Final Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 – Affected Environment 3. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT This chapter describes the existing conditions in the Southeast Corridor and project study area that could be affected by the alternatives.1 2 It also establishes the focus and baseline for Chapter 4, Transportation Impacts, and Chapter 5, Environmental Consequences. The study area for the description of existing conditions is identified in Figure 1-2 (see Chapter 1, Purpose and Need). Unless otherwise stated, existing conditions are described with reference to the base year of 2006. The conditions described in this chapter include those related to: land use; population and employment; transportation services and facilities; air quality; noise and vibration; visual quality and aesthetics; ecosystems; water resources; historic and archaeological resources; parklands; geology and soils; hazardous materials or contamination; and safety and security. 3.1 Land Use This section describes existing land use patterns in the study area and along the project alignment, local plans and policies affecting land use in the corridor, and the major activity centers within and adjacent to the corridor. The section ends with a discussion of development activity and emerging trends within the study area. 3.1.1 Regional Summary The Southeast Corridor is located within Metropolitan Houston. According to the 2005 population estimates prepared by the US Census Bureau, the City of Houston had a population of 2.02 million. Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States, trailing only New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and it is the largest city in the southern United States and Texas. The Houston-Sugarland-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area (Houston MSA) consists of 10 counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Waller. The mid-2004 population for the Houston MSA was 5,180,443, which ranks Houston seventh among all MSAs in the country. The Houston MSA covers 10,062 square miles. (Greater Houston Partnership 2006). Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County’s (METRO’s) service area covers 1,285 square miles, reaching most of Harris County and more than 3.5 million residents in the City of Houston and 14 other member cities. METRO’s first light rail line opened on January 1, 2004. The 7.5-mile segment, named the “METRORail Red Line”, connects downtown Houston (i.e., the central business district, or CBD), Midtown, the Museum District (with 16 institutions), Rice University, the 1 Acronyms and abbreviations are defined at their first use in the chapter. A complete list of acronyms and abbreviations used in this FEIS is contained in Appendix A. 2 This FEIS incorporates by reference all technical information, studies, and other public documents produced for the Southeast-Universities-Hobby Corridor Planning Study Alternatives (AA) and the METRO Solutions Transit System Plan that support the FEIS. These documents are considered part of the environmental compliance record and can be requested for review at the METRO offices. Southeast Corridor January 2007 3-1 Final Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 – Affected Environment 407-acre Hermann Park, the Texas Medical Center (TMC) (the world’s largest medical center, with 42 member institutions and 5.1 million patient visits in 2001), and the Reliant Park complex (featuring Reliant Stadium, the Reliant Astrodome, Reliant Arena, and Reliant Center). The Southeast Corridor intersects the METRORail Red Line in downtown Houston. The opening of the METRORail Red Line has initiated transit- supportive development activity throughout that corridor. 3.1.2 Existing Land Use Existing land use in the study area is shown in Figure 3-1 and Figure 3-2. The land uses are diverse and consist of residential, commercial, office, industrial, public/institutional, transportation/utilities, and park/open area uses. Table 3-1 identifies the number and percentage of acres of parcel area by land use category for the study area. Single-family residential land uses are the most common, accounting for 36 percent of all parcel area in the study area. Single-family residential uses are most common in the corridor along Scott Street between Interstate Highway (IH)-45 and Elgin Street, along Scott Street from Blodgett Street to Griggs Road, and behind the development that lines Griggs Road to Mykawa Road. Public and institutional uses account for 17 percent of all parcel area, and within the corridor are primarily located in the CBD and the universities area adjacent to Scott Street and Wheeler Street between Elgin Street and Blodgett Street. Industrial uses are prevalent to the east of downtown as well as along Long Drive near the intersection with IH-610, and account for 12 percent of total study area parcel areas.3 Table 3-1. Existing Land Use Totals for Study Area Land Use Category Number of Acres Percentage Single Family Residential 4,455 36 Multi-Family Residential 406 3 Commercial 1,100 9 Office 117 1 Industrial 1,546 12 Public and Institutional 2,152 17 Transportation and Utilities 482 4 Park and Open Areas 126 1 Undeveloped 1,990 16 Total 12,375 100 Source: Harris County Appraisal District, December 2005. Updated by Knudson & Associates, January 2006. Note: Approximately 289 acres of unidentified parcels have been excluded from this analysis. 3 Griggs Road if continuing straight in an eastward direction changes to Long Drive at Mykawa Road just west of the Burlington Northern railroad crossing west of IH-610. Southeast Corridor 3-2 January 2007 Existing Land Use: North of Brays Bayou Figure 3-1 Figure 3-1. Existing Land Use: North of Brays Bayou Source: Parsons Brinckerhoff and Knudson & Associates, 2004. Southeast Corridor January 2007 3-3 Existing Land Use: South of Brays Bayou Figure 3-2 Figure 3-2. Existing Land Use: South of Brays Bayou Source: Parsons Brinckerhoff and Knudson & Associates, 2004. Southeast Corridor 3-4 January 2007 Final Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 – Affected Environment The study area also contains an estimated 16 percent vacant properties, which are prevalent in all portions of the corridor, except in the areas along Scott Street between Elgin Street and South MacGregor Way (which contain the universities and relatively more established, often deed-restricted residential areas). Commercial uses comprise 9 percent of all parcels in the study area, and within the corridor are typically located in the CBD and along Griggs Road. Multi-family residential uses account for 3 percent of all parcels in the study area, and are scattered throughout the area. Office land uses are concentrated downtown and are rare in the rest of the study area (9 percent). Public parks cover 1 percent of the study area. Land uses along the proposed Southeast Corridor Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) and build alternative alignments are described below by segment, beginning in the downtown and ending at the intersection of Griggs Road, Mykawa Road, and Long Drive, east of the project terminus at Beekman Road. For the purposes of this analysis, land use is considered in a corridor typically one-half mile in width, centered on the alignments. 3.1.2.1 Bagby to US 59 Segment This downtown segment is characterized by public and institutional uses (28 percent), as well as a concentration of office space (26 percent) and commercial uses (18 percent). The other major land uses in this segment are parks and open space (11 percent) and undeveloped parcels, which are mostly used as surface parking lots (10 percent). Multi-family residential land use, while increasing in the downtown area over the past decade, currently accounts for 2 percent of the land uses in this segment. The downtown segment of the study area begins at Bagby in the Theater District adjacent to Bayou Place to the north, with over 100,000 square feet of entertainment and dining establishments, and the Bob Casey Federal Court House and Tranquility Park to the south. The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, containing the 2,650-seat Sarofim Hall and the 500-seat Zilkha Hall, is located to the southwest. The Wortham Center, with the 2,465-seat Alice and George Brown Theater and the 1,100-seat Roy and Lillie Cullen Theater, is located immediately to the north of Bayou Place along the north side of Texas Avenue east of Smith. The 56-story Bank of America Center, located on the south side of Capitol between Smith and Louisiana, and Jones Plaza is located on the north side. To the north of the Jones Plaza is the Alley Theater, with the 824-seat Hubbard Stage and the 310-seat Neuhaus Stage. The Lanier Public Works Building is located south of Rusk between Smith and Louisiana. The 3,000-seat performing arts venue Jones Hall is located on Capitol between Louisiana and Milam, with the twin 36-story Pennzoil Place towers to the south. Shell Plaza is located south of Rusk between Louisiana and Milam. The tallest building in Texas, the 75-story Chase Tower, is located to the north of Capitol between Milam and Travis. The proposed 32-story residential Shamrock Tower is planned to be constructed on an existing parking lot on the northeast corner of Main Street and Capitol. A few blocks away is the recently announced Houston Pavilions development, which is bordered by Dallas to the north, Polk to the south, Main Street to the west and Caroline to the east, an area that is currently home to three surface parking lots. Houston Pavilions is a three-block, $200 million entertainment, retail and urban living development, which includes a 12-story condominium tower and loft office space. It is Southeast Corridor January 2007 3-5 Final Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 – Affected Environment scheduled to open in late 2007. More information regarding the many developments in the CBD that are either under construction or in planning is provided in Section 3.1.5.