Purchasers of Laredo homes and businesses, beware!

By Dr. Jim Earhart

Are you planning to purchase a home or business in Laredo ? If so, beware! Just because a building inspector, engineer, or developer informs you that the property is not in a flood plain doesn't mean it won't flood. Just because you are not required by a lender to buy flood insurance doesn't mean you won't need it.

If you doubt this, ask residents at the west end of Longhorn Street in the University Park Subdivision. They know the gnawing fear that wells up inside when dark clouds begin to roll into the Laredo sky. They know the indignity of being displaced to the home of a friend or motel to wait out the storm. They also know the distress and hard work of removing layers of mud deposited on their floors by the raging waters that invade the sanctity of their homes. They know the extreme cost of repairing flood damage in houses that were uninsured because of governmental and lending agency assurances that their houses were not in a flood plain. They know the costs of building walls in a futile attempt to divert the water away from their houses. Belatedly, they now pay annual FEMA flood insurance premiums, and are becoming experienced in filling out the paperwork required to file insurance claims -- a skill which will, no doubt, become fine tuned as they repeat the process after each major rainfall event. They know that these repeated insurance claims, resulting from improper development, are added to their tax burden and that of other citizens. They have had a first-hand lesson in developers' lack of concern and the failure of government to broker fair treatment.

Longhorn residents say they were misled in another way -- that promised park space never materialized. The developers made their profits without consideration for the aesthetic and recreational needs of their customers. Flooding remains a real and ever-present problem for these folks but, thanks to Councilman Gene Belmares and the potential for good invested in the City Council, they will be able to enjoy green park space along a second-order branch of Manadas Creek. The developers in this episode, however, profited without providing the amenities that one should expect in a modern subdivision. They reap their profits while taxpayers pick up the bill for the cost of green park space. The trees, shrubs, and grasses in the park area will help prevent increased flooding, but they will not offset the negative effects that upstream development has already had on the Longhorn Street property.

Citizens experiencing problems in a growing city are sometimes not sure where to turn. They may not know to whom they should turn, nor how they should go about seeking help. Sometimes, practically speaking, there is no help. For example, a North Heights mobile home subdivision floods regularly during significant rains. The Laredo Fire Department has responded to the calls of stranded residents trapped in their homes. These citizens have, unfortunately, invested their financial resources into perennial and costly problems resulting from development that failed to consider natural laws. Their houses are constructed over what once was a stream with green vegetation -- a potential park that did not materialize. Instead of providing green space for the residents, the stream now becomes a nightmare during significant rains as it "remembers" what it has done for thousands of years. The North Heights folks have come to expect the flooding ritual in which they must participate.

When presented with the North Heights ' problem and similar problems throughout the city, some local officials said, "Flooding is an Act of God." Others said more realistically, "Buyers beware! People should not build in such places. They should use common sense." It appears, therefore, that if you are planning to buy property in Laredo, Texas you are on your own in finding a place free of mechanical defects, built on solid ground and not prone to flooding.

When I presented the North Heights situation to a well-meaning developer friend, he said, "These people should sue for damages." My response was, "With what?" These folks do not have the financial resources to go to court, nor does their problem involve enough money to attract legal aid on a contingency basis. The North Heights families are voiceless and have no present hope of substantially improving their plight. They are a small and expendable group in the path of Laredo 's phenomenal expansion.

Folks living in high-end homes have also felt the kick of unbridled development. One family in a $400,000 house in the Lakeside Subdivision lost a roof to high winds last year while neighboring roofs had slight to moderate damage. The dislodged metal roof had been applied with nails rather than the screws that are considered standard for the industry. Removal of the roof resulted in an influx of rainwater, destroying the interior of the house and creating falling debris that posed a threat to the inhabitants. The insurance carrier now proposes to pay only a fraction of the resulting damage. The homeowner is left with the legal expense of attempting to the get the balance of damages from the builder, who conveniently blames God.

Numerous development-related problems exist at properties in other areas of Laredo . Six residences at the west end of Candlewood Road near Mary Help of Christians School are flooded during significant rainfall. Their problems have worsened since the construction of the Dominion Del Mar Subdivision. The channeling and concreting of this small Manadas Creek tributary have created problems for residents of Dominion Del Mar and runoff from their roofs, driveways, and streets has exacerbated the problems for their neighbors living on Candlewood Road. Excess water runoff from Dominion Del Mar into another branch of Manadas Creek has created new stream channels and uprooted trees on an undeveloped downstream property. This is clear evidence that the post-development rainwater runoff is much greater than pre-development levels.

The channeling of streams destroys perennial pools, home to populations of small fish that are natural exterminators of mosquito larvae. Channeled streams send voluminous quantities of silt, plastic bags, and a milieu of garbage and toxins into the Río Grande -- the public water supply. You may see an example of this kind of development in the Eastwood Subdivision on the north side of Clark Boulevard and east of Arkansas Avenue . Potential green space on this branch of Chacon Creek was replaced by a concrete canal and culvert system over which houses are constructed. The walls of the concrete canal sport graffiti and black stains from spent motor oil. Chain link fences lining each side of the concrete labyrinth prevent kids and pets from falling into the churning rapids following rain.

Homes on Lady Di Street in North Laredo have suffered life-threatening flooding as a result of inappropriate engineering and careless inspection. Nearby, a similar situation sends water through houses on Siller Loop.

A South Laredo school playground, built in a branch of Chacon Creek, is flooded during heavy rains. Rather than moving the school away from such an area, the school district has recently added a major section to the building complex. Floodwaters on a branch of Manadas Creek, between the Mines Road and the river, run through a private school while a nearby public school parking lot is inundated. On the same branch of Manadas Creek numerous homes and businesses continue to flood even after the city's tremendous efforts at remediation using taxpayer funds. Developers are long gone. It is always face-saving to have God to blame.

If you are planning to buy a home or a business in Laredo , you will do well to carefully investigate the area. Don't go into the purchase process meekly like a lamb at slaughter, or you may get slaughtered.

• Does the place you are considering have a history of flooding problems? Talk to the neighbors. Are they happy with the place and have they been there long enough to know? Were they living there during major rainfalls? Get details from the City Engineering and the Environmental Services Departments about the potential for flooding.

• Is there a creek or a river close by? How close? Better check it out. Laredo houses are presently being built along the Río Grande in an area that was inundated by floodwaters in 1954 and not far from the flood crest of 1998.

• Is the yard higher than the street? If the yard is lower than the street, your house could get flooded. Check it out. The decision is too important to approach it blindly.

If you are considering buying a lot that does not yet have a street, don't buy it until you know the elevation of the street and what the drainage pattern will be like.

Talk with as many people as possible who have purchased houses from the builder/developer you are considering. How well have their clients been treated in the past?

(Dr. Jim Earhart may be reached at 721-5392 or jearhart@laredo.edu.)