HOUSTON — Despite concerns from residents, Houston City Council approved the sale of about three acres of land -- including part of a popular hike and bike trail -- to the Texas Department of Transportation as the agency moves ahead with an expansion project for I-45.
The proposal of the sale concerned just under 3 acres of land that sits near UH-Downtown west of North Main Street and South of Hogan Street and encompasses part of the White Oak Bayou Greenway Trail.
TxDOT aimed to purchase the land for a little over $260,000 for the agency to move forward with the reconstruction of a portion of I-45 as part of the North Houston Highway Improvement Project.
Some residents opposed the sale, fearing the potential impact on the green space that includes a trail for walking and biking.
District H Councilman Mario Castillo entered Wednesday intending to delay the item further in an attempt to better inform concerned residents and try to strengthen protections in the purchase agreement between the city and TxDOT.
"This is not about stopping the project one bit," Castillo said. "This is about ensuring that my district, which is heavily impacted by this project, is as impacted as least as possible in a negative way."
But, through the discussion among council members, Castillo said it was clear there was little chance to change the city’s position on the agreement and wanted to go ahead with the vote.
Part of the discussion was that the agreement would not change and scrapping the sale altogether would lead to the city losing out on the sale and not having any protections in place in a memorandum of understanding because TxDOT could likely claim the land through eminent domain.
"You take it to court with three commissioners that have no stake in it ... we will lose the agreement," Mayor John Whitmire said. "We risk what we get in return."
The council went ahead with a roll call vote and the sale passed 11 to 4.