Thanks Houston story

Thank you for publishing the Aug. 29 article by Nicholas Deshais about how a lack of appropriate zoning in Houston has made the flooding from Hurricane Harvey worse than it would have been. The article was based on research in 2016 by the Texas Tribune and the public interest group Pro Publica and described how lax zoning regulations allowed developers to pave over coastal wetlands and prairies that formerly would have absorbed at least some of the floodwaters.

I’m sure you’ll get many responses from people outraged at the suggestion that there should be limits placed on developments in urban areas, so I’d like to instead commend you for making this information available to your reading public. I was astounded that with all the national coverage of the horrific situation in Houston, The Spokesman-Review was the only place I read about how Houston’s vaunted “un-zonng” has only added to the destruction wrought by the unprecedented rainfall. This is not an issue that should be made a political football - lives are at stake.

Jessie Norris

Spokane