CHAPTER 3 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT Southeast Corridor Draft Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 – Affectred 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. The City of Houston had a population of 2.01 million in mid-2004. 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-Sugar Land-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 DEIS is contained in Appendix A. 2 This DEIS 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 DEIS. These documents are considered part of the environmental compliance record and can be requested for review at the METRO offices. Southeast Corridor July 2006 3-1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 – Affectred 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 18 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 13 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 4,203.62 36 Multi-Family Residential 597.53 5 Commercial 738.59 6 Office 177.75 2 Industrial 1,502.26 13 Public and Institutional 2,101.16 18 Transportation and Utilities 333.73 3 Park and Open Areas 125.90 1 Undeveloped 1,810.34 16 Total 11,590.88 100 Source: Harris County Appraisal District, March 2004 and City of Houston, 2002. Updated by Parsons Brinckerhoff and Knudson & Associates, August 2004. Note: Approximately 242 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 July 2006 Existing Land Use: North of Brays Bayou Figure 3-1 Figure 3-1. Existing Land Use: North of Brays Bayou (Map being prepared by Knudson & Associates) Source: Parsons Brinckerhoff and Knudson & Associates, 2004. Southeast Corridor July 2006 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 July 2006 Draft 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 6 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 5 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 (2 percent). Public parks cover 1 percent of the study area. Land use is often influenced by street patterns, and the network of streets in the corridor varies in character across the alignment. The CBD consists primarily of a regular grid of 250-foot block lengths. The street pattern east of downtown is a continuation of the downtown street grid, with 250-foot blocks. As the alignment curves onto Scott Street the grid becomes somewhat irregular, though still with frequent intersections. Between IH-45 and Elgin Street, cross-streets intersect Scott Street at intervals of about 200 feet, reflecting a closely-knit rectilinear block pattern. Frequent intersections continue to characterize the alignment between Elgin Street and Cullen Boulevard, with cross- streets spaced generally about every 250 feet. As the Build Alternative with the base alignment option continues on Griggs Road to the east of Cullen Boulevard, cross streets intersect Griggs Road generally every 500 to 1,000 feet. This pattern persists through the end of the alignment between Martin Luther King Boulevard and on to Mykawa Road. The portion of the corridor along the Build Alternative with the Wheeler – Martin Luther King (MLK) alignment option has a less regular block structure due to the presence of the University of Houston (UH) campus and MacGregor Park. Land uses along the proposed fixed-guideway alignment are described below by segment, beginning in the downtown and ending at the intersection of Griggs Road, Mykawa Road, and Long Drive. 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 The downtown segment is characterized by public and institutional uses (34 percent), as well as a concentration of office space (17 percent), commercial uses (13 percent), and undeveloped parcels (22 percent) that are mostly used as surface parking lots. Within downtown, the proposed light rail transit (LRT) alignment in downtown would be located on Capitol, while the proposed bus rapid transit (BRT) alignment in downtown would operate as a one-way pair on Capitol and Rusk.4 The LRT and BRT alignments under the build alternatives would begin 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 4 Streets in downtown Houston are commonly referred to by street name only, without street type (i.e., street, avenue, road, boulevard, etc.) in the reference. Therefore, the DEIS refers to streets in the downtown by name only. The only exception is Main Street, where street type is used in the reference to name. Outside of downtown, street type is used in the reference to street name. Southeast Corridor July 2006 3-5 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 – Affected Environment southwest.