moving from the bay area to katy tx (Houston, Woodcreek: homes, neighborhood)

[mistyb]

We live in Cinco but in the older part (peek and cinco area). We love it. The Katy ISD website has a great feature that shows schools on a map and it also has a part that tells you which neighborhoods are zoned to which schools.

We actually chose the school/neighborhood (Fielder) we did based on it demographics vs those in other katy schools. Used Greatschools.net. It has a really low free lunch pop and a low % of students that do not speak English fluently. We are a trilingual family BUT we do not want our children going to a school where 30-50% of the children speak ESL. We love the fact that the area is built out so there are not massive enrollment changes each year like there are at many new Katy schools. We are 3 blocks from the school and can walk which is so nice. If you have any specific questions about any areas in Katy, feel free to PM me.

The west park tollway is a quick trip into the city. I can make it from mason/westheimer (usually stop at McDs to get a drink there) to 610 in 18-20 minutes taking the tollway.

The har website is so great to use. I had our final houses picked out before we ever moved here. We bought a 10 year old and cosmetically updated everything. It was still way cheaper than buying new and out property taxes are lower too.

New is way more convenient though. ; )

[movingaroundok]

HI I heard Pine Mill Ranch is with KISD now I read that only 1/2 of it is. Can anyone give anymore info on this or links on more info? thanks

[mistyb]

It is Katy ISD

http://www.katyisd.org/AZ/index.asp (broken link)

[charris911]

On the map, I do not see where Pine Mills Ranch goes into any other school district. It looks as if Firethorn borders it to the west, and north is Woodcreek Reserve. You should always verify before you buy, BUT I am certain it is KISD. Seven Lakes is the High School its zoned to. Like I said earlier in my post, I drove thru their last Thursday, and its very nice, lots of construction.

[KerrTown]

Cinco Ranch HS was ranked as the best public high school in Houston according to that survey. The other 2 were private schools. There are newer houses around the high school. The new houses, though, are in the Seven Lakes HS zone. Seven Lakes opened last school year.

But Katy is not just about Cinco Ranch. The town features Katy HS. If your kid is into football, the football team is one of the best in Texas. I believe they keep won the state championships in 2006. Woodcreek Reserve feeds into Katy HS; is in the city limits of Katy, which means it will never be annexed by the City of Houston; and it is right on I-10 so it will be easier to go to downtown unlike in Cinco where you have to go on SH 99 Grand Parkway to get on the freeway.

[charris911]

FYI

Katy has plans for a new HS (HS#7) to open Aug 2012 on Katy-Gaston Rd, south of Katy-Flewellen, near the Pine Mill Ranch sub. A new football stadium is planned at that location also, pending the next bond election of course.

[movingaroundok]

Pine Mill ranch is in the Katy ISD according to the sales rep I asked. They will be sending the kids into a school that is in the Woodcreek reserve subdivision.

I just wanted to ask How can you know if an area will never be annexed by Houston? Is Pine mill Ranch or Cinco Ranch in danger of being annexed by Houston? I read in my contract from my builder that they have no control of that. And cannot guarantee it will not be. Any thoughts ? =)

[charris911]

Houston may annex anything that is inside their ETJ (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction), the City of Houston is largely concentrating on commercial annexation along 45N and Katy Freeway past highway 6. The City of Katy, had to receive permission from City of Houston to annex the Katy Mills Mall area in 2000.

I dont think Cinco or any of that area is in danger anytime soon, BUT Kingwood didnt think they were going to be annex like they did. Clear Lake was under the same impression, and The Woodlands bought them off. If you are in a MUD District you basically have city services already anyway, just need city police and fire protection.

I saw on the Woodcreek Reserve website, they are trying to scare people about Cinco and annexation possibilities...

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by charris911

Houston may annex anything that is inside their ETJ (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction), the City of Houston is largely concentrating on commercial annexation along 45N and Katy Freeway past highway 6. The City of Katy, had to receive permission from City of Houston to annex the Katy Mills Mall area in 2000.

I dont think Cinco or any of that area is in danger anytime soon, BUT Kingwood didnt think they were going to be annex like they did. Clear Lake was under the same impression, and The Woodlands bought them off. If you are in a MUD District you basically have city services already anyway, just need city police and fire protection.

I saw on the Woodcreek Reserve website, they are trying to scare people about Cinco and annexation possibilities...

But what is so wrong about being annexed by Houston?

[als61496]

Pine Mill Ranch is great - we initially looked at the community when it was brand new as an alternative to paying Cinco HOA fees. When we first looked, we were hesitant to be somewhere so new. 6 months later, we looked again and bought! The community is great and growing nicely. Someone stated that it would eventually be zoned out of KISD and that is categorically untrue. PMR butts up to the back of Cinco & Wood Creek Reserve, so in terms of location, there is no difference (unless of course you want to be on the east side of the Grand Parkway). FYI - Firethorne was our other option, but we were so pleased with PMR, that the distance was the deciding factor - that and we prefer Seven Lakes High School!

Oh, and if Katy was going to ever be annexxed, it would have already happened - the only thing I would ever "worry" about is Cinco becoming it's own entity and quite frankly, that wouldn't be so bad! Katy, as a town, has been around forever and has grown only in the last 10 years to look as if it "connects" to Houston. A mere 10 years ago, you still had to drive through quite a bit of "pasture" between Katy Proper and Hwy 6 to even start seeing city again! The Woodlands and Kingwood were both large developments that were annexxed - not actual cities.