Montgomery County voters will head to the polls next week to cast a YEA or NAY vote on Constitutional amendments, school district bonds, and management district bonds but two people with a Conroe residence will decide the fate of over $500 million dollars in parks, sewer, water, and road bonds for one newly-created municipal utility district in Conroe.
The two voters will also cast a ballot to tax future homeowners to repay the bonds sold to finance the construction of roads, water and sewer lines and recreation, as well as vote for the five MUD board directors.
The two voters, one male and one female, are said to be residing in this trailer with newly built wooden stairs located on the western edge of the district. This residence trailer is self-evidently a temporary structure as it in no way conforms to the proposed development and hence cannot be construed as a permanent residence.
Although the two voters in this temporary dwelling have mailing addresses in Harris County, they will determine the tax rate on future homeowners in this Montgomery County MUD.
The City of Conroe first heard the presentation about the proposal to create Montgomery County Municipal Utility District 148 located off Loop 336 East as an In-City MUD during a February 2015 city council meeting. During that meeting the Friendswood Development Company presentation outlined just under 300 single-family homes selling for about $200,000 to be built on approximately 83 acres.
After the enabling legislation SB2056 became law in June 2015 and two days after the bid was posted to clear approximately 82 acres, two people registered to vote using an address inside the boundary of Municipal Utility District 148 as their residence.
“Cannot be construed as a permanent residence” is pretty nebulous.
Is the structure currently in violation of existing property use codes (building code, zoning, etc.?)
If not, why is it not a permanent residence? It is perfectly within the capability of the two voters to vote against land use changes to their property, and it is perfectly possible that the proposed changes would grandfather their trailer..
OR…under Texas state law, they may be currently residing in a temporary structure on that property, and “intend to” build a more permanent structure on that same land. If so, it’s a permanent residence and perfectly legit.
OR…are you suggesting that the people don’t really live in the trailer (as in, it’s an office trailer or used for storage instead of a residence), and that this is all just a sham to legitimize a tax grab?
Details matter.
The City of Conroe, in their own words, described the voter trailer as “temporary” .
https://bigjolly.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/BC-15-005893issuedpermit.pdf
Yvonne – This is exactly the same way that every municipal utility district in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery County has ever been created. The developer finds two individuals who will live in a trailer for a short period of time while the district is created and the bond issue is voted upon. The homeowners who will live in the district will then be responsible to pay for the roads, sewers, etc that were paid for by the bonds. If the developers had to pay those costs up front, that cost would have to be included in the cost of the house and a $200,000 house would then become a $300,000 house. I bought one of those $200,000 houses and paid my MUD taxes and I am glad I could do that. I would not have been able to afford that house if it had cost $300,000.
Just because it’s been done crooked in these ass backwards towns doesn’t mean it’s right. I know I don’t want my tax dollars going towards that.
Unless you live in the MUD, your taxes are not affected.