Texas ETJ Bill (Houston, Dallas, Plano: apartments, crime, house)

[bu2]

Originally Posted by ftbend06

This is interesting. Seems like a popular idea but wonder if there’d be any unintended consequences. I thought people could incorporate now if they wanted to (?) but there is probably a lot of apathy towards it would be my guess. I did not think people disliked being in etj that much. It really means nothing. It’s just in the county like somewhere else, except it’s an area where the city whose etj it is has the authority to annex you (which is really hard to do with new laws). So, all this is really about is if the city can form an agreement with the mud in its etj to collect the commercial sales tax revenue. (Which these are presumably existing agreements in place that could not be renegotiated after the fact?). This is coming from a county commissioner? So, would the county stand to gain from this bill by getting the sales tax revenue instead of cities? Seems like that’s what it could be about as much as anything. It’s an interesting thought though.. would be curious to see how turns out.

Its the ETJ that has kept our cities healthy, unlike a lot of cities in other parts of the country.

[Frustratedintelligence]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

I hope so as well. I do think there should be some areas or corridors that are left unincorporated just so Houston doesn't get completely surrounded.

I do apologize if this has been addressed already, but can you explain why this would be a bad thing?

[ftbend06]

Originally Posted by bu2

Its the ETJ that has kept our cities healthy, unlike a lot of cities in other parts of the country.

This is a fair point. Having room to grow (the tax base) is part of what distinguishes us from other places/parts of the country that are basically boxed in and cannot grow. Definite food for thought.

[ftbend06]

Originally Posted by WRM20

The $1.50 rate is for school districts, I think.

There is also a rule that the city + mud tax rate cannot exceed $1.50. So, if you’re in the etj, your mud tax rate can be and often is $1.50 at least to start out with (because there is no city tax rate in the etj). If it’s an in-city mud the max tax rate can be $1.50 minus city tax....

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by bu2

Its the ETJ that has kept our cities healthy, unlike a lot of cities in other parts of the country.

Originally Posted by ftbend06

This is a fair point. Having room to grow (the tax base) is part of what distinguishes us from other places/parts of the country that are basically boxed in and cannot grow. Definite food for thought.

Which major cities are suffering from being boxed in?

[ftbend06]

The city of Dallas is probably the closest example, but I believe this is also the case with many cities in the northeast and midwest which limits their growth. Dallas is limited by other cities around it, but I believe the cities in other parts of the country in many cases don’t have the authority to annex. But unlike cities in Texas they get assistance from the states to provide municipal services.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by ftbend06

The city of Dallas is probably the closest example, but I believe this is also the case with many cities in the northeast and midwest which limits their growth. Dallas is limited by other cities around it, but I believe the cities in other parts of the country in many cases don’t have the authority to annex. But unlike cities in Texas they get assistance from the states to provide municipal services.

Dallas may be boxed in, aside from a small corner on its SE side that it can still annex, but the city isn't suffering because of it. Houston wouldn't either. It's hard for the city to maintain what it has now.

[Frustratedintelligence]

Originally Posted by ftbend06

The city of Dallas is probably the closest example, but I believe this is also the case with many cities in the northeast and midwest which limits their growth. Dallas is limited by other cities around it, but I believe the cities in other parts of the country in many cases don’t have the authority to annex. But unlike cities in Texas they get assistance from the states to provide municipal services.

I don't think Dallas suffers from this though. I don't think it's completely hemmed in anyway.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by Frustratedintelligence

I do apologize if this has been addressed already, but can you explain why this would be a bad thing?

Once it is completely hemmed in development will start to focus even more so on these suburban cities which changes the psychology of new development. Houston is pretty expansive and I think the policy of strip annexation should be prohibited because it merely pushes new suburban development even further out into the exurbs, but I think it would be better not to allow suburban parasitic cities to totally surround the main core city either.

There is a balance, some island cities do a lot to help gentrification of the surrounding areas in the core city (ie West U. Memorial Villages) but I think a solid ring of suburban cities would suck more tax base out of Houston than they would stimulate development or gentrification, within the adjacent core city neighborhoods.

[timtemtym]

I wonder how this would work with houston though because the ETJ's are usually residential while strips of commerce along roadways like 1960 or 99 have been annexed into the city (or so I understand). Would these residential areas incorporate when they couldn't also annex the commercial areas nearby that help subsidize city cost?

I think about a city like Webster which has small residential areas but tons of commerce and mainly focuses on commercial development in the city like all the new stuff around the NASA bypass. All those commercial areas make for one rich little city where the streets are top quality and services are first-class. I grew up in and around Webster back in the 80's and 90's when the shopping centers boomed and totally reshaped the tiny town. For a time, they were actually trying to de-annex some of the larger residential developments like Piper's Meadow and Sterling Knoll.

It looks to me like Brazoria County learned from Fort Bend to fight Houston effectively. The City of Alvin annexed a strip all the way up to the Fort Bend County border and Pearland is trying to skirt around Manvel on the west. Houston doesn't have a way in. I think Brazoria County will look a lot more like North Texas suburbs than anywhere else in Houston.

Now if we could only get them to stop putting feeder roads along 288! The one unique freeway in Houston and they want to make it as ugly as the others.