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Thursday
March 18, 2010 Since 1922 |
Group voices opposition to terminal
By Jane Howard Lee
Contributor Published November 14, 2009 The Friends of Cedar Bayou United organization hopes concerned citizens will show up at a Wednesday meeting of the Cedar Bayou Navigation District board to voice opposition to the proposed barge terminal on Cedar Bayou.
The non-profit organization was formed primarily to oppose that terminal project, which it says would have a decidedly negative impact on a Baytown waterfront park and the people who enjoy it, as well as on residents along the bayou and anyone who uses the waterway for recreational purposes, such as fishermen, water sports enthusiasts and bird watchers. The organization also fervently believes that the proposed barge terminal would be detrimental to the area’s habitats and marine life.
The Cedar Bayou Navigation District board will meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday at the Cedar Bayou Community Building, located at 7711 N. Highway 146.
The CBND board has “broad authority to govern and regulate all activities on Cedar Bayou,” according to an opinion handed down by the Texas Attorney General in 2008. The Friends of Cedar Bayou hope the board will use that authority to quash plans for the barge terminal/repair facility, which would be built on Cedar Bayou, just across the waterway from Baytown’s Roseland Park.
“We have been told that proponents of the barge terminal are expected to be there to show support for this construction so we are trying to get the word out to all area residents, especially those who live along Cedar Bayou, to come to the meeting so that their concerns about the proposed barge terminal and the impending formulation of regulations concerning Cedar Bayou may be known,” said Cindy Coker, president of the Friends of Cedar Bayou United.
The barge terminal proposal came to light about two years ago.
A resident of Chambers County, Johnnie Jennings Jr. first applied for a boat slip permit on the property through the Army Corps of Engineers more than 25 years ago. Two years ago, developer Richardson WaterRail proposed leasing an 80-acre tract of land across from Roseland Park from the business partnership that includes Jennings. The plans call for removal of a strip of land and construction of a barge dock on two sides of a U-shaped cutout along the bayou.
The project would be built within view and hearing range of Baytown’s park, picnic areas and boat ramp.
Baytown city officials recently gathered information and fired off a package of documents to the Corps of Engineers to protest a request for an extension to the permit to build the barge terminal. The Friends of Cedar Bayou sent a smaller but heartfelt communication to the Corps. Both requested that a public hearing be held to allow the Corps to hear just how people feel about the proposed barge terminal and what its effects would be on the area and its residents.
The meeting of the Cedar Bayou Navigation District board will provide a similar opportunity.
“This meeting might be the only chance that citizens will have to voice their opinion before the Cedar Bayou Navigation District makes a formal draft of the regulations that will govern Cedar Bayou in the future,” said Coker in a communication to supporters. “This decision could possibly set a precedent for other area in our counties, where commercial interests and environmental/private interests are in direct conflict with one another.”
“We want to ensure that the general public’s interests are taken into consideration, as well as commercial interests. The City of Baytown has two representatives on the Board, who have been working hard to make sure that these interests are protected and that the bayou remains an area where citizens will be able to continue to take advantage of the recreational boating and fishing opportunities that make Cedar Bayou such a vital part of this community.”
Contributor Published November 14, 2009 The Friends of Cedar Bayou United organization hopes concerned citizens will show up at a Wednesday meeting of the Cedar Bayou Navigation District board to voice opposition to the proposed barge terminal on Cedar Bayou.
The non-profit organization was formed primarily to oppose that terminal project, which it says would have a decidedly negative impact on a Baytown waterfront park and the people who enjoy it, as well as on residents along the bayou and anyone who uses the waterway for recreational purposes, such as fishermen, water sports enthusiasts and bird watchers. The organization also fervently believes that the proposed barge terminal would be detrimental to the area’s habitats and marine life.
The Cedar Bayou Navigation District board will meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday at the Cedar Bayou Community Building, located at 7711 N. Highway 146.
The CBND board has “broad authority to govern and regulate all activities on Cedar Bayou,” according to an opinion handed down by the Texas Attorney General in 2008. The Friends of Cedar Bayou hope the board will use that authority to quash plans for the barge terminal/repair facility, which would be built on Cedar Bayou, just across the waterway from Baytown’s Roseland Park.
“We have been told that proponents of the barge terminal are expected to be there to show support for this construction so we are trying to get the word out to all area residents, especially those who live along Cedar Bayou, to come to the meeting so that their concerns about the proposed barge terminal and the impending formulation of regulations concerning Cedar Bayou may be known,” said Cindy Coker, president of the Friends of Cedar Bayou United.
The barge terminal proposal came to light about two years ago.
A resident of Chambers County, Johnnie Jennings Jr. first applied for a boat slip permit on the property through the Army Corps of Engineers more than 25 years ago. Two years ago, developer Richardson WaterRail proposed leasing an 80-acre tract of land across from Roseland Park from the business partnership that includes Jennings. The plans call for removal of a strip of land and construction of a barge dock on two sides of a U-shaped cutout along the bayou.
The project would be built within view and hearing range of Baytown’s park, picnic areas and boat ramp.
Baytown city officials recently gathered information and fired off a package of documents to the Corps of Engineers to protest a request for an extension to the permit to build the barge terminal. The Friends of Cedar Bayou sent a smaller but heartfelt communication to the Corps. Both requested that a public hearing be held to allow the Corps to hear just how people feel about the proposed barge terminal and what its effects would be on the area and its residents.
The meeting of the Cedar Bayou Navigation District board will provide a similar opportunity.
“This meeting might be the only chance that citizens will have to voice their opinion before the Cedar Bayou Navigation District makes a formal draft of the regulations that will govern Cedar Bayou in the future,” said Coker in a communication to supporters. “This decision could possibly set a precedent for other area in our counties, where commercial interests and environmental/private interests are in direct conflict with one another.”
“We want to ensure that the general public’s interests are taken into consideration, as well as commercial interests. The City of Baytown has two representatives on the Board, who have been working hard to make sure that these interests are protected and that the bayou remains an area where citizens will be able to continue to take advantage of the recreational boating and fishing opportunities that make Cedar Bayou such a vital part of this community.”