Dear Sir/Madam:

As you know, the Houston Golf Association, the Houston Parks and Recreation
Department, and the Houston Parks Board have drafted an agreement to
relocate the Shell Houston Open to Memorial Park. As a regular user of
this park and a concerned citizen, I am opposed to this relocation of the
Shell Houston Open for a multitude of reasons. These reasons are discussed
below.

Lack of Public Information

As an interested park user, I obtained and reviewed a copy of the draft
city agreement and the proposed park changes required for relocation of the
Shell Houston Open. In order to meet PGA guidelines for practice range
length, the proposal indicates that 10 courts of the tennis must be removed
to accommodate expansion of the practice range. The proposal also indicates
that locker facilities must be built and course alterations must be
completed. All of these changes must be completed by June of 2002; Houston
City Council vote must be obtained by December 19th. The proposal further
details possible relocation sites throughout the park for the entire tennis
center and rough estimates for its reconstruction. No dates have been set
for its completed reconstruction. Most notably, the proposal does not
include drawings of the golf course in its current state and post-Open
changes, which would indicate potential removal of trees and placement of
crowds, grandstands, and equipment.

The agreement also included some interesting deadlines in the "Preliminary
Development Schedule" part of the Memorandum of Understanding. To wit:

q RFPs sent out to design consultants for Locker Room Facility, Tennis
Center Renovations, and Golf Course Design: during November (already
happened).

q Approval of design contracts for all three above facilities: late
November (now), simultaneous with City Council contract approval.

q Design approved by "all parties" (that is: HGA, HPB, and COH-PARD):
Locker Room Facility: End of January 2002
Tennis Center Renovations: End of January 2002
q Golf Course Design: End of December 2001

This proposal, obtained on November 20th, was not issued for public
comment, nor does it appear it was ever meant for public comment until
after council's approval was attained. Yes, meetings have been held with
the public, but officials state that nothing is concrete. Then why is this
initiative being passed without knowing its impacts??

Environmental and Quality of Life Impacts

For many years, potential projects at Memorial Park have undergone intense
scrutiny from the Memorial Park Conservancy, the Parks Department, the
Parks Board, and park users. Funding is generally hard to come by, and
environmental impact studies have been a prerequisite before any project
approval. Completion time of these projects is generally two to three
years from initial planning to implementation. The relocation of the Shell
Houston Open should be no exception to this standard. Although preliminary
feasibility studies have been completed for the relocation of the tennis
center, no studies have been released showing possible environmental or
quality of life impacts from moving the tournament to Memorial Park. These
studies should be completed for impact on the surrounding neighborhood, the
varied park users, and the park itself. Impact studies should also be
completed for any of the potential sites for the tennis center relocation,
and to this point none have been completed. The current environmental
study of Memorial Park being conducted by Wallace, Roberts, and Todd, LLC
for the Master Plan projects is not due to be complete until September of
2002...after all of the Open changes have been completed. The changes
imposed by the relocation of the Open to Memorial Park should be reviewed
under the same scrutiny as all other projects in city parks.

The Park and Its Other Users Get Nothing in Return

The proposed agreement between the city and the Houston Golf Association
(HGA) indicates that the city will spend approximately $2.5MM in
renovations for the golf course and its irrigation system. This is to be
funded using $1MM from the recently approved park bond, and the remaining
$1.5MM from private donations. Proceeds from the tournament are to remain
with the HGA, and the city receives $200,000 in rent per year from the
Houston Parks Board. This tournament will displace users from the north
side of the park for several weeks or possibly permanently. None of the
profits will be put back into the park for other improvements but will go
to the HGA. The greater park receives nothing but increased greens fees
and only once the account has reached $4MM. One special interest group
receives all of the benefit from tax-payer money on city property, while
other groups have had to secure grants or raise private funding on their
own for user-specific improvements or projects. The majority of park users
receive nothing but inconvenience from this relocation.

Memorial Park ? A Non-Renewable Resource

The close scrutiny all park projects have been placed under has ensured
that Memorial Park is one of Houston's treasures. It is the largest wooded
park in the city and is used daily by thousands of people seeking refuge
from urban scenery and congestion. If any project is approved that
endangers this beautiful resource, it is lost forever. Yes, trees grow
back. But not under locker facilities, tennis courts or extended driving
ranges. The relocation of the Open to Memorial Park threatens this
valuable resource and should not be pursued.

It is clear by the accelerated dates of approval and the public's lack of
knowledge (until extremely late in the initiative) of the impacts of
relocating the Shell Houston Open to Memorial Park that the creators of
this proposal did not intend for the public to truly be involved in this
decision. It is purely motivated by monetary and prestige, not the public
or the park's well-being. This decision is being forced too quickly and
without regard to any possible impacts. Please consider vetoing this
initiative. If it is passed without resolution of the issues described
above, little recourse is afforded to those groups who will be affected by
this change.

Yours truly,


Christina Case
President, Greater Houston Off Road Biking Association