HOUSTON — The Houston City Council on Wednesday unanimously voted to move forward with a voluntary relocation plan for dozens of families living near a cancer cluster in Fifth Ward.
There are about 40 Fifth Ward families who would be eligible for this program, but council members said ahead of Wednesday's meeting that only nine have opted into it. Ahead of the vote, Mayor John Whitmire said he heard from several residents that they were worried that the relocation plan was an effort to take their land and gentrify the area as there is still development and redevelopment going on in the area.
City officials highlighted some of the infrastructure improvements and additions in the area that may be contributing to some of the concerns of gentrification, including several new bus stops, roads and housing developments. The city said there was a general distrust of the process within the community.
"For them, it sounds like, 'Someone wants to take my land, clean it up then redevelop it," one official said.
Whitmire has placed a pause on permitting in the area while environmental testing is underway. It's unclear how long the pause will be in effect.
Councilwoman Martha Castex-Tatum, District K, emphasized that it is important that the residences people are relocated from are handled properly so that another family does not move in and be saddled with the same issues.
Eligible families live near a railyard on Liberty Road where a known contaminant called creosote was used until the mid-1980s.
Union Pacific, which has owned the railyard since 1997, issued the following statement after the vote:
"Union Pacific is completing comprehensive vapor testing near the former Houston Wood Preserving Works site and finalizing additional soil testing plans, adhering to a science-driven approach led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The data obtained from these tests is necessary to determine next steps.
"Since inheriting the site in a 1997 merger with Southern Pacific, we have completed extensive remediation and cleanup. While the latest round of testing is underway, our collaboration with the Fifth Ward community, the City of Houston, Harris County, and the Bayou City Initiative remains active and steadfast, and we will maintain transparency and open communication throughout the process."
A study by the Texas Department of State Health Services found higher rates of respiratory cancers in the relocation area, including elevated rates of esophagus, larynx and lung cancers.
The council has set aside $5 million for its Fifth Ward Voluntary Relocation Program. Wednesday, city leaders voted to give $2 million of those funds to the Houston Land Bank to purchase or build new homes.
Many residents still have questions about the plan, like where they would move should they decide to relocate.
The city has also been awaiting new testing results to get the latest information on how contaminated the soil is in the area. Last week, Whitmire called out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, saying it's been dragging its feet on the testing. The EPA's testing is more comprehensive than the testing done by the city of Houston, the city said.
At last check, the EPA said testing would continue until late summer and that the results will be released sometime around then.
Watch the full discussion and vote: