HomeMy WebLinkAbout18897 RES - 06/25/1985A RESOLUTION
URGING THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TO CORRECT THE
PROPOSED BOUNDARIES OF UNDEVELOPED COASTAL BARRIERS SO AS TO
EXCLUDE MUSTANG ISLAND AND THE PORTION OF PADRE ISLAND IN
NUECES COUNTY AND ASSOCIATED AQUATIC HABITATS, AND TO REJECT
THE CONSERVATION ALTERNATIVE ADVOCATING THE PROHIBITION OF
FEDERAL ASSISTANCE AND REPAIR OF PROPERTY DAMAGE IN
DEVELOPED AREAS DAMAGED BY STORMS; AND DECLARING AN
EMERGENCY.
WHEREAS, Mustang Island and Padre Island are important residential,
commercial, recreational, environmental, and economical resources to the Corpus
Christi area; and
WHEREAS, a substantial portion of Mustang Island and Padre Island and
associated aquatic habitat is owned and managed by state and local government;
and
WHEREAS, Mustang Island and the portion of Padre Island in Nueces
County are excluded from the coastal barrier resources system of undeveloped
barrier islands based on the presence of existing developments; and
WHEREAS, the draft report to Congress on the coastal barrier resources
system prepared by the U.S. Department of the Interior dated April 1985
erroneously proposed to list the State owned submerged lands adjacent to
Mustang Island as undeveloped; and
WHEREAS, the draft report further erroneously proposed to add the
State Park on Mustang Island and two Nueces County Parks on Padre Island to the
list of undeveloped areas; and
WHEREAS, the draft report also proposed a conservation alternative
providing for reclassifying the areas of developed lands damaged by a storm as
undeveloped, thereby prohibiting federal assistance to the repair of storm
damage; and
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 15434 on March 26,
1980, urging the Secretary of the Interior to recommend the low level
alternative described in the report entitled Alternative Policies for Protecting
Barrier Islands and draft Environmental Impact Statement continuing those
programs administered by federal agencies affecting barrier islands which are
reasonable and workable, and urging the U.S. Congress to reject any proposal for
barrier islands which would prohibit development, which would prohibit federal
assistance to the repair of property damage by a natural disaster, or which
would prohibit the sale of National Flood Insurance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 16858 on February 10,
1982, responding to a new draft proposal dated January 1982 of the U.S.
03P.063.01
18897 MICROFILMED
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Department of Interior which would have included all of Mustang Island north of
Mustang Island State Park and south of the City of Port Aransas within the
boundary of undeveloped coastal barriers and urging that Mustang Island be
excluded; and
WHEREAS, designation of areas on and adjacent to Mustang Island and
the portion of Padre Island in Nueces County as undeveloped coastal barriers
would lead to a ban on the sale of National Flood Insurance and other federal
assistance in the areas so designated, and would no doubt lead to future efforts
by federal agencies to prevent further development and to eliminate existing
development;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS:
SECTION 1. That the Coastal Barrier Studies Group of the U.S.
Department of the Interior and the Secretary of the Interior be urged to correct
the proposed boundaries of undeveloped coastal barriers so as to exclude Mustang
Island and the portion of Padre Island in Nueces County and associated aquatic
habitats and to reject the conservation alternative advocating the prohibition
of federal assistance and repair of property damage in developed areas damaged
by storms.
SECTION 2. That the City Secretary be directed to forward copies of
this Resolution to the Coastal Barriers Study Group of the U.S. Department of
the Interior, the Secretary of the Interior, the members of Congress
representing this area, and the Governor of Texas.
SECTION 3. That upon written request of the Mayor or five Council
members, copy attached, to find and declare an emergency due to the necessity to
urge the federal government to correct the proposed boundaries of the
undeveloped coastal barriers so as to recognize the existing development and to
exclude portions of Mustang Island and Padre Island from said boundaries in
order to avoid the establishment of an unwarranted ban on the sale of National
Flood Insurance and the prohibition of federal assistance and repair of storm
damage, such finding of an emergency is made and declared requiring suspension
of the Charter rule as to consideration and voting upon ordinances or
resolutions at three regular meetings so that this resolution is passed and
shall take effect upon first reading as an emergency measure this the 25th day
of June, 1985.
ATTEST:
City Secretary 1 MAYOR
APPROVED: 231A(____ DAY OF JUNE, 1985
03P.063.01
THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
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Corpus Christi, T as
a day ofp , 198
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Corpus Christi, Texas
For the reasons set forth in the emergency clause of the foregoing ordinance
or resolution, an emergency exists requiring suspension of the Charter rule
as to consideration and voting upon ordinances or resolutions at three
regular meetings; I/we, therefore, request that you suspend said Charter rule
and pass this ordinance or resolution finally on the date it is introduced,
or at the present meeting of the City Council.
Respectfully, Respectfully,
Council Members
14AYOR
THE ' TY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
The above ordinance was passed by the following vote:
Luther Jones
Dr. Jack Best
David Berlanga, Sr.
Leo Guerrero
Joe McComb
Frank Mendez
Bill Pruet
Mary Pat Slavik
Linda Strong
18897
LLOYD BENTSEN
TIMM
'Unita) -States -Senate
WASHINGTON. O.C. 2015I0
July 19,
1985
Mr. Armando Chapa
City Secretary
City of Corpus Christi
Post Office Box 9277
Corpus Christi, Texas 78469-9277
Dear Mr. Chapa:
Thank you for your recent cor
regarding the proposed draft
the U.S. Department of Inters
Coastal Barrier Resources Act
I can certainly understand yo
this matter, and in an effort
assistance, I have forwarded
letters to appropriate offici
Interior Department.
MAN=
ENRNoN[JENT AND PUBLIC WOKE°
JOINT ECONOMIC
JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION
°ELECT COMM TTEE GN INTELLIGENCE
'iih9
FILE COPY
respondence
maps prepared by
or under the
ur interest in
to be of
copies of your
als of the
As you may know, the Department recently
extended the public comment period on the
proposed maps until September 30. Any
alteration in the lands included for protection
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act must be
approved by Congress. As a ranking member of
the Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee which has jurisdiction in this
matter, you can be sure that I will review your
comments should any legislation come before the
Committee.
Please let me know if I can be of further
service at this time.
Sincerely,
COUNCIL COPIED
- PLS
a. a
City of Corpus Christi
7862/ June 19, 1985
Mr. John Gosdin
Office of the Governor
Sam Houston Building
P. 0. Box 13561
Austin, Texas 78711
Dear Mr. Gosdin:
We appreciate this opportunity to comment on proposed
changes to the federal government's coastal barrier resources
system. The City of Corpus Christi is vitally interested in this
effort, and the City's representatives have commented on the
various proposals evolving over the past few years. Our staff
has reviewed the information you provided to Mr. John Buckner of
the Coastal Bend Council of Governments and we feel strongly that
several of the proposals should be revised or deleted.
Mustang Island is a developed island and not part of the
coastal barrier resources system. The draft coastal barrier
inventory proposes that the state owned submerged lands west of
Mustang Island be added to the system as ID code Tx -17. This
proposal is apparently based on the conservation alternative for
delineation of the landward boundary which would include all
associated aquatic habitats between coastal barrier and the
mainland. Since Mustang Island is not in the system, the
proposed new CBRS Unit Tx -17 should definitely be deleted.
The Coastal Barriers Resources Act presently excludes areas
such as public parks, as well .as private property in the
"otherwise protected" category. A conservation alternative would
include all such properties, both public and private, in the
coastal barrier resources system because of "...the difficulty in
determining whether protection is actual and permanent...", a
difficulty which is surely encountered in dealing with private
property but not with public parks. The conservation alternative
should be aimed at private property otherwise protected. There
is no need to include public parks of state and local government,
and the proposed new CBRS Unit Tx -17 (Mustang Island State Park)
and portions of the proposed addition to CBRS Unit Tx -10 (Nueces
County Parks at Bob Hall Pier and Packery Channel) should be
deleted, especially since these parks are located on developed
islands which are not part of the coastal barrier resources
system.
302 South Shoreline - P.O. Box 9277 - Corpus Christi, TX 78469-9277 (512) 880-3000
City of Corpus Christi
A proposed conservation alternative would limit the criteria
for determining whether a coastal barrier is developed so that
only the presence of walled and roofed structures would be
considered, and the presence of infrastructure such as streets
and utilities would be ignored unless documentation were provided
by the owners of the land. Since the construction of
infrastructure is the first major investment in development,
consideration should continue to be given to the existence of
infrastructure in determining whether a coastal barrier is
developed.
The exclusion of phased developments from the coastal
barrier resources system would be eliminated as a conservation
alternative. This alternative should be rejected in favor of
continuing to exclude presently undeveloped areas which are part
of incremental development involving substantial capitalization.
A conservation alternative proposes that an area of a
developed island where more than 50% of the structures are
destroyed or more than 50% damaged by a storm or other natural
disaster would be classified as undeveloped and included in the
coastal barrier resources system. In the aftermath of a
disaster, an administrative decision to change the rules of the
game would be unacceptable. The Coastal Barriers Resources Act
does not intend that all barrier islands will eventually return
to an undeveloped state. This conservation alternative should be
rejected.
Sincerely,
Edward A. Martin
City Manager
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