There is a proposal for a Greater Heights Management District. An information session will be held at a meeting of the Greater Heights Super Neighborhood Council (GHSN15) at the 12th Street Fire Station on April 15 - 6:30pm. We do not know who is promoting the management district.

So what does this mean to me, you might ask. Well….

I.  The selling point will be that residents do not pay taxes for it, businesses within the district pay. Good, right? Maybe, but realize that a management district is not accountable to residents; voters get no vote or voice in who its members are or the projects that are proposed. Even when they commandeer public things like streets. For example, if people have to start paying for parking at a bar or restaurant, where do you think they park? They park in the neighborhood. 

II.  Many management districts are granted a limited power of eminent domain. Perhaps the management district decides it wants bike lanes or other street infrastructure.

ARTS has always favored bike lanes that are thoughtfully designed and sited. The 11th Street protected bike lanes are not that. We do not want to see a proliferation of badly designed bike lanes placed on every major thoroughfare in Houston. Yet that is what the bike mafia has told us they want for commuting.

The original street re-design for Montrose Blvd was proposed by the Montrose Management District. That plan included lane and median narrowing, blocking access to homes on residential streets, bike lanes and wider sidewalks, and most alarming, the destruction or removal of mature live oaks to be replaced with young trees of a species that does not provide sufficient shade. For an example, look at those trees newly planted along the redeveloped Shepherd/Durham corridor. Those trees likely were chosen, not for shade but for decoration.

III.  Remember that if it's free, you are the product. Your property value is your investment. Don't give it away freely to an unelected management district. 

A management district is created by state law, same as a TIRZ, therefore another layer of government and harder for grass roots organizations to have input to changes to their own neighborhood. Paul B. says, "It's approved by a vote of the [Texas] House and the Senate. But basically if someone proposes something in their district and there's an assurance that the citizens want it, it gets passed...." 

So there you have it. Unless you show up to oppose a Heights Management District, it will happen. Count on it.

Cheers!