FEMA gives Austin money to buy out homeowners in flood plain area

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded the city of Austin $6.2 million to buy out homes located in the Onion Creek flood plain.

The city will use the grant to purchase up to 118 homes in the southeast Austin flood plain along the western side of the creek, and residents living in the neighborhood near East William Cannon Drive and South Pleasant Valley Road will be offered buyouts.

"With this big check, we're going to make a lot of lemonade out of some very big lemons here in this community," said Betty Dunkerley, the city's mayor pro tem. "We also will be able to provide park space and green space for this community, and that's where the lemonade comes in."

Many of Onion Creek's residents live in mobile homes, and the neighborhood has flooded four times since 1974. The most recent flood was in November 2001, in which fast-moving water and thick mud damaged many of the homes.

After conducting a feasibility study on Austin's flooding problems in 2002, the city's bond election advisory committee concluded Austin had a $600 million flooding and drainage problem.

"We have a $600 million problem on our hands, and that was the amount of funding it was going to take to engineer all of the projects and for all the buyouts that were associated with Austin's drainage problems," Dunkerley said. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, and Gov. Rick Perry's office backed Austin's application to FEMA's hazard mitigation program to help relieve some of the city's large flooding problem, she said.

FEMA's hazard mitigation project provides flood-prone households an opportunity to move out of harm's way while saving tax dollars from required flood repair and cleanup, said Philip Parks, FEMA's branch chief.

This is the first time FEMA has given Austin money to buy flood-prone houses. Similar buyout programs have been administered to other flood prone areas in Texas, such as Houston, Tomball and Pasadena.

"About five years ago, we secured money to buy out three houses, but there's never been anything of this magnitude before," said George Oswald, division manager for the city's watershed.

The Onion Creek buyout is voluntary, and the city will offer owners fair market value for their homes.

Most of the homes in the subdivision are worth between $30,000 and $60,000, said Lauraine Rizer, director of the city's real estate division. "But, some of the homes and double-wides are worth more."

So far, all of the owners have accepted the city's purchase offers, Rizer said.

"I think that everyone is selling out," said Alfredo Hernandez, 58, who converted his 1973 mobile home on 5608 Vine Hill Dr. into a four-bedroom house. "It's flooded four times since I've been here. The last time it flooded two feet in the master bedroom."

Hernandez hopes the city will compensate him enough to buy another house since both he and his wife live on social security.

"That's what discourages us now," Hernandez said. "I hope they can give us enough to buy a house."

The city's watershed program will hold a public meeting Aug. 9 at 7 p.m., at the Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church on 6830 S. Pleasant Valley Rd., to discuss buyout procedures with property owners and tenants.

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