CC Resolution No. 1798 56
RESOLUTION NO. 1798
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS, EXPRESSING THE CITY OF BAYTOWN'S SUPPORT FOR
FEDERAL EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH THE BUFFALO BAYOU HERITAGE
AREA: ENERGY CAPITAL OF THE WORLD; AND PROVIDING FOR THE
EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
WHEREAS, the area beginning at Shepherd Drive in west Houston, Texas — commonly
known as the Buffalo Bayou—extending along the Houston Ship Channel and ending at the Fred
Hartman Bridge in Baytown, Texas, made a unique contribution to the cultural, political, and
industrial development of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Buffalo Bayou is distinctive as the first spine of modern industrial
development in Texas, and one of the first along the Gulf of Mexico coast; and
WHEREAS, the Buffalo Bayou played a significant role in the execution of the Battle of
San Jacinto and the struggle for Texas independence; and
WHEREAS, the Buffalo Bayou developed a prosperous and productive shipping industry
that contributed to formation of the modern day Houston Ship Channel and the development of
the Port of Houston, which today is the United States' second largest port in terms of foreign
tonnage; and
WHEREAS, the Buffalo Bayou led in the development of Texas' petrochemical industry
that made Baytown and the communities along the Houston Ship Channel the center of the early
oil boom in America; and
WHEREAS, ExxonMobil's Baytown Refinery, as the world's largest petrochemical
refinery, has made a significant contribution to the Houston Ship Channel's development as the
"Energy Capital of the World"; and
WHEREAS, there is a need for assistance for the preservation of the Buffalo Bayou and
the promotion of the Houston Ship Channel as a system for transportation, industry, and
commerce; and
WHEREAS, the 400 acre nature preserve at the Baytown Nature Center possesses
significant natural resources, including threatened and endangered species, that warrant
preservation and inclusion in a National Heritage Area; and
WHEREAS, Congress, in 2002, enacted legislation (PL 107-337) authorizing the
National Park Service (NPS) to study the suitability and feasibility of establishing a Buffalo
Bayou National Heritage Area; and
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WHEREAS, the purpose of a National Heritage Area is to provide federal recognition to
and highlight the Buffalo Bayou, the Houston Ship Channel and the City of Baytown's historic
contribution to the nation and its economic development; and
WHEREAS, no federal land protection or additional federal restrictions are provided by a
National Heritage Area designation; NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS:
Section 1: That provided the City of Baytown is assured a seat on the local
management entity administering the Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area to ensure (i) that
decisions regarding the heritage area and distribution of federal funding remain local, and (ii)
that federal involvement is limited to technical and financial assistance, the City Council of the
City of Baytown, Texas, hereby supports:
a. the inclusion of the Baytown Nature Center in the Buffalo Bayou National
Heritage Area and seeks to work with the heritage area's local management entity
to preserve and interpret the natural resources abundant at the Baytown Nature
Center; and
b. including within the Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area the parts of the City
of Baytown that lie along the Houston Ship Channel west of the Fred Hartman
Bridge, in order to promote the area's contribution to America's historic and
economic development.
Section 2: This resolution shall take effect immediately from and after its passage by
the City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas.
r
INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED, by the affirmative ote of the City Council of the
City of Baytown this the 22nd day of June, 2006.
STE DONCARLOS, ayor
*APPROVED
ity Clerk
O FORM:
ACIO RAMIREZ, SR ity Attorney
R:\Karen\Files\City Counci1\Reso1utions\2006Vune 22\Buffalo Bayou Resolution.doc