Stumbled on this thread, and I just wanted to make a couple of comments. We moved to Kingwood long after the annexation, so I have no comparison for before and after. If the topic is brought up, people are still ticked off about it, so much so that the campaign of one of the candidates in the school board elections last year took a nose dive when he was blasted for supporting the annexation (10 years before) in a letter to the editor. So yes, there are still very strong feelings. Regarding septic systems, you must be thinking of Forest Cove. That is a preKingwood development. Most of Kingwood is built out; however, there are a a couple of areas that are still being built. Oakhurst is a Kingwood development, but New Caney schools. Kings Manor is pretty much built out, not Kingwood (although I've heard they want to explore that), but right in the middle of the development, as is Kings Mill. For actual Kingwood (paying KSA fees) developments, most of the remaining villages that have new construction are spendy: Royal Shores, Barrington, Kings River Estates, and I think Deerwood have some lots left. There are also several subdivisions going in on the North side that aren't part of Kingwood, but are zoned to Kingwood schools. Kingwood Drive is terrible right now. If you had to drive it twice a day, you'd be grumbling too. Luckily for me, I don't, but I have sympathy for those that do. That road work is due to construction at the Kingwood High School, which has been in the works since the 2002 bond. It's hard to fault Houston for that. But what I think IS stupid is also taking Northpark down to one lane in a section. So either way you go you get stuck. As for the crime, yes it has gone up. I don't know about pre and post 1996, but I can tell you it has post 2005. And to the original poster, your friends are right about those apartments. That particular situation is a combination of poor management, an owner about to go belly up, and a large percentage of apartments with sponsored tenants. If you look at the crime stats for Kingwood, 60 to 70 percent of them come from that complex. I recently talked to an owner with a business nearby who said that there is a break in almost every other day in the shopping strip, she has to pack up her computer terminal when she leaves for the day, and she leaves the key in the door of the store while she's there so she can lock it quickly if she hears sirens. Houston's response to the situation was to send a female police officer to do a driveby periodically at night. I guess the COH buys into the common belief that Kingwood is "safe" and doesn't need the manpower. The cops don't want to go in there unless they have to.
