"There is a lot of blue sky in this project. We think it needs to be looked at."
Trinity Uptown dominates forum
May. 11, 2006
By MAX B. BAKER
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006
FORT WORTH - The proposed $435 million Trinity Uptown project took center stage Wednesday night at the final candidate forum for the Tarrant Regional Water District candidates.
Supporters of the controversial development praised potential benefits to the city while detractors warned that it will cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
Eleven of the 13 candidates running in Saturday's election for two seats on the water board appeared at the forum near downtown Fort Worth. They also answered questions about water conservation, wetland projects, Trinity River flooding and managing the water level at Eagle Mountain Lake, a reservoir owned by the water district.
The candidates -- and questions from the audience -- kept steering the conversation back to Trinity Uptown, a project that would create a town lake and bypass channel through the near north side of Fort Worth, creating an 800-acre area for mixed-use development including housing, retail and commercial ventures.
Board member Gina Puente Brancato said the election is being seen inappropriately as a referendum on the project, which has been approved and is being jointly funded by the federal government, the water district, Fort Worth and other local taxing entities. She said the Army Corps of Engineers considers Trinity Uptown to be a model project
"It is in progress. The train has left the station," Brancato said. "It's not a referendum."
Candidates Tracey Smith and Clyde Picht reminded the audience that the election is the first time voters have really had a chance to express their opinion about Trinity Uptown and that they can send a message to the other three members of the board that they are upset.
"There is a lot of blue sky in this project," Smith said. "We think it needs to be looked at."
The water district is providing $64 million to Trinity Uptown, with the largest contribution, $217.5 million, coming from the federal government. Fort Worth is kicking in $26.6 million, Tarrant County $11 million. A tax increment financing district was established by Fort Worth and other taxing entities, and is expected to pour in another $115.9 million.
Supporters such as former Fort Worth City Councilman Jim Lane say Trinity Uptown is the only way to redevelop what has been described as a no man's land between the central business district and the historic Stockyards. Lane said that the development must be watched closely and that his experience in dealing with projects such as the Texas Motor Speedway while on the council gives him a unique perspective.
"We will control it? Will we let it get out of hand?" Lane asked. "We need to elect people with experience at that."
Opponents like candidate Ben Boothe wondered if there wasn't a less disruptive way to approach Trinity Uptown's primary mission of providing flood control. Boothe called the lake it creates a "downtown reflecting pool" for the "Seventh Street fat cats to walk on."
Besides Boothe, Picht and Smith, three other candidates oppose Trinity Uptown as it is proposed: Timothy Nold, Walter Stone and Mike Utt. Along with Brancato and Lane, five other candidates support it, but with reservations: Gary Alexander, J.R. Kimball, Marty Leonard, Marty Martinez and Tom Waltz.
The candidate forum at the Marquis on Magnolia was sponsored by the Fort Worth chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the League of Women Voters. Stone and Waltz did not attend the forum.
TRINITY UPTOWN FAQs
The $435 million Trinity Uptown project would create a town lake and bypass channel through the near north side of Fort Worth, making way for mixed-use development that would include housing, retail and commercial projects. Officials say the project will enhance flood control efforts while paving the way for redevelopment of the area.
Q: Will Trinity Uptown require the Tarrant Regional Water District to buy land for economic development?
A: The Tarrant Regional Water District will buy land necessary for the public infrastructure -- roads, bridges, dam, water features -- but not for the entire Trinity Uptown development, which will take in about 800 acres on the near north side of Fort Worth. Preliminary plans have identified 95 landowners who could be affected, but all of that land may be not be needed. Infrastructure planning started recently.
Q: Will the district have land to sell, and if so, how will it be sold?
A: Once the bypass channel and other infrastructure is completed, the district will tear down some of the existing levees along the Trinity River, creating about 150 acres of open land. The district will keep some of it -- the shoreline is to remain under public control. But some of the land may be sold or leased for development.
Q: While Congress is promising money for the project, how strong is the commitment, given the federal government's growing budget deficit and other projects such as rebuilding the New Orleans levees?
A: The federal government is expected to pay for about half of Trinity Uptown. The money will come from various departments, including the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, has persuaded Congress to authorize $110 million for the project, but the money has not been entirely appropriated. A cautionary note is that sometimes the amount of money sought in a request doesn't come through in full or when requested.
Q: There are a lot of fears about condemning land through eminent domain. How will landowners be compensated?
A: Under the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, the property needed for the project will be appraised and owners will be offered fair market value for land needed for such things as the bypass channel, bridges and dams. The businesses in the path of Trinity Uptown that must move will receive reasonable costs for relocating, including finding a new location, plus an allowance for re-establishing the business. The Constitution states that the government can't take private property without justly compensating the owner, and governmental entities have used eminent domain proceedings to condemn land for roads, reservoirs and other public projects. A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year reaffirmed the government's right to take land to eliminate blight for private development. The Texas Legislature recently passed a bill restricting the use of eminent domain, but approved exceptions that will allow condemnations for the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington and the Trinity Uptown project.
Sources: Tarrant Regional Water District, Star-Telegram archives and research
Max B. Baker, (817) 390-7714 maxbaker@star-telegram.com
© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.dfw.com
May. 11, 2006
By MAX B. BAKER
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006
FORT WORTH - The proposed $435 million Trinity Uptown project took center stage Wednesday night at the final candidate forum for the Tarrant Regional Water District candidates.
Supporters of the controversial development praised potential benefits to the city while detractors warned that it will cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
Eleven of the 13 candidates running in Saturday's election for two seats on the water board appeared at the forum near downtown Fort Worth. They also answered questions about water conservation, wetland projects, Trinity River flooding and managing the water level at Eagle Mountain Lake, a reservoir owned by the water district.
The candidates -- and questions from the audience -- kept steering the conversation back to Trinity Uptown, a project that would create a town lake and bypass channel through the near north side of Fort Worth, creating an 800-acre area for mixed-use development including housing, retail and commercial ventures.
Board member Gina Puente Brancato said the election is being seen inappropriately as a referendum on the project, which has been approved and is being jointly funded by the federal government, the water district, Fort Worth and other local taxing entities. She said the Army Corps of Engineers considers Trinity Uptown to be a model project
"It is in progress. The train has left the station," Brancato said. "It's not a referendum."
Candidates Tracey Smith and Clyde Picht reminded the audience that the election is the first time voters have really had a chance to express their opinion about Trinity Uptown and that they can send a message to the other three members of the board that they are upset.
"There is a lot of blue sky in this project," Smith said. "We think it needs to be looked at."
The water district is providing $64 million to Trinity Uptown, with the largest contribution, $217.5 million, coming from the federal government. Fort Worth is kicking in $26.6 million, Tarrant County $11 million. A tax increment financing district was established by Fort Worth and other taxing entities, and is expected to pour in another $115.9 million.
Supporters such as former Fort Worth City Councilman Jim Lane say Trinity Uptown is the only way to redevelop what has been described as a no man's land between the central business district and the historic Stockyards. Lane said that the development must be watched closely and that his experience in dealing with projects such as the Texas Motor Speedway while on the council gives him a unique perspective.
"We will control it? Will we let it get out of hand?" Lane asked. "We need to elect people with experience at that."
Opponents like candidate Ben Boothe wondered if there wasn't a less disruptive way to approach Trinity Uptown's primary mission of providing flood control. Boothe called the lake it creates a "downtown reflecting pool" for the "Seventh Street fat cats to walk on."
Besides Boothe, Picht and Smith, three other candidates oppose Trinity Uptown as it is proposed: Timothy Nold, Walter Stone and Mike Utt. Along with Brancato and Lane, five other candidates support it, but with reservations: Gary Alexander, J.R. Kimball, Marty Leonard, Marty Martinez and Tom Waltz.
The candidate forum at the Marquis on Magnolia was sponsored by the Fort Worth chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the League of Women Voters. Stone and Waltz did not attend the forum.
TRINITY UPTOWN FAQs
The $435 million Trinity Uptown project would create a town lake and bypass channel through the near north side of Fort Worth, making way for mixed-use development that would include housing, retail and commercial projects. Officials say the project will enhance flood control efforts while paving the way for redevelopment of the area.
Q: Will Trinity Uptown require the Tarrant Regional Water District to buy land for economic development?
A: The Tarrant Regional Water District will buy land necessary for the public infrastructure -- roads, bridges, dam, water features -- but not for the entire Trinity Uptown development, which will take in about 800 acres on the near north side of Fort Worth. Preliminary plans have identified 95 landowners who could be affected, but all of that land may be not be needed. Infrastructure planning started recently.
Q: Will the district have land to sell, and if so, how will it be sold?
A: Once the bypass channel and other infrastructure is completed, the district will tear down some of the existing levees along the Trinity River, creating about 150 acres of open land. The district will keep some of it -- the shoreline is to remain under public control. But some of the land may be sold or leased for development.
Q: While Congress is promising money for the project, how strong is the commitment, given the federal government's growing budget deficit and other projects such as rebuilding the New Orleans levees?
A: The federal government is expected to pay for about half of Trinity Uptown. The money will come from various departments, including the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, has persuaded Congress to authorize $110 million for the project, but the money has not been entirely appropriated. A cautionary note is that sometimes the amount of money sought in a request doesn't come through in full or when requested.
Q: There are a lot of fears about condemning land through eminent domain. How will landowners be compensated?
A: Under the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, the property needed for the project will be appraised and owners will be offered fair market value for land needed for such things as the bypass channel, bridges and dams. The businesses in the path of Trinity Uptown that must move will receive reasonable costs for relocating, including finding a new location, plus an allowance for re-establishing the business. The Constitution states that the government can't take private property without justly compensating the owner, and governmental entities have used eminent domain proceedings to condemn land for roads, reservoirs and other public projects. A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year reaffirmed the government's right to take land to eliminate blight for private development. The Texas Legislature recently passed a bill restricting the use of eminent domain, but approved exceptions that will allow condemnations for the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington and the Trinity Uptown project.
Sources: Tarrant Regional Water District, Star-Telegram archives and research
Max B. Baker, (817) 390-7714 maxbaker@star-telegram.com
© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Thursday, May 11, 2006
<< Home