The Galveston County Daily News

GALVESTON — A group opposed to plans to rebuild public housing demolished after Hurricane Ike is forming its own redevelopment strategy.

The group, organized by Galveston Open Government Project founder David Stanowski, intends to present its plan to the Galveston Housing Authority board, in hopes the agency will pay more attention to the concerns of island residents, Stanowski said.

The group’s proposal will include density and housing configuration recommendations and ways to hold the housing authority accountable for enforcing its own rules, he said.

Harish Krishnarao, housing authority executive director, recommended a redevelopment plan that would put 340 townhouses, duplexes and apartments back on the sites of the four demolished developments and scatter another 229 throughout island neighborhoods.

The agency agreed to rebuild all 569 units lost after the storm when advocacy group Lone Star Legal Aid threatened to seek an injunction against any plan that reduced the amount of public housing available on the island.

Housing authority board members are scheduled to adopt a rebuilding plan in December.

Searching For Compromise

About 100 opponents to Krishnarao’s plan met Tuesday with attorney Anthony Buzbee in hopes they could find a way to stop the housing authority with a legal challenge. The event was not open to the general public or the media.

Although he attended the meeting to offer legal advice, Buzbee recommended the group go to court only as a last resort.

As a personal proponent of public housing, Buzbee also urged group members to realize they wouldn’t get very far if they continued to insist that none of the housing be rebuilt.

“What we’re really talking about is the number, location, density and conditions proposed for public housing,” Buzbee said. “There should be public housing. We need it. It’s just a matter of what kind of public housing we’re going to have.”

Instead of trying to block the agency’s plans, Buzbee recommended they come up with an alternative and try to get the housing authority board to consider it.

“I really think there’s a solution everyone can be happy with,” Buzbee said Wednesday. “In a lawsuit context, no one is completely happy with the outcome. If you compromise, both sides will wish they had more.”

‘Not Optimistic’

Although willing to try Buzbee’s suggestion, Stanowski is skeptical of its success.

“I’m not very optimistic because we haven’t been listened to so far,” he said.

The biggest complaint among the housing authority’s critics is that their voice is not being heard, he said.

During the public meetings organized by the housing authority to get public comments, people had only three minutes to share their opinions, which isn’t long enough to make a case, Stanowski said.

If the board doesn’t give the alternative plan serious consideration, group members will consider asking Buzbee’s firm to represent them in a legal challenge.

The best chance the group has of making a case likely would come from civil rights and nuisance laws, Buzbee said.

‘Utter Failure’

Following Buzbee’s advice, Stanowski said he would work with the group drafting an alternative public housing redevelopment plan, but he also plans to continue looking for ways to stop any rebuilding.

The housing authority still has several hundred units for elderly residents at Holland House and Gulf Breeze, which should be enough public housing for a community of 45,000 residents, he said.

Stanowski denies he’s motivated by racism, a charge that proponents of rebuilding the public housing have leveled against those who oppose it. His beliefs about public housing are related to performance, not the race of the people who live in the developments, Stanowski said.

“Public housing is an utter failure nationally,” he said. “I don’t know why we want to continue it.”

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At A Glance

The next public meeting to discuss public housing rebuilding options will be at 5 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Island Community Center, 4700 Broadway.