Tucked in the southwest corner of Houston, between the Sam Houston Tollway, I-69, and West Bellfort, sits Ruffino Hills, a former landfill that closed in the 1980s. The property was later redeveloped into a golf course during the 1990s. It currently sits unused despite very public promises from city officials to turn the property into a regional detention pond.
On Dec. 7, 2022, the Houston City Council voted to approve the purchase of 73.081 acres of Ruffino Hills from West Houston Place, a city of about 15,000 residents that is located within the inner loop of Houston and formerly used the municipal landfill site.
Ahead of the vote, then-Mayor Sylvester Turner discussed in a City Council meeting the significance of the purchase, which his administration pursued for seven years. The Ruffino Hills land to be purchased was part of a larger effort with the Harris County Flood Control District, which included the West Keegans Bayou Improvement District, with both projects aiming to improve flood control measures and reduce flood damage in the region…