Texas public policy governing Houston's right to annex recognizes that the future of the city and its suburban unincorporated neighbors are inextricably entwined in the long term. Neither can grow and prosper without the other being healthy and vibrant. The law requires that the city meet two service tests: that services be equal to or better than services currently enjoyed by the community; and that services be equal to or better than areas similarly situated inside the city.
Since 1992, Mayor Lanier's administration has met these tests in three significant annexations. In fact, the principle of improved services has successfully guided these efforts.
In other parts of the nation, cities that are locked within their boundaries are stagnating while suburbs on their borders grow and prosper, at the expense of the entire region. Houston's annexation policy aims to keep that from occurring here.
Many of these areas are undeveloped and have low population. The city traditionally has allowed municipal utility districts to develop an area in its extra-territorial jurisdiction (or ETJ) before considering it for annexation. This allows a more orderly process for development of a community.
The city's first choice for providing fire and EMS service in newly annexed areas is to secure multi-year contracts with the local volunteer services which would maintain the existing service with revenue equal to or greater than that which is currently received from existing revenue sources. Because such an arrangement has not been reached with the Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department, however, the city is preparing to provide a full deployment by the Houston Fire Department to provide these services if the area is annexed. Current plans call for a ladder company, three engine companies, two ambulances and a district chief to serve the Kingwood area.
Annexation results in the introduction of regular Houston Police Department patrols, as well as the department's specialized services. Many neighborhoods within the City of Houston have supplementary constable patrols, in addition to HPD patrols. The decision regarding such supplementary constable patrols would rest with Kingwood's individual homeowners' associations and would not reduce the commitment of HPD resources to a neighborhood. Staffing plans for Kingwood call for 51 officers who would work out of a 24-hour police facility located in Kingwood. This compares favorably with the 30 deputy constables who work out of the Humble substation and would ensure that Kingwood residents receive police services equivalent to those provided in Houston.
Performance levels achieved by our uniformed patrol force include maintaining an average response time of five minutes or less for emergency calls. Through the Police Department's ability to identify emerging crime trends and an excellent cooperative working relationship with the community and other law enforcement agencies in the service area, Houston has enjoyed a continuing reduction in crime since 1991.
The City of Houston provides curbside refuse collection twice a week to residences on public streets at no cost. This free service is provided out of the city's general revenue. Any subdivision that prefers to maintain private refuse collection, for whatever reason, may contract with the city to do so. Under such contracts, called "sponsorships," the city pays the subdivision's homeowners' association or civic club $6 per house per month, or $72 per year per house. Such sponsorships are entirely at the option of the homeowners' association.
The City of Houston has upgraded its efforts in these areas significantly in the last five years. That service is now equal to or better than Harris County service. For example, the number of potholes repaired more than doubled from 254,047 in Fiscal Year 1991 to 545,910 in Fiscal Year 1995. City crews typically repair potholes less than 48 hours after they are reported. The miles of roadside ditches regraded also doubled from 224 to 448 in the same time period. The miles of storm sewers cleaned jumped from 63.8 in FY91 to 112.1 in FY95. In FY91, 1,489 street lights were installed, but the number climbed to 7,525 in FY95. Houstonians may report maintenance needs by calling the Public Works and Engineering's Customer Response Center at 754-0600.
The City of Houston built Lake Houston in the 1950s to serve as the City's primary reservoir for surface water. At that time, most residents and industries in Houston used groundwater extracted through wells. The extraction of massive amounts of water resulted in significant subsidence in many parts of Harris County, as much as six feet in some places. In order to cope with the structural damage and flooding problems caused by such subsidence, the Legislature established the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, with authority to mandate the phased conversion of local water supplies from well water to surface water. That process has been under way for some time. The City of Houston and communities in southeast Harris County have met the conversion mandates up to now. Significant new areas of north Harris County, including Kingwood, may be required to change their water sources in the future.
The City of Houston has built an extensive system to make the introduction of surface water possible, including Lake Houston, Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston, large conveyance systems and two massive water treatment plants.
No. Annexation does not change school district boundaries or attendance zones in any way. About 2,600 residents of the Humble Independent School District are located within the City of Houston, without any effect on their school district status. In fact, the City of Houston extends into 25 school districts. By contrast, the Houston Independent School District includes territory in seven other municipalities besides Houston and includes unincorporated territory in Harris County.
Civic association and trail association ownership of their own facilities is not altered by annexation. Such privately owned property continues to be privately owned and maintained. The city does not have zoning, but does assist homeowners' associations in the enforcement of deed restrictions to prevent the conversion of a residence to a commercial use. The city does not help to enforce architectural restrictions. The city's codes (building, housing, health and fire) are enforced in annexed areas after the effective date of the annexation. For instance, city inspectors may issue citations to deal with high weeds or derelict vehicles and take steps to remedy the problem if the property owner fails to do so. Fireworks and open burning are banned within the city limits.
City of Houston Municipal Courts have jurisdiction in the enforcement of traffic, parking and city code violations within the city limits. Other criminal and civil matters remain the responsibility of courts operated by the county.
No. The U.S. Postal Service establishes ZIP codes and mailing addresses in order to maximize the efficiency of their system, not to recognize jurisdictional boundaries. Accordingly, a change in jurisdiction does not result in a change in mailing addresses. Numerous residents of the City of Houston have Missouri City, Webster, Friendswood, Stafford, Humble and even Kingwood addresses. Conversely, many residents of other incorporated places (including Nassau Bay, West University Place, Jacinto City, Missouri City and Jersey Village) have Houston addresses. Annexation would not change the Kingwood ZIP code or mailing addresses.
A table has been prepared, reflecting the cost, i.e., property taxes, water/sewer fees, special assessments, etc., to the property owner for each municipal utility district in Kingwood, based on the average home value in each MUD.
Because utility district tax rates and civic association assessments vary, further analysis would be necessary to establish the exact effect on homeowners. It is clear that some homeowners will have a reduction in costs, while others will have an increase. This would be true even taking into account the introduction of the city's one-cent sales tax, since many purchases subject to the tax already occur in Humble and Houston.
On August 6, the Lanier administration recommended to the City Council Ordinance Committee that the city annex Kingwood, Forest Cove and five smaller areas. The first public hearing is scheduled to be held at 9 am September 17 in City Council Chambers, located on the "public" level of the City Hall Annex at 900 Bagby. Another public hearing is scheduled for 9 am September 24 in council chambers. The final hearing will be at 7 pm September 24 at Kingwood High School. The Ordinance Committee is tentatively scheduled to make its recommendation to the full council in mid-October. First reading of an annexation ordinance would tentatively be in mid- to late October, with the second and final reading following in late November. The annexation, if approved, would take effect at 11:59 pm on December 31.
Generally, the city works with the leadership of the affected homeowners' association and the volunteer fire department in terms of the proposed service plan. The city established a task force of departmental executives for the 1996 examination of candidates.
Given that any annexation of Kingwood would be the most significant annexation since the Clear Lake City subdivision was annexed in 1977, it is important to note that the dialogue on this issue began with Kingwood citizens in January, the mayor has met with community leaders, and the city is prepared to discuss a service plan for the community.
The service plan, which is developed as part of the annexation process, becomes part of the ordinance which annexes territory to the city. The plan constitutes a contract between the city and the residents and property owners of an annexed area. If a dispute arises over the city's compliance with a service plan, a state district judge has the power to interpret the plan and, if necessary, direct the city to comply. The service plan development process serves as a method of identifying potential problems and resolving them before they occur. The service plan is most successfully developed with direct involvement of those affected by the annexation.
In 1963 the state Legislature enacted the Municipal Annexation Act to regulate the annexation process and ensure that Texas cities had the opportunity to incorporate suburban development into the central city to avoid the problems of many older urban areas. A central concept in this effort was the creation of extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). An ETJ is an unincorporated area adjacent to an incorporated municipality which is subject to certain regulations by that municipality and is subject to annexation by that municipality. The state also gave existing municipalities the power to prevent the incorporation of new municipalities within the ETJs. If a majority of the registered voters and a majority of the property owners in an unincorporated community wish to get municipal services, they must first petition the municipality in whose ETJ they lie for annexation. Only if that municipality fails to annex the area may they then seek an incorporation election. In effect, the state gives municipalities the right of first refusal before allowing incorporations near existing cities. No city has the power to annex another incorporated community. Incorporated cities in the Houston area were created before the creation of ETJs (such as Humble, Tomball, Bellaire, Bunker Hill Village or Pasadena) or were located beyond Houston's ETJ (such as Splendora, Woodbranch Village or Magnolia).
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Created: 08-07-96 (MD Goldsberry)