Tuesday June 6th – City of Houston – Public Works – see Deny Request for Public Meeting
“Online” Meeting
Eventually COH conceded to an online meeting, which was a complete bust. The agenda was set, no time for discussion (one hour meeting) and no intent or interest by Public Works to take input or make changes to the traffic plan as above, which was exactly as published in November, 2022
We await the first accident at the crossing, ot worse still, a fatality.
Tuesday April 25th, 2023
eMail from Public Works:
Here’s the information about the public meeting. Please help spread the word. Thank you!
Subject: Memorial Super Neighborhood: Memorial @ Addicks Howell
When: Monday, May 22, 2023 6:30 PM-7:30 PM (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada).
Where: Nottingham Forest Club-Houston (325 Kickerillo Dr, Houston, TX 77079)
Thank you,
Khang Nguyen, PE
City Traffic Engineer
City of Houston | Houston Public Works | Multimodal Safety & Design Branch
832.395.3008
Tuesday, April 11th, 2023
We have filed a FOIA (Freedom of Information) request for filings by Owners and Audits by HCAD with respect to the many tax-exempt HHA properties within Harris County, to confirm that they are being, to confir that the properties are mainting their low-income deed restrictions.
Thursday March 15th, 2023
Link to email from Energy Corridor District: HERE
Friday, February 3rd, 2023
eMail from Khang Nguyen, City Traffic Engineer:
Good afternoon all,
The proposed improvements at the Addicks-Howell Road & Memorial Drive intersection will be funded by a federal safety grant that is managed by TxDOT. We are working with TxDOT to clarify the federal/TxDOT public outreach requirements. We tentatively plan for the public meeting to occur in the April/May timeframe, but this is hinged on TxDOT requirements. We appreciate your patience while we are working out the details for this project as well as 11 other similar projects that TxDOT will advance to construction this summer.
Thank you,
Khang Nguyen, PE
City Traffic Engineer
City of Houston | Houston Public Works | Multimodal Safety & Design Branch
Friday January 13th, 2023
From Ahmed Ghaly, Managing Engineer, Houston Permitting Center | Office of City Engineer, folowing a meeting at the City of Houston with Fleetwood residents Randy Crump, Aubrey Haines, Janis Mecklenberg and Steve Wormald:
It was nice meeting you and other community members. I would like to inform you that we will take all your concerns into consideration during scoping and reviewing future TIAs in the area . However, it is not possible to revisit already approved TIAs. Regarding the proposed layout for Addicks/Memorial intersection, we appreciate your inputs and comments. Please be advised that more discussion will take place during the planned public meeting before the layout is finalized. Any potential mitigation measures discussed during our meeting was merely an idea subject to engineering analysis and studies before implementation. Converting Addicks-Howell to one-way street must follow certain process including involving the impacted parties and conducting public meetings as required by the ordinances. Please contact me if you have any question.
Best regards,
Ahmed Ghaly, P.E., PMP
Managing Engineer
Houston Permitting Center | Office of City Engineer
832.394.9132 Office
Friday January 13th, 2023
eMail to Mary Nan Huffman – HERE
Meetings re “Six at Memorial” – December, 2022
We have had three meetings in the last month, the aim being to try to improve some of the perceived problems with the Six at Memorial development, including safety, drainage, and the traffic situation that will develop over time in the Addicks/Memorial/Hwy. 6 area, as the now SIX nearby multi-family properties come online.
Plan B – December 8th, 2022
Having failed to stop the developments, we are turning to Plan B. We believe that Harris County Appraisal Department (HCAD) is failing in its duty to audit the properties that have been granted tax-exemption by HHA, in terms of whether there are the correct numbers of lower-income people and other categories living in each property, compared to the requirements which formed the basis of the exemption. We plan to keep in constant contact with HCAD to perform the audits, including by media and other means, and verify if the tax-exemptions are justified – see HCAD comment HERE
We understand this is “Mission Creep” – the original aim of Plan A being to stop the developments. If contributors would like a partial refund of their contributions (a percentage based on the amounts deducted – see details HERE) we will gladly do so.
If we haven’t heard from you the contributor via email at:
westhoustoninfoweb@gmail.com by January 15th, 2023,
we will assume your contribution stands to help with Plan B.
We will of course still be grateful for new contributions – see how HERE
Plan B – Here’s the Google map of HHA, Lakeside Place PFC, etc. properties that have been granted tax-exemption by HHA and HCAD – 164 and counting in Harris County alone, in the last 24 months.
Here’s the LINK if you would like to explore the map and properties in more detail
The underlying data came from many hours of slogging thru HCAD records, HHA 2022 meeting agendas and the Harris County Clerk’s Real Property Records. Many are existing apartment complexes they recently acquired, are in the process of acquiring and converting to tax exempt “affordable housing” status. The next largest portion are vacant land acquisitions to build and develop affordable housing apartment complexes. The minor remainder are typically existing inner city affordable housing projects they have owned for some time.
This map is not perfect but it’s a darn close representation of the scale of their buying spree activity over the past 18-24 months. It’s eye opening, especially given our federal tax dollars are being spent (HUD funding) on projects that are or will be exempt from paying any property or sales taxes.
We are in touch with developers, including for the new development across Hwy. 6 from Six at Memorial, and others who do NOT have tax-exemptions, and who are not at all happy that they are competing with these properties that have been granted tax-exempt status.
In simple terms, if these properties, including the Six at Memorial and Caroline at Memorial developments, were to lose their tax-exemptions, their recourse would be to increase lease rates, placing them inline with other commercial developments, while reducing the amount of taxes lost to Harris County and KISD, so reducing the need for the additional bonds constantly being floated.
164 Developments x (average) $2 – $3 Million/Year x 75 – 99 years. Do the math.
Meeting with Mary Nan Huffman, November 16th, 2022
Janis Mecklenberg (Fleetwood West POA President), Aubrey Haines and Steve Wormald (Fleetwood residents) attended a one-on-one (almost) meeting that we requested with Council Member Mary Nan Huffman, and James Rains, Chief of Staff, on November 16th at the City Hall Annex Building, downtown Houston.