To Annex Or Not To Annex The Woodlands

[bachanon]

Governance forum set for Feb. 25

By: TIFFANY WILLIAMS, Villager staff 02/02/2006

Members of the Governance Steering Committee are inviting residents to a communitywide forum Feb. 25 to discuss the governance issues in The Woodlands.

The event, which takes place from 8 a.m. to noon Feb. 25 at Sts. Simon and Jude Catholic Church, located at 26777 Glen Loch Drive, allows residents and property owners the opportunity engage in discussion to aid the plan of study for the GSC, representatives who determine future courses of action for governance in The Woodlands, said Peggy Hausman, a representative from The Woodlands Community Services Corporation.

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the saga continues

[bachanon]

Governance panel debates role of voters

By: TIFFANY WILLIAMS, Villager staff

08/10/2006

As the Governance Steering Committee continues to move in the direction of self-governance, its members don't agree on the role that residents of the master-planned community will play in choosing between two proposed options.

In the spring, the GSC whittled down the governance alternatives in The Woodlands, a community threatened by annexation from Houston, Conroe and Shenandoah, from four to two: incorporation into a city, an option that requires permission from the city of Houston to release the community from its extraterritorial jurisdiction, or forming a special purpose district to handle municipal responsibilities, which would require action by the Texas Legislature.

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i get the feeling we're going to incorporate.

[PureAuteur]

Well you've got 5 years until 2011. Now is the time to start preparing. First step is to get the WDC or the residential committees to weigh all the pros and cons of annexation, making sure not to leave anything unmentioned. If it looks like annexation will be a negative thing in the long run, they should make preparations to seek incorporation through the apporpriate channels and thus would have to deal with Houston directly since they are an ETJ. It would also involve the state government in Austin.

If annexed, I'm wondering if the Woodlands would still be able to remain picky about how everything is designed (builders and architects needing approval by WDC), and how everything looks visually from stores to roads to natural landscape. If annexation takes power away from the WDC and means that anyone could come in and start cutting trees down if they wanted, then I'd definitely be opposed to it.

As it stands now, I favor incorporation.

[Trae]

Same. Let the Woodlands become its own city. I like how the cut down as little trees as necessary. They also are good with working around the trees.

[woody_hawkeye]

^ agree with kjb and kzseattle on this one. Comparing Tanglewood to the rest of Houston is like apples and oranges.

As for whether this is a party issue, I feel you are really jumping the gun, LTWACS. *sigh* You sure like to point fingers at Republicans though, don't you?

Unfortunately, the majority of Kingwood residents did not want to be a part of Houston, but it happened anyway. I just read an article in the Chronicle about the recent complaints and requests for more police and emergency crews. I doubt The Woodlands would want to take the same path.

As in any new subdivision, there are going to be trash issues with construction crews. It will stop, the construction crews will go away, and everything will be as it should. Sterling Ridge is a relatively new part of The Woodlands. There's not much to be done about it except to wait a bit.

BIG difference between the resident initiative in Kingwood and the professional business-oriented project management in The Woodlands.