County blocks Humble ISD land proposal
A debate over the future of a large tract bordering Lake Houston in northeast Harris County has pitted the county’s housing authority against the Humble Independent School District and some neighbors.
The Harris County Housing Authority, in partnership with the county, envisions a 90.5acre mixed-use, masterplan development called The View at Lake Houston on the site. It would include homes for those with low and moderate incomes, in part to address a housing shortage triggered by Hurricane Harvey.
The district contends that the tract, located near land reserved for a future high school, is ideal for a new middle school that could feed into it. District officials say they’re finding it harder to acquire available land amid the region’s rapid growth.
“It does not make sense for this development to be placed in the fastestgrowing area of the school district, where there is already traffic congestion and school overcrowding concerns. Preserving land for future schools is in the public interest,” Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen said.
Some nearby residents, meanwhile, are seeking to stop the development from going up adjacent to the Lake Shore subdivision on West Lake Houston Parkway. They worry that the development won’t generate tax revenue and could bring traffic and possibly even crime.
So far, the authority isn’t budging.
Horace Allison, the authority’s chief executive officer, said the project could potentially offer housing for those with incomes ranging from $26,500 to $63,350 a year, including laborers, store clerks, teachers, police officers, firefighters and small business owners.
The authority, which acquired the land for $6.5 million in 2009, partnered with Harris County in 2020 to build safe and affordable housing there.
“HCHA cannot make important decisions by itself,” Allison wrote in a letter. “It must also consider the interests and goals of Harris County.”
The need for affordable housing is greater now than ever, he stressed.
“HCHA’s mission, assigned to it by the Texas Legislature, is to remedy that problem,” he said.
The Section 8 housing would provide both rental units and homes for purchase with some government assistance based upon the income of the individual or family, Allison said.
Phase 1 calls for 115 single-family homes developed by the county, not HCHA. Work would begin after the the environmental phase is completed.
“As you develop, the environmental (work) is kind of an ongoing process,” he said, adding that the authority has so far addressed potential environmental impacts.
Humble ISD became interested in the land as district officials watched available land being snatched up by developers. The district says it needs the land, pointing to growth that drew some 2,700 new students in the 2020-21 school year alone.
Large tracts of land where middle and high schools could be built are disappearing from the landscape.
Enrollment for Humble ISD has grown more than 70 percent over the past six years, to 48,112 students — a faster pace than all but five Texas districts.
The district currently owns 150 acres across the street from the proposed development for a future high school.
But Fagen, the superintendent, said the 90.5 acres that the authority owners would be bettersuited for the high school and would help address overcrowding and traffic issues.
On Jan. 6, Fagen, with the approval of the school board, offered $10 million in cash for the land bounded by West Lake Houston Parkway and Lake Houston.
On Feb. 3, Fagen received a reply.
“Unfortunately, I cannot recommend that HCHA’s Board of Commissioners explore the proposed sale to Humble ISD,” Allison wrote. “The short explanation is that doing so is not likely to further the goal of providing safe and affordable housing to the citizens of Harris County, Texas.”
Allison also explained that HCHA and the county have already expended “a substantial amount of time and money toward achieving their common goal.”
He also expressed concern about potentially losing more than $20 million in federal funds tied to the project.
A month later, the Humble ISD board authorized Fagen to increase the bid to $11 million.
The authority’s board rejected that offer as well, with Allison noting that selling the land to the district “will not further the mission for which HCHA was created.’
The authority hosted two community meetings, but some residents were not satisfied by the answers they received. They launched a campaign called STOP Lake Houston Housing Project.
The drive has led to signs, placards, and doorto-door visits in the community warning residents of the planned development.
One resident, J.K. Washington, expressed concern that some of the uses envisioned by the authority wouldn’t bring in new tax revenue.
“Who’s going to pay for flooding, law enforcement services, and other services?” he asked.
Washington, who is a law enforcement officer, said he wasn’t worried about future residents contributing to crime but said he was concerned about “people who come over there to visit.”
“They don’t have a vested interest in the community,” he said.
Residents were agitated when Allison said there was no crime at authority properties, Washington said.
He also contended there are no public transportation options for people who may need it — a concern that Allison shares.
Concerned residents have organized and are now disseminating information through a website www.stoplakehoustonhousingproject.com and on Facebook.
This is not the first time the land has been embroiled in controversy.
A decade ago, the Chronicle reported on how plans for an $8.4 million development called Patriots by the Lake led to the resignation of authority director Guy Rankin IV in March 2012. Rankin was criticized for “paying large salaries and bonuses, pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into statues, grand opening parties and other questionable expenditures, and hiring the friends and family of agency employees,” the newspaper reported.
The controversy led to a HUD investigation.
Washington said he and others suspect shady dealings in this case, but he offered no proof.
Fagen and the district have the support of their new county commissioner, Republican Tom Ramsey.
“My team has been following the community’s opposition to this project and is aware that Humble ISD has identified that the property could be better used for the development of a new Middle School to serve the growing student population in your district,” Ramsey wrote in a March 30 letter. “I support your offer to purchase the property for the construction of the new Middle School for your district.”
The district has not disclosed its next move.
“The school district continues to pursue all options in the best interest of the community,” Fagen said. “We want to add seats for education, not cars to West Lake Houston Parkway.”