Is it true that Shadow Creek Ranch lost its charm due to the Proposed LandFill Expansion Plan? (Houston: HOA, credit)

[wheretogo]

We were looking to buy a home (first time buyers) in/around houtson area and have almost narrowed it down to shadow Creek Ranch (SCR) in Pearland. Other day, I was talktng to a person who is currently living in SCR for more than a year and he firmly advised me not to buy in SCR. He feels he made a mistake. Why ? Not because of the builder/neighbor/Commute/Crime/Schools...But because of the proposed Expansion of a LandFill quite adjacent to SCR. The issue is " Blue Ridge Landfill owner BFI is going to expand the facility from its current 530-acre, 58-foot-high capacity to 784 acres, with refuse piled up to 170 feet high. The landfill sits on a total of 1,345 acres at 2200 F.M. Rd. 521 just opposite to West-boundary of SCR " . He also added that he smells garbage sometimes even now (dueto the CURRENT Landfill).

It seems like, after the expansion - it will be like a 17 story building of Garbage and he is concerend about the Sewage , Smell and environment issues. Read more here [http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/2266/stavinoha-says-county-wont-oppose-blue-ridge-landfill-expansion-plans] (broken link)

Ofcourse, I went online to research on this topic further
[ http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...ll%22&spell=1]

and it appears his advise to me is genuine. Also, some people have reported that they would have bought somewhere else, if they had known about it before. . (It appears that the expansion was a secret, until very recently).Another person days, he cancelled his builder contract risking the Option money


Though there are some potests and media coverage happening about this, it appears that it will be a fruitless effort since Fortbend County (where the land fill is) has a written agreement with the Landfill owners that they wont protest any future expansion.

So, I put a hold on my house hunt for the time being. I would like to get some comments from the the current residents living in any (SCR,SilverCreek, silver Lake/etc) Communities next to this landfill.

[houstongal123]

It is very true. There are alot of problems with the SCR development, it is very overpriced for what you get, also the tax rate is outrageous! And you can certainly smell the landfill , just go towards the back and spend a few minutes outside of your car - the smell is already there! The "Island" is this overpriced joke of properties, of which many dont even have views! most of these homes were involved in mortgate scams (where the buyer, seller and appraiser are all in it together- inflate the price of the home, the planted buyer (usually coked up t*tty dancers who dont care about their credit) buy the home from the "seller" who inflated the price by a good $200,000 because the appraiser is in on it as well and gets a cut.

take the money and run. The "buyer" loses her credit- she doesnt care- she got $50,000.

and it goes on and on and on. Lots of shady stuff in that development. My BIL is a popular realtor there but I don't want to name him.
*~*~*~*
Some awesome areas to buy in pearland is Lakes at Country Place (guarded/gated, LOW taxes, golf course, lake and lush landscaping- the best deals in houston bar none!)

or some parts of silverlake. Springbrook is nice.

Good luck in your hunt! You are wise to reconsider SCR! I too last year had a home that I was building in the kelsey pointe subdivision, but quicikly dropped it (realized that I did not at all like SCR and put the relocation on hold)

[Mr. Football]

I wouldn't want to live next to a landfill. You do not know what goes into those things.

[aggiemd2000]

we just put some option money down on a new home in SCR; since were not due to close until august, i have time to let this play out, but it is dissappointing.

It seems that theres alot of new ritzy development going up on the 288 corridor, its too bad this landfill is going to be expanded;

i too would like to hear from current residents in the area.

[wheretogo]

Any more comments?

[KerrTown]

What a coup for the West side of Houston!!

[HoustonBorn]

Originally Posted by houstongal123

It is very true. There are alot of problems with the SCR development, it is very overpriced for what you get, also the tax rate is outrageous! And you can certainly smell the landfill , just go towards the back and spend a few minutes outside of your car - the smell is already there! The "Island" is this overpriced joke of properties, of which many dont even have views! most of these homes were involved in mortgate scams (where the buyer, seller and appraiser are all in it together- inflate the price of the home, the planted buyer (usually coked up t*tty dancers who dont care about their credit) buy the home from the "seller" who inflated the price by a good $200,000 because the appraiser is in on it as well and gets a cut.

take the money and run. The "buyer" loses her credit- she doesnt care- she got $50,000.

and it goes on and on and on. Lots of shady stuff in that development. My BIL is a popular realtor there but I don't want to name him.
*~*~*~*

From where on earth do you get your information? Shadow Creek Ranch is an incredible place to live. I spent a long time looking for a new neighborhood in all parts of town and couldn't find anywhere to compare favorably with my home now. If there were any basis in fact, the actors in the bizarre play outlined in your story above would be in prison.

I live toward the back of the development and the landfill hasn't caused us a problem at all. We knew about it when we moved in and I came to my homesite nearly every day for months during the build time and never once an offensive whiff from the landfill.

As for being overpriced -- I looked for a new home for years and nowhere else in town could I find a new home of the quality I have, in a location as close to the med center and downtown as SCR, in a community with all the amenities of SCR.

I searched in the areas you mentioned, houstongal. While the homes were nice enough, my family needed/needs more room and a more up-to-date energy package than what was available in those other areas. The only place I could find it all was here.

Members of my family liked it so much that they followed us here and live here now. I asked them if they had noticed any smell or if the landfill was any sort of problem for them -- the answer was "no" to both questions. In fact, they said they wished they had moved here sooner.

[wheretogo]

Originally Posted by HoustonBorn

From where on earth do you get your information? Shadow Creek Ranch is an incredible place to live. I spent a long time looking for a new neighborhood in all parts of town and couldn't find anywhere to compare favorably with my home now. If there were any basis in fact, the actors in the bizarre play outlined in your story above would be in prison.

I live toward the back of the development and the landfill hasn't caused us a problem at all. We knew about it when we moved in and I came to my homesite nearly every day for months during the build time and never once an offensive whiff from the landfill.

As for being overpriced -- I looked for a new home for years and nowhere else in town could I find a new home of the quality I have, in a location as close to the med center and downtown as SCR, in a community with all the amenities of SCR.

I searched in the areas you mentioned, houstongal. While the homes were nice enough, my family needed/needs more room and a more up-to-date energy package than what was available in those other areas. The only place I could find it all was here.

Members of my family liked it so much that they followed us here and live here now. I asked them if they had noticed any smell or if the landfill was any sort of problem for them -- the answer was "no" to both questions. In fact, they said they wished they had moved here sooner.

Even I dont think there are any problems (scams/frauds) SPECIFIC to SCR. I've visited many Master Planned Communites and the pricing/amenities are more or less the same - Give or take few.

Being an SCR resident, do you know of any steps SCR HOA or any other organisation is taking to stop the PROPOSED Expansion of the landfill to a 17 stories tall heap of garbage ?

[TheBayouCity]

I'm a Realtor in the Pearland area. To be on the safe side I would choose a subdivision east of 288 within 2 miles of it. Silverlake, Autumn Lake, Sunrise Lakes, Silvercreek, etc. Shadowcreek is nice, but the landfill expansion will affect it in many ways. Some of the problems will be the perception of that neighborhood. Do you really want to relate Shadow Creek Ranch with landfill? "OH, you live in Shadow Creek Ranch??" Its a good possibility. Even if property values arent affected. Only time will tell.

[Yetti0]

What charm? Its a burb like all burbs.

Originally Posted by wheretogo

We were looking to buy a home (first time buyers) in/around houtson area and have almost narrowed it down to shadow Creek Ranch (SCR) in Pearland. Other day, I was talktng to a person who is currently living in SCR for more than a year and he firmly advised me not to buy in SCR. He feels he made a mistake. Why ? Not because of the builder/neighbor/Commute/Crime/Schools...But because of the proposed Expansion of a LandFill quite adjacent to SCR. The issue is " Blue Ridge Landfill owner BFI is going to expand the facility from its current 530-acre, 58-foot-high capacity to 784 acres, with refuse piled up to 170 feet high. The landfill sits on a total of 1,345 acres at 2200 F.M. Rd. 521 just opposite to West-boundary of SCR " . He also added that he smells garbage sometimes even now (dueto the CURRENT Landfill).

It seems like, after the expansion - it will be like a 17 story building of Garbage and he is concerend about the Sewage , Smell and environment issues. Read more here [http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/2266/stavinoha-says-county-wont-oppose-blue-ridge-landfill-expansion-plans] (broken link)

Ofcourse, I went online to research on this topic further
[ http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...ll%22&spell=1]

and it appears his advise to me is genuine. Also, some people have reported that they would have bought somewhere else, if they had known about it before. . (It appears that the expansion was a secret, until very recently).Another person days, he cancelled his builder contract risking the Option money


Though there are some potests and media coverage happening about this, it appears that it will be a fruitless effort since Fortbend County (where the land fill is) has a written agreement with the Landfill owners that they wont protest any future expansion.

So, I put a hold on my house hunt for the time being. I would like to get some comments from the the current residents living in any (SCR,SilverCreek, silver Lake/etc) Communities next to this landfill.