Why Do We Encourage Development In Flood Zones?

Downtown Cedar Rapids (photo: Liz Martin/The Gazette)

This is from June 2nd (13 days ago), in the Cedar Rapids Gazette:

Meanwhile, the Cedar Rapids City Council and Linn County Board of Supervisors have designated 2009 as the Year of the River, and a new state program earmarking $52 million for river and lake developments will begin accepting applications soon after July 1.

Downtown and city leaders hope a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly riverfront will be a catalyst for retail and housing growth in downtown Cedar Rapids. It will be important for county supervisors to commit to the effort, state and local officials say.

"We should be walking a tightrope," Machacek said. "There's going to be a lot of interest and a lot of pushing for the riverfront development project, and I think that's great if we can get that done, but I know that our rural constituents are going to be very concerned if we're putting money in that and they're driving on substandard roads."

Economic development — particularly in downtown Cedar Rapids — has not been a key campaign topic for many of the supervisor candidates. One exception is District 3 Democrat Ben Rogers, who suggests that long-term development is the best way to raise revenue and solve a tight budget.

Rogers argues, as does Downtown District President Doug Neumann, that increasing the tax base in downtown Cedar Rapids is good for both urban and rural residents.

Young professionals and families will leave the county if more is not done to get them to stay, he argues. "This has a major economic impact on our community," he said.

Current supervisors Barron, Houser and Linda Langston have said little more than they're exploring how they can help with riverfront development.

Some of the other rural candidates — Rozinek and Wear — express interest in downtown development and, like Machacek, concede it could be a good thing.

What sort of person is going to buy a house or condo in that area after this latest flood?

Nobody is.

But we'll want the taxpayers to build a $136 million Federal courthouse in 2010 - right next to the river.

I swear, what is it with the people running Cedar Rapids and Linn County?

Let's give taxpayer-backed loans and TIF corporate welfare to buy and fix up a hotel - next to the river.

Let's create Al Gore's National Example of how to mismanage and waste millions for welfare housing - next to the river.

Let's spend over $10 million to buy nine electric buses which traveled under 200,000 miles total (that's $50 a mile, folks) and were sold as scrap at auction for $30,000 total.

Let's build an IMAX theater - next to the river - which will then become iDead when nobody goes to it.

Let's mismanage a dead mall by imposing a development moratorium on the property.

It's just bad idea after bad idea after bad idea with these clowns.

What do you think we'll hear after the waters go down?

"Oh, we must rebuild..."

"We must have the Federal government spend billions..."

There will be no leadership. There will be nobody cautioning people and businesses to rebuild elsewhere, on higher ground. There will only be cheerleading at the Federal trough.

You'll see that idiot Lee Clancey in the news all the time again, I'm sure.

Then there's this from the Iowa City Press-Citizen, also from June 2nd:

Construction has begun on a Hills subdivision that could change the face of the small town just south of Iowa City.

The development is the first subdivision in the city, population 611, in almost 20 years. The project called Oakcrest Hill Estates will span 40 acres on the west side of town when it is finished, which could take 10 years depending on when homes are built. It is bordered by Oakcrest Hill Road and Main Street and is visible from Highway 218.

Officials said they expect the development will bring as many as 400 people into the town, which has been shrinking steadily since 2000. The 81 lots in the development will include all kinds of housing types -- single-family, zero-lot line and multi-family -- and commercial space.

Streb Alberts Realty representative Shelly Streb-Alberts said Hills' proximity to Iowa City made it an attractive location for a new development project.

How would you like to buy a house in a town that was almost entirely evacuated?

No thank you.

Contrast this to development restrictions around airports.

If I remember correctly, Des Moines (or the Feds) bought and then restricted development on many acres of commercial land around the runways on the NE and SE sides of the airport, along Fleur Drive. There used to by a Hyatt Hotel at the corner of Army Post Rd and Fleur Drive, along with numerous restaurants, gas stations, and even some homes south of Army Post which were moved or torn down.

Why?

All for what was known as a "crash zone", in case an airplane had to make an emergency landing short of the runway.

No airplanes have crashed in these zones, thankfully.

Contrast this to sleazeball Michael Gartner obtaining nearly a million dollars in State taxpayer money to help spruce up the ballpark he owns at the convergence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers.

So government will give millions and billions to build in flood zones. They'll even let developers build new houses and developments in flood-prone areas.

It's just insanity.

Even the Egyptians had this figured out thousands of years ago.