Austin plans for floods, makes list of homes for voluntary program
By Kelli Weldon
More than a year has passed since floods devastated parts of south Austin and struck homes near Onion and Williamson creeks. The city of Austin has bought out about 100 homes in the Onion Creek area since then and is preparing to offer voluntary buyouts to some Williamson Creek–area residents, said Pam Kearfott, supervising engineer in the city of Austin's Watershed Protection Department.
Jayne Krahn has lived in Williamson Creek's 25-year flood plain for 18 years and said residents are concerned about the way the city has allowed development in the area and informed residents about its buyout plans.
"Nobody wants to move," she said. "Nobody wants to lose their home. It's going to change everybody's lives. Sometimes progress happens, but it's just, the way that it has all unfolded just doesn't sit right with anybody."
Flood history
The Williamson Creek area has seen several floods throughout the years, including one that occurred Oct. 13, 2013, and damaged homes on Heartwood Drive between Stassney Lane and St. Elmo Road. Another flood on Oct. 31, 2013, struck the Onion Creek flood plain near East William Cannon Drive.
Austin City Councilman Mike Martinez sponsored a resolution in May regarding options to address flooding in the 25-year flood plain of Williamson Creek.
The city plans to purchase homes deemed at risk, demolish them and turn the property into green space, said Kevin Shunk, city of Austin flood plain administrator.
At meetings Oct. 20 and Oct. 29, Shunk talked with residents at local schools about buyouts and flood preparedness.
Shunk said the city earmarked about $20 million for buyouts in the Williamson Creek 25-year flood plain as part of a $78 million proposal council approved in September. The City Budget Office estimated that would require a citywide tax rate increase of $0.006 per $100 of taxable value as of fiscal year 2016. Austin residents would see changes on property tax bills—an $11.79 increase per year for a median-value home, according to city budget documents—as of Oct. 1, 2015.
The city is developing a policy to take to council in March outlining how homes will be appraised and more, Kearfott said.
Staffers are also refining the list of homes slated for buyouts; Public Information Manager Lynne Lightsey said a list of homes released earlier this year was "too preliminary" and that people were confused and upset about having their homes listed.
Flood effects
Fairview Estates resident Kelly Davis-Burns, who has lived in the Williamson Creek area for 19 years, remembers the Oct. 13 storm.
"Within seconds of waking up, there was water seeping into the house, and in less than 10 minutes it was up to our knees," she said. "We evacuated."
Dale Flatt, a retired Austin firefighter, said his wife grew up in the Fairview Estates neighborhood. He said the city can take steps to mitigate flooding besides buyouts.
"My statement [to the city] is you can fix this; you're just choosing not to," he said, adding: "It gets to the point where [residents] can't sell that house because they're in the danger zone. [The city has] damaged the property values of people's homes, essentially."
Some residents suggested the city pay to raise homes up on stilts and build flood walls instead of buying them out. Residents also asked if the city will clean the creek bed.
"Just cleaning out the debris is not going to make the flood plain go away," Shunk said at the Oct. 20 meeting.
The city considered other solutions and identified buyouts as the "most economically feasible option" for mitigation for at least 70 homes in the 25-year Williamson Creek floodplain, Kearfott said. After the city completes the buyout process it will examine other options, but its focus now is removing people from risk areas, she said.
Shunk said even if not all residents accept buyouts, having five fewer homes in the flood plain would help.
Resident Scott Harpst said the situation is disheartening.
"I'm right on the creek and my house has never flooded, and so when they come and say, 'Mr. Harpst, you're in danger, and we're worried about you,' really? Come on."
Krahn's home has never flooded, she said. She said buyouts might make sense for some residents who are looking to move anyway, but another concern is that it would be hard to find an affordable home nearby, she said.
Lightsey said city staff are evaluating whether the voluntary buyout program policy that is currently being developed for the Williamson Creek area could contain a relocation benefit such as those being offered as part of the Onion Creek buyouts.
Residents want answers
Ruben Rodriguez has lived in the Williamson Creek area for nearly 30 years.
"Now it's not a creek. Now it's a drainage system," he said.
Rodriguez said he perceives a lack of transparency in terms of city staff sharing information with local residents about the buyout process.
As part of the Onion Creek area buyout process, an independent appraiser appraises the property, then a review appraiser confirms that value and the city develops a compensation package, Kearfott said.
Those appraisals are based on fair market value, and the city works with residents' schedules, Shunk said.
"We're not trying to kick people out immediately," he said.
At the city's Oct. 20 meeting, Flatt mentioned nearby developments, including an apartment complex being built at the corner of Ramble Lane and Congress Avenue.
"How is it that the city of Austin continues to allow new developments to happen in an area that is already flooding? It feels like [the city is] selling out this neighborhood to big developers and then turning around and giving them a free park to come play in afterwards," he said.
When planned projects would add impervious cover, plans must show runoff from that property will not adversely affect other buildings, Kearfott said, citing detention ponds as an example of mitigation.
Davis-Burns said the Williamson Creek Neighborhood Preservation group aims to give a voice to residents of flood-prone areas and work with the city moving forward to develop options besides buyouts.
"We want solutions to the flooding problems along Williamson Creek in our neighborhood," she said. "We want to do something, and we can't do it without [city] assistance and funding on some level."
More communication about buyouts will likely take place after Jan. 1, Lightsey said.
Kearfott said the city wants to convey the message "Learn, plan, live."
"Whether they live in a flood plain or not, everybody crosses a low-water crossing at some point, and we just really want to drive that message home citywide, countywide," she said. "There are several resources available to really equip people to know what the risk is and to be able to plan and make decisions to keep themselves safe."
