HOUSTON – Sandra Edwards’ home on Lavender Street in the Fifth Ward has been in her family for generations. She moved back a few years ago and said she enjoys the peace she experiences.
“This is our family like 60, 70 years,” Edwards said. “It’s hard to part with your legacy where you grew up with.”
Edwards is considering a Houston City Council’s proposal plan that would relocate her and her neighbors elsewhere if they choose.
Last year, the Houston Health Department said it found cancer-causing chemicals in the soil around the Union Pacific Railroad yard. The soil contained dioxin, a highly toxic chemical compound associated with cancer and other severe health risks.
Edwards and others have begged city leaders to listen to their concerns about the rail yard. It’s the only thing she said that annoys her about her childhood neighborhood.
“That’s the only unneighborly people. You came into our community and destroyed it, but you don’t want to make peace with it,” said Edwards.
Houston council was set to vote on the Fifth Ward Voluntary Relocation Fund Wednesday morning until Council member Letitia Plummer tagged it. A tag means a council member delays a vote on the matter by one week.
The move seemed to catch Mayor Sylvester Turner by surprise.
“Quite frankly to wait, is waiting for what? What are we waiting for? For somebody else to die? For some other child to be diagnosed? What are we waiting for,” Turner asked. “I am really, really outdone by motion to even tag this item. It is your right, but people have waited long enough.”
Plummer fired back. She said she agrees with the funding but needs more time to inform people in the impacted areas.
“I want them to be safe, but I also want them to understand what they’re dealing with to ensure they are; we carry them through the entire process, and we don’t just move seven families. We move every single person that wants to move,” Plummer said. “So, the fact that, respectfully Mayor Turner, you insinuate that I don’t care, and I’m not compassionate about this community is short of offensive.”
Turner wants to use $5 million dollar from the general fund to create the Fifth Ward Voluntary Relocation Fund. If approved, the city would help those who live in the Fifth Ward/Kashmere Gardens “living in proximity to the contaminated Union Pacific Railroad site” elsewhere.
“The Fifth Ward/Kashmere Gardens is a historically disadvantaged and underserved community that has experienced a variety of detrimental health effects including cancers. Upon request by HHD, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) conducted a cancer cluster assessment for the census tracts surrounding the site and found that there were 5 different types of cancer observed (larynx, liver, lung, and bronchus, childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and esophagus) that were statistically higher than expected,” according to the city council agenda item.
Plummer said her hesitation with the plan, as it currently reads, is fear no other entity will add to it.
“I want to make sure the community understands what they are dealing with. They need to understand the $5 million is seed money,” Plummer said. “If we’re going to expect UP [Union Pacific], expect the EPA, expect the Commissioners Court to approve additional funds of upwards of $30 million dollars we need to make sure all of our ducks are in a row. You know as much as I do that our community has been disappointed over and over and over again.”
KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun spoke with a representative of Union Pacific on whether they’d contribute to the fund. The spokesperson did not answer his questions but said the company will “listen, maintain transparency, and work collaboratively with the community while keeping its best interests at the forefront of our actions.”
As for Edwards, she supports the pause.
“We didn’t think that this was ever going to happen; not that we didn’t pray on it,” she said. “Our prayers are being answered but we do have things we need to do first before we can take that.”
A frequently asked question page, the city is working with the Houston Land Bank and Community Land Trust to draft an agreement to work with homeowners.
WHAT IS THE EXPECTED COST OF A NEW HOME? Current market conditions for the homebuilders used by HLB and CLT are $250,000 for a three-bedroom/two-bath house with an attached garage. Once the City appraises and purchases the existing home from the homeowner, those funds will be applied to the cost of the new home and the City will provide the balance of the construction costs. In addition, soft costs including appraisal, title searches, closing, demolition, and administration are conservatively estimated to be approximately $100,000.00.
WHAT OPTION WILL BE OFFERED TO RENTERS? An amount of up to $10,000 will be offered to renters which will cover the first and last month’s rent and moving expenses. Renters will be given $5,000.00 upon evidence of a lease outside of the contamination area and the remaining $5,000 upon evidence of a utility bill at the new location.
UNION PACIFIC STATEMENT:
“Our goal is to listen, maintain transparency, and work collaboratively with the community while keeping its best interests at the forefront of our actions. Union Pacific is fully committed to following through with the additional testing that all parties, including the city of Houston, agreed is necessary. We are currently in the neighborhood seeking formal permission from residents to conduct these critical soil samples once the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approves the testing plan. This additional testing will provide the essential data needed to make informed decisions regarding any required additional remediation.” - Robynn Tysver, Union Pacific Railroad Communications
