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Legal Action Status Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Information from Public Meetings Clear Lake City Historical Information Many documents on this website are in ".pdf" format and require the free Adobe Reader software to view. Adobe Reader can be downloaded by clicking on the icon below:
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Welcome to the home page of the Click here to join the Green Space News e-mail list! March 24, 2008 Golf course condemnation Trial rescheduled for first week of September, 2008 The trial date for the CLCWA condemnation of the former Clear Lake Golf Club property originally set for March 17, 2008, has been reset to the first week of September by Judge Cagle. Document discovery requests from the CLCWA legal team to RGG produced over 14,000 pagers of documents which had to be reviewed and follow-up requests prepared. Lawyers from both sides needed more time for additional discovery, depositions, and pre-trial motions. It is anticipated that this will be the only delay in starting the trial.
January 10, 2008 CLCCL Annual Meeting set for January 14 at Freeman Library The Clear Lake City Civic League is holding its first meeting of 2008 on Monday, January 14 at the Freeman Memorial Library, 16616 Diana Lane, at 7:00 pm.
If you can't make the meeting Monday, but would still like to renew your membership, please print out, complete, and mail in the form below.
January 10, 2008 CLCWA Condemnation of Golf Course Set for Trial The Clear Lake City Water Authority condemnation of the former Clear Lake Golf Club property has been set for trial on March 17, 2008. The case will be heard in the Harris County Civil Court of Law #1, Judge Jack Cagle presiding. It is anticipated that the issues of the "right to condemn", the amount of land needed for the public purpose, and the fair value of the land will be decided by the six person jury and judge. An administrative special commissioners hearing held on September 17, 2007, recommended a value of $14,132,000 be established for the property based on the value of the property without deed restrictions. The CLCWA objected to the valuation recommendation because the special commissioners did not have legal authority to decide on the validity of the deed restrictions. The validity of the deed restrictions and the land valuation will now be decided in court.
August 4, 2007 Condemnation suit hearing postponed to Sept 17 The Clear Lake City Water Authority and the current owners of the Clear Lake Golf Club were to present their appraisals of the golf course property to the court-appointed special commissioners on August 1. The process calls for these commissioners to listen to arguments regarding the property's value from both the current owners and the CLCWA, and factor those arguments in when making their property value determination. June 18, 2007 House Bill 3232 signed into law! On Friday, June 15, Gov. Perry signed House Bill 3232 into law. Effective immediately, the new law places restrictions on the redevelopment of neighborhood golf courses. The bill explicitly identifies neighbors within 200 feet of the golf course boundaries as stakeholders in the redevelopment, and ensures they have legal standing to be involved in the redevelopment process. For more information on the new law, please click here. May 27, 2007 Updates to Legal Action Status page There are three distinct legal activities currently in work with the golf course:
May 25, 2007 Letter-writing campaign in support of HB 3232 House Bill 3232 (which restricts development of subdivision golf courses like the Clear Lake Golf Course) has passed the both the House and the Senate without a single member voting in opposition. However, a veto by Governor Perry could still prevent this bill from becoming law.
May 8, 2007 New website section: "Legal Action Status" A new link has been added to the navigation bar on the left side of the page: Legal Action Status. Several Clear Lake golf course-related issues are simultaneously working their way through the courts right now: The Clear Lake Golf Club owners have filed suit against Exxon to be released from the deed restrictions. The Clear Lake City Civic League (CLCCL) and Clear Lake City Water Authority (CLCWA) have filed petitions in intervention against the golf course owners in their deed restriction suit, and the owners have in turn filed to block the CLCCL and CLCWA from joining the suit. Separate from all the deed restriction hubbub, the CLCWA has also begun the process of acquiring the golf course via eminent domain, by filing suit to condemn the golf course property. March 18, 2007 RGG Story in Houston Links Magazine Houston Links magazine, a publication devoted to news and stories of interest to Houston golfers, has an article in the March, 2007 issue regarding the sale of the Inwood Forest golf course to a group led by RGG. RGG has closed the course and intends to develop it.
(Story begins on p. 18.) March 17, 2007 New Mailing List (allows online sign-up!) We have begun using a different method of sending our "Green Space News" e-mails to our friends and neighbors. Individuals interested in news regarding the activities of the Greenspace Committee and related events may now sign up to receive periodic e-mails by clicking the link near the top of this page, which reads:
Note that if you are currently receiving Green Space News e-mails, no action is required to continue receiving them. (All current subscribers should have received an email announcing the new mailing method on March 17 or 18, 2007.) March 17, 2007 Clear Lake City Water Authority Property Purchase Update At its regular meeting on Thursday, March 8th, the CLCWA Board received the three appraisals they had commissioned for the golf course. The appraisals were reviewed and the Board agreed to select the middle appraisal. The Board then authorized that a "letter of last offer" be written and sent to RGG and its legal counsel. That letter was sent to the owner March 14, 2007. The middle appraisal amounted to $1,395,000 and that was the offer. March 6, 2007 CLCCL Intervenes in RGG vs. Exxon Lawsuit As mentioned earlier in the March 1 news update, RGG recently sued Exxon to be released from their deed restrictions, and the CLCCL voted to intervene in that lawsuit on behalf of Clear Lake City residents. This week, the CLCCL filed a plea of intervention representing Clear Lake City homeowners to request that the court deny RGG's request.
March 1, 2007 Major News Update Several events have occurred recently that will be of great interest to anyone concerned about the status of the golf course:
July 2, 2006 Introducing the new Citizens' Advisory Committee At this time, the Greenspace Committee is essentially in a holding pattern, awaiting further developments in the Clear Lake City
Water Authority's (CLCWA's) effort to acquire the golf course. Unless the CLCWA's effort to acquire the property fails, there is little
for the Greenspace Committee to do. If, however, the CLCWA does succeed in acquiring the golf course property, and subsequently begins to redevelop the
property into a flood-control detention pond facility (please see the Frequently Asked Questions page,
question 12, for more information about the CLCWA's effort to acquire the golf course, includng what they intend to do with it), then the efforts of
interested community members will need
to shift from a focus on preventing residential / commercial development of the golf course to a focus on working with the agencies involved in the flood
control project to ensure that the end result is a multi-use facility that provides recreational and aesthetic benefits to our entire community. February 25, 2006 Greenbucks for Greenspace Update #4 Today (Sat, Feb 25) is the last chance to order tickets! Take a look at some of the goodies you could take home with you if you come out and party with us! (Pictures will open in a new window.) February 7, 2006 Greenbucks for Greenspace Update #3 Check it out: The latest Greenbucks for Greenspace flyer has a ticket order form! Click here to get it! (22 KB in .PDF format) January 23, 2006 Greenbucks for Greenspace Update #2 Looking for a little more information on the Greenbucks for Greenspace event? Click here for a flyer! (26 KB in .PDF format)
January 21, 2006 Greenbucks for Greenspace Update #1 The Greenbucks for Greenspace event is still planned for March 4. Funds raised from this event will ensure the green space committee is able to initiate appropriate actions to protect neighborhood residents' interests regarding the golf course if required. While the Clear Lake City Water Authority is taking steps to acquire the golf course property, there are still risks that something might upset that process, and the community must remain postured to act in its own interests. Any green space committee money left after the CLCWA acquires the property will likely be used for some sort of recreational improvements to the property, so these funds will not be lost or used for "non-greenspace" purposes.
January 21, 2006 "Frequently Asked Questions" page now available A new link on the left side of the page has been added for "Frequently Asked Questions". Pretty self-explanatory. Got a question about why we're here or what we're doing? Scan this list and see if we've answered it. (There might even be a few questions there that you haven't thought to ask yet!) November 20, 2005 Past meeting info now available A new link on the left side of the page has been added for "Information from Public Meetings". The intent is to provide public presentation material in an easy-to-reach place. Note that for various reasons, this may not be a comprehensive archive.
November 14, 2005 Public Meeting on Saturday, November 19 The next public meeting of the Clear Lake City Green Space Preservation Committee will be on Saturday, November 19 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Clear Lake Recreation Center gym (same location as the August meeting). The recreation center is located on the corner of Ramada and Diana. Click here for a map
September 28, 2005 Green Bucks for Green Space Night coming March 4, 2006 The Green Space Preservation Committee Keep Green Space Green Casino Night originally scheduled for October 1st has been moved due to Hurricane Katrina and Rita disaster relief efforts on the part of several committee members. The new date is Saturday, March 4th, 2006. If you purchased tickets for the October evening, please contact Yvonne Horner at 281-488-6702 to let her know if you can exchange the tickets for the new date. August 16, 2005 (Updated Aug 28) CASINO NIGHT coming October 1! Join the Clear Lake City Civic League as they host a Casino Night fundraiser at the Nassau Bay Hilton Hotel Saturday, October 1, starting at 6pm. Games will include Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Let It Ride, Texas Hold 'Em, a raffle, and a silent auction. Food and drinks (including a cash bar) will also be available. Tickets are $50. To order tickets or get more information, come to the public meeting (see next item, below) or contact any of the people on this list. August 16, 2005 Update: Public Meeting August 20 at 2:00pm The next public meeting of the Clear Lake City Green Space Preservation Committee will be Saturday, August 20, from 2:00 to 4:00pm, in the gymnasium of the Kermet H. Applewhite Sports and Recreation Center, 16511 Diana Lane. (That's the formal name for the Clear Lake City Community Association's "rec center", at the corner of Diana and Ramada. Click here for a map.)
August 7, 2005 New reference links added The "Useful Links" section (see menu at left) has been updated to include articles written about the Clear Lake Golf Club situation in the Houston Chronicle and in The Citizen (there are also two articles included with The Citizen stories regarding recent RGG activities with the Quail Valley community). Green space committee press releases will also be archived in this section, and additional links will be added from time to time. Notable future additions will be mentioned here in the Latest News area. July 24, 2005 Minor website reorganization There have been a couple of recent changes to the website that are worth a quick mention. First, the main page now goes directly to this "latest news" listing, which is organized from newest-on-top to oldest-on-bottom. There's also a new section added on the left to document letters and other statements from area officials and organizations in support of the Green Space Committee's efforts. If you want to get an idea of "who's on our side", pop over to the "Voices of Support" link in the left sidebar and take a look.
May 25, 2005 GOLFERS UNITE! KEEP GREEN SPACE GREEN Golf Tournament There is no better way to show your support of one of Clear Lake City's golf courses, and our green space, than to sign up for the golf tournament, on June 11th.
Clear Lake City Civic League, in conjunction with the Green Space Preservation Committee, is holding a golf tournament Saturday, June 11th at the Clear Lake Golf Club on Diana and Reseda.
All proceeds will go to the Clear Lake City Civic League earmarked for the Green Space Preservation Committee. April 13, 2005 Summer Garage Sale Being Planned! The fund-raising subcommittee is working to organize a community-wide garage sale this summer as a way to generate much-needed funds for our efforts. They're looking for a Garage Sale General who can marshal the troops and make this event happen! Click here to jump to the Fundraising Subcommittee page for more information. April 12, 2005 Petition Drive Press Release Curious about the results of our recent petition drive? Not surprisingly, community opinion was overwhelmingly "pro-green space"!
Click here to read the official press release in MS Word (.doc) format, or here for Adobe Reader (.pdf) format.
(.pdf files require the free Adobe Reader to view--Click here to download Adobe Reader) So what's the Clear Lake City Green Space Committee been doing, anyway? The Steering Committee has been meeting weekly since mid-February, 2005, to set goals for and to review the progress of the various subcommittees in achieving our mission. The Steering Committee co-chairs typically meet at least one additional time per week, and subcommittees meet independently as required to accomplish their assignments.A short list of activities to date: This page will be continually updated to keep you informed of upcoming and completed activities. Please check back often! |