August 28, 2007

Four cities oppose corridor

by Clay Coppedge
Temple Daily Telegram
Copyright 2007

HOLLAND - Four cities in one of the proposed routes for the Trans-Texas Corridor have banded together to fight the corridor.

The cities of Bartlett, Holland, Little River-Academy and Rogers have formed the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission.

Holland mayor Mae Smith is president of the commission. Other board members include mayors Arthur White of Bartlett, Ronnie White of Little River-Academy and Billy Crow of Rogers along with Holland business owner Ralph Snyder.

“If the Trans-Texas Corridor goes through as planned, it will make a ghost town of Holland,” Ms. Smith said Monday. “The people who live here work out of here. If they have to drive an extra 50 miles to get in and out of town they will move.”

She also cited infrastructure issues, including water and utilities that will increase in cost if the corridor goes through.

Gov. Rick Perry announced the concept of the Trans-Texas Corridor in 2002 as a series of six-lane highways with separate lanes for cars and commercial trucks, high-speed rail lines and utility corridors. The corridors could be as wide as 1,200 feet.

TTC-35, the first phase of the project, would run about 600 miles from Gainesville to Laredo, roughly parallel to Interstate 35. Construction would be phased in gradually over 50 years with the most congested areas getting the first segments.

An international consortium, Cintra-Zachry, would build the road, set the toll rates and operate concessions along the corridors.

The proposal has drawn widespread opposition from cities and landowners along its proposed route.

The area commission was formed to enforce the Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 391, which allows cities and counties to form regional planning commissions to work together to develop plans for their local region and to force state agencies to coordinate with their activities.

“TxDOT must coordinate with us before they can implement their plans in our region,” White said. “The TTC is driven by greed and has no respect for our rural way of life.”

“By law, the state must meet with us before they implement any of these plans,” Ms. Smith said. “… We may not stop it but we’re going to make sure they at least follow the law before they do this to us.”

© 2007 Temple Daily Telegram: www.temple-telegram.com

August 24, 2007

Four Cities Form Commission to Stop the Trans-Texas Corridor

Contact: Mae Smith, President 254-657-2460

Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission (ECTSRPC)
Copyright 2007

In an unprecedented move, the four cities of Bartlett, Holland, Little River-Academy, and Rogers formed the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission (ECTSRPC) on Wednesday to fight the Trans-Texas Corridor.

“This is one issue all four cities are united behind to save our rural way of life,” stated the newly elected president Mae Smith, Mayor of Holland, Texas. Other members of the board include Arthur White, Mayor of Bartlett; Ronnie White, Mayor of Academy; Rev. Billy Crow, Mayor of Rogers; and Ralph Snyder, business owner from Holland.

“The purpose of this Commission is to give us a voice in this process. It’s our land that the Texas Department of Transportation and our Governor want to take and we are not going to let them pave us over and ignore the concerns of our communities,” stated Snyder.

The Trans-Texas Corridor will confiscate between 5,000 and 7,500 acres in Bell County alone, while destroying another 50,000 acres of farmland between San Antonio and the Texas- Oklahoma border. The Texas Legislature created the TTC in 2003, and ever since landowners have been fighting to protect their rights.

The commission was formed using the Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 391, which allows cities and counties to form regional planning commissions to work together to develop plans for their local region and to force the state agencies to coordinate with their activities.

Under Chapter 391.009(c), TxDoT is required to coordinate with commissions to ensure effective and orderly implementation of state programs at the regional level. “TxDoT must coordinate with us before they can implement their plans in our region,” said Ronnie White, treasurer of the newly formed commission. “The TTC is driven by greed and has no respect for our rural way of life,” White continued.

Under state law, TxDoT will be required to work with the ECTSRPC and coordinate their plans with the local group before any land is taken or any construction begins. “If not, they are in violation of the state statute and we are prepared to take them to court if necessary,” explained Smith.

The individual cities have also requested that the Environmental Protection Agency reject the Draft Environmental Impact Statement submitted by TxDoT, because the agency did not coordinate with local government as required under the federal law.

To learn more on how to form a Texas Regional Planning Commission in your area, or to request the EPA reject the DEIS on the Corridor, call:

American Land Foundation: (512) 365-2699
or
Stewards of the Range: (512) 365-8038

IMPORTANT LINKS
State Strategy

Letters to TX Department of Transportation:

Federal Strategy

Letters to EPA:

© 2007 Stewards of the Range: www.stewards.us