Sims Bayou Trail Ribbon Cutting Celebration
On June 8, 2017, Council Member Larry Green, District K, Houston Parks Board, Mayor Sylvester Turner, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and the Harris County Flood Control District celebrated the completion of the newest Bayou Greenways 2020 segment along Sims Bayou Greenway. The new 1.8-mile hike-and-bike trail extends from Heatherbrook Drive to Hillcroft Avenue, and features a new 10-foot wide concrete hike-and bike trail. (See a map of Sims Bayou Greenway.)
Bayou Greenways 2020 project will transform 3,000 acres of underutilized land along nine major waterways into a 150-mile linear park system that crisscrosses the city, giving the public unprecedented access to one of Houston’s best natural amenities: its bayous.
The greenway also includes replacement of an existing asphalt trail. The expanded greenspace within the county park is surrounded by 1,000 new tree plantings from Trees for Houston and freshly planted, native wildflowers.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the opening of the first Bayou Greenways 2020 project along Sims Bayou Greenway,” said Council Member Green. “It is exciting to be able to celebrate new opportunities for recreation, transportation and connectivity in our district.”
Windsor Village Community Center Gets a Computer Lab
The students at Windsor Village Community Center were all smiles when Council Member Green came by to see them in action in the newly installed computer lab. Utilizing the Case for Kids City Connections Grant, Bridging the Digital Divide installed 11 computers and began providing after school literacy training for middle and high school students. Students learned how to transform videos into short movies by learning to upload, download and edit the videos via the computers in the lab. Special thanks to “Computer Johnny” for all the hard work he put in with the students at Windsor Village Community Center. More computer opportunities coming soon.
Angel Lane Community Garden Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
On Saturday, June 3, 2017, the residents of Angel Lane joined Cheniere Energy, Madison High School IMPACT students, Houston Area Urban League and Council Member Larry Green to cut the ribbon to the newly imagined Angel Lane Community Garden. Located on the grounds of the Angel Lane Community Center, this new space includes an herb garden, vegetable garden, shrub garden, patio furniture, complete with a barbeque pit and smoker.
Special thanks to everyone who worked together to make this project a huge success. The IMPACT students from Madison High School along with their teacher, Dr. Jamie Renfro did an outstanding job developing this garden. We look forward to making many District K memories at Angel Lane Community Center Garden.
Cambridge Village Applies for Prohibited Yard Parking Ordinance
Earlier this year, the District K office hosted a Neighborhood 101 workshop to address the Prohibited Yard Parking (PYP) ordinance. The Prohibited Yard Parking Program is intended to protect neighborhood property values, prevent damage to the City of Houston’s underground infrastructure, and to stop the degradation of the aesthetic appearance of single-family residential areas. Parking of vehicles on any unimproved surface in the front or side yard within single-family residential areas will be prohibited where a Prohibited Yard Parking Requirement Area has been established.
“Cambridge Village is a well-established residential neighborhood. The residents of Cambridge Village view this ordinance as another tool to further protect their neighborhood’s character,” states Council Member Green.
A number of District K neighborhoods have already been approved by City Council for this PYP ordinance. The approved District K neighborhoods are:
Participating PYP District K Neighborhood (Date Approved by City Council)
Westbury Civic Club, Inc. (11/4/2009)
Westwood Civic Club (12/9/2009)
Dumbarton Village Civic Club (2/10/2010)
Westbury Village Homeowners Association (2/10/2010)
Willow Park II Community Improvement Association (2/10/2010)
Fondren Civic Club (3/10/2010)
Ridgemont Community Improvement Association (3/10/2010)
Southmeadow Property Owners Association, Inc. (4/7/2010)
Windsor Village Civic Club, Inc. (4/7/2010)
Keswick Place – Ramblewood Park Civic Club, Inc. (5/19/2010)
Westbrook Civic Club, Inc. (10/6/2010)
Northbrook Property Owners Association (12/8/2010)
Dumbarton Oaks Civic Club (1/19/2011)
Glenshire Community Association (3/2/2011)
Braeswood Place Homeowner’s Association (5/4/2011)
Briargate Community Improvement Association (2/1/2012)
Gessport Patio Homes of Fondren Southwest HOA (3/7/2012)
Heathercrest / Post Oak Village Civic Association (4/18/2012)
Northfield I & II Homeowners Association (12/12/2012)
Almeda Plaza Civic Club (5/8/2013)
Braeburn Valley Homeowners Association (5/8/2013)
Briar Villa Community Improvement Association (6/26/2013)
Meredith Manor Civic Club, Inc. (8/14/2013)
Southwest Manor Civic Club (12/10/2014)
Briarwick Homes Association, Inc. (2/25/2015
District K Seniors Enjoy the Texas Black Expo
On Saturday, June 10, 2017, over 60 seniors from District K headed to the George R. Brown Convention Center to enjoy the Texas Black Expo. The Texas Black Expo is a 4 day event showcasing products and services of small businesses and featuring demonstrations, entertainment, seminars, fun for kids and a newly added college fair. The seniors enjoyed line dancing, shopping and fellowshipping with each other. Special thanks to Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Precinct 1 for providing bus transportation to and from the expo.
Sims Bayou Watershed Open House
For those Hiram Clarke residents that live near Sims Bayou, the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and FEMA hosted a public open house forum last month at the HCC – Central South Campus located along West Airport at SH 288. These agencies are sharing revised preliminary floodplain maps in the Sims Bayou Watershed in order to help officials and residents identify their flood risks and use that information to make decisions about buying flood insurance and any future development. These Flood Insurance Rate Maps include the map revisions that became effective in May 2016.
Additional information is available, including links to the interactive mapping website on www.riskmap6.com. Residents can also contact the floodplain administrator in each community in the Sims Bayou Watershed area for more details. For additional questions regarding last month’s open house, please contact the HCFCD floodplain information line at 713-684-4150 or online at www.hcfcd.org/contact-us/
Houston Police Department Positive Interaction Program (PIP) meetings
District K has three (3) active PIP meetings administered by the Houston Police Department. All PIP meetings are open to the public; regardless of where you live.
Westbury PIP Meeting (every 4th Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m.)
Aramco Building
9009 West Loop South Freeway
Houston, TX 77096
For more information, please contact the HPD Westbury Storefront at 713-726-7126. The Westbury HPD Storefront hours are 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Hiram Clarke/Fort Bend Houston PIP Meeting (every 2nd Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m.)
Hiram Clarke HPD Storefront
4363 West Fuqua St.
Houston, TX 77053
For more information, please contact the HPD Hiram Clarke Storefront at 713-433-2720. The Hiram Clarke HPD Storefront hours are 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Council Member Green Recognizes Top Students from District K Area High Schools
Council Member Green recognized and acknowledged the following District K 2017 graduating seniors named Valedictorian and Salutatorian from their respective high schools. The recipients recognized were:
Westbury High School
Monica Anahi Garay – Valedictorian
Vanessa Cantoran – Salutatorian
Madison High School
Enrique Arancibia – Valedictorian
Christina Hillard – Salutatorian
Willowridge High School
Pablo E. Robles – Valedictorian
America C. Ibarra – Salutatorian
Victory Prep
John Dockery – Valedictorian
Jarred Vanderbilt – Salutatorian
Congratulations to all of our District K graduating students!
District K Neighborhood 101 Symposium: Houston Historic Preservation Program
Last month, the District K office hosted a Neighborhood 101 workshop that addressed the Houston Historic Preservation ordinance. This 101 workshop was an informational meeting facilitated by the Planning Dept. to highlight development tools and techniques to protect neighborhoods that have unique “mid-century” residential character.
“There are a number of residential communities throughout the District that are 50+ years old that still maintain their unique neighborhood character from the 1950s and 1960s,” states Council Member Green. The workshop targeted those few residential communities that still have an overwhelming concentration of mid-century ranch-style homes. The workshop was to provide best practices for continuing preserving the mod-architecture “bedroom-suburban” character of these District K communities. “I want to make sure these neighborhoods have the option of using the City of Houston’s historic preservation ordinances that may be beneficial to continually preserving their original residential aesthetics.” The residential communities within District K do not resemble the older residential communities of the greater Heights, so the workshop focused on using Glenbrook Valley Historic District as a best practice case study (http://www.glenbrookvalley.org/Glenbrook_Valley/Home.html).
For more information about the City’s historic preservation ordinance and development tools, please http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/HistoricPres/.
District K Super Neighborhood Councils’ Summer Meeting Schedule
The Central Southwest/Fondren Gardens SNC will meet on July 11th at 6:45 p.m. at the Hiram Clarke Multi-Service Center, 3810 West Fuqua St., 77045. The SNC meets quarterly on the 2nd Tuesday during January, April, July, and October (same time and location).
The Fort Bend Houston SNC will not meet during the month of July for the summer season. However, the Council will reconvene on August 10th. The SNC meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the Ridgemont Community Center, 5599 Ridgecreek Circle, 77053.
The Braeswood SNC will not meet during the months of June and July for the summer season. The SNC will reconvene on August 17th . The Council meets on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the Linkwood Park Community Center.
The Westbury SNC will meet on June 15th at 8:30 a.m. at the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, 4930 West Bellfort Ave., 77035. The SNC generally meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month (same time and location). The Westbury SNC will not meet in July.
The Brays Oaks SNC will not meet during the month of July for the summer season. However, the Council will reconvene on August 1st. The SNC meets on the 1st Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Braeswood Assembly of God Church, 10611 Fondren Rd., 77096.
Has Your Civic Association Been Updated with the District K Council Office?
Update your civic association contacts with the District K council office. If your civic association has recently elected new officers, changed the primary contact person, new e-mail address, new contact number and/or new or changed meeting location, time, and date, please take a moment to update your contact info with the District K council office.
Periodically, the District K office sends pertinent information about District K news and City of Houston topics of information relating to your neighborhood and neighborhood association. To ensure you and your civic association receives this information, we need you to update your contact info. Thank you for your help and your interest in District K.
