposed. · Enhancement of efforts to clean up litter and graffiti, establishment of programs to acquire and develop tax-delinquent properties, and promotion of new public relations campaigns to discourage littering. Weekley said various coalition members have been assigned to brief public officials about the group's proposals and begin translating them into policy. This process has been under way for several months and is continuing, he said. Bob Eury, president of the downtown business group Central Houston, said the coalition's broad support and the track record of some of its leaders will help it get the attention of policy-makers. Weekley, who has been instrumental in persuading lawmakers to pass tort reform legislation, could be a particularly potent advocate, Eury said. "I think his persistence on this issue has already turned some heads," Eury said. ------------------ The internet is about the free exchange and sale of other people's ideas. - Futurama
