Woman watches backyard disappear after city says erosion is her problem
ARLINGTON — Her neighborhood sits in the shadow of Arlington's stadiums, but one woman feels her backyard is no longer safe.
While the city has fixed the problem for some of her newer neighbors, Latrishia Hamdan said she's been told she is on her own.
Over the years, every family celebration and milestone has been held in her backyard off Woodbrook Street. However, according to Hamdan, extensive erosion has made it unsafe for people and pets.
"It was really steep, but it was not this scary," Hamdan told the I-Team. "This is scary."
Beyond her concrete patio, Hamdan used to have a flower bed and grass to mow. Now, where the slab ends there is no land, just air. She estimates that erosion has taken more than 12 feet of her backyard.
When she moved in 28 years ago, it was a quiet neighborhood with easy access to I-30. Now Hamdan lives in what is considered the entertainment district, a multi-billion dollar development. The creek behind her property leads right into the waterways around Globe Life Field and AT&T Stadium.
Hamdan said she has complained to the city several times about the erosion, only to be told she owns half the creek. According to the city, it is private property which means homeowners are responsible for improvements. Hamdan said she has been told it will cost around $50,000 to prevent more erosion.
But 50 feet from Hamdan's property, it is a different story. The city spent more than $100,000 to build retaining walls across the street. The homes there are newer and more expensive, appraised as high as $1.8 million, nearly five times the value of Hamdan's property.
The I-Team asked the City of Arlington why both sides of the street were not treated equally.
In a statement, a spokesperson told the I-Team, "Erosion mitigation projects are performed when public infrastructure is threatened or when creek modifications are required as part of a flood mitigation project." According to the spokesperson, the city built the retaining walls across the street to reduce flooding in the neighborhood.
It's a tough situation all around, said local civil litigation attorney Jeremy Wilson.
"It's one of those situations where there's not always a legal remedy for every bad thing that happens to somebody," said Wilson.
He told the I-Team that homeowners are often stuck with the bills in cases like this unless they can prove the city's actions led directly to the problem.
"For example, if they had built some sort of improvement upstream of the creek that was causing the excessive flooding," said Wilson. "If they could show that the city had done that... the plaintiffs might have some sort of remedy."
According to Wilson, people who are considering buying property next to water should ask questions about their financial responsibility for it ahead of time.
That's little comfort for Hamdan, who said she is not just losing her land, but her chance to make more memories with her family.
"Life as it was is no longer as long as I have this mess," Hamdan said.
The City of Arlington later sent us this statement:
"The City completed a drainage improvement project to protect homes in the Woodbrook Drive area from flooding in 2009. As part of that project, the City constructed those channel walls, which serve as a creek bank lining near the outfall and are necessary to handle the increased stormwater flow.
Public Works staff have met with the homeowner and evaluated her property, but we are not able to assist with the creek bank erosion she is experiencing. The resident's property is upstream from the drainage improvement project and is not affected by the flow from this stormwater drainage system. Erosion is a natural process that is not mitigated by the City unless there is a threat to public infrastructure, such as bridges, roadways or utility lines, or if creek bank improvements are deemed necessary for a flood mitigation project. There are approximately 129 miles of natural creeks in Arlington, which are considered private property and are the responsibility of the private property owner to maintain."