Renew Houston claims 35,000 names

Jon Boyd, Jul 08, 10.

Renew Houston, a “charter amendment campaign to create a dedicated pay-as-you-go funding source to repair our drainage and streets,” says it has enough signatures for a charter amendment (via Off the Kuff). Allen Watson, a spokesman for Renew Houston, claimed that they have around 35,000 signatures for their petition, reported KRIV News on Tuesday. KTRK issued a similar report, while the Houston Chronicle reported “over 30,000” signatures from Renew Houston today.

Next, Renew Houston must deliver the signatures to the City Secretary, who must confirm that they collected the legally required 22,000 signatures, according to the KTRK story, which also said City Council will still need to approve a charter amendment before it is placed before the voters.

Renew Houston states that its petition includes:

The Establishment of a Dedicated Drainage and Street Renewal Fund to provide for the enhancement, improvement and ongoing renewal of Houston’s drainage and streets.
Adoption of an impact fee to be paid by new development.
Reallocation of City funds from a “debt based” program with regular interest payments for drainage and street improvements to a “pay as you go” program, so that dollars are spent on improvements and not on interest. This program will allow for recapture of $1 out of $3 to be used for projects and not interest (at 4% over 25 years).
Establishment of a monthly drainage fee charged to property throughout the City based on land size and development coverage. It is anticipated that the monthly charge for a typical sized home on a typical sized lot (5,000 to 6,000 square feet) will be $5 per month.

Update July, 11, ht Off the Kuff: Some local bloggers met with Councilmember Stephen Costello last week: Neal Aquino, John Cobarruvias, Perry Dorrell, Tory Gattis, and Charles Kuffner.
(Photo credit: Jason Tinder)