bachanon

interfaith was created to introduce newcomers to community, charitable and religious activities in the woodlands. interfaith has been closely related to "worksource", senior citizen activities and volunteer opportunities in the woodlands. interfaith is the one item that has differentiated the woodlands from other idealistic communities that came about in the seventies. interfaith is nondenominational and attempts to focus on community activities that are common to all "love your neighbor first" churches. interfaith, consequently, gets a count of each new family. certain master planned communities during the late sixties, early seventies, eliminated churches from the master plan because they felt religion was divisive. george and cynthia woods mitchell made a place for all religions by creating interfaith and leaving property available in each village for several churches of any denomination. the mitchell's realized that the grass roots dynamic of church/community activities was vital for a vibrant community. there is a very informative chapter on interfaith in roger galatas' book on the woodlands, published by the urban land institute. link to book interfaith

interfaith visits every new resident in the woodlands and surveys the people who dwell in each residence. according to interfaith figures and the woodlands development co. we were at 80K plus january 1, 2006. there were over 1200 new home sales in 2006. estimated figures i've seen floating around are close to 84,000.

the woodlands is worth seeing. there are multiple websites, interactive maps, homefinder centers and more to help you get oriented. simply driving around is not a good idea. once you get past the town center the majority of the scenery is trees and underbrush. do some homework before you make the road trip. feel free to IM me if you have specific questions. http://www.thewoodlands.net/ http://www.thewoodlands.com/ http://www.thewoodlands.com/woodlands-commercial/ http://www.town-center.com/ http://www.thewoodlandsassociations.org/si...me/default.aspx urban land institute book on the woodlands interfaith

based on your criteria, i would move near my friends. sugarland, cinco ranch/katy, the woodlands all have good suburban hospitals nearby and many good schools. the woodlands is the least diverse. i have friends in katy that i seldom see because of the distance (i live in the woodlands). if you intend on getting together often and are as flexible as you say, i would chose to be near my friends. i'm a woodlands geek and enjoy encouraging people to move here; however, you may enjoy proximity to people you already know and the benefits that will provide. we look forward to having you in the houston area.

I found this contact at www.conroeisd.net. I will reply again when I have more information. Mary Kay Allbright, Director of Special Education 936.709.7670 mallbright@conroeisd.net

I've sent out an email to a few people who may have some information or at least a contact. I will let you know what I find out.

it's unfortunate that the average home buyers buys what they do. i'm currently reading "the fellowship". it's about frank lloyd wright's taliesen fellowship in wisconsin. FLW believed that every personality required its own unique home. today's builders haven't a clue. it amazes me that people can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house that is like every third or fourth house in their neighborhood. spend 15% of your budget on an architect and get something original......just like you. lifeforms proved (imo) that there is a market for unique homes under 200K. is anyone out there filling their shoes? if so, i'd like to know. i'd like to work for them.

welcome to the forum alwaysinterested.

cool, keep us posted on what you find. we love that stuff around here.

welcome to the forum hill country native.

welcome to the forum johnfinley.

although this cvs will, again, be a disappointment to the midtown ideal (for some), its presence symbolizes retail demand in the area. if cvs does well, other businesses (perhaps those who are more sensitive to the goals of the midtown district) will follow. i'll simply consider it a growing pain, much like an annoying construction zone.

congrats montrose! best wishes and good luck in abilene.

i think that area has problems when spring creek backs up and rains continue.

you might find out if the address of this new complex is in danger of flooding. this is a low area. there are new flood plain maps out. i don't have a link. someone else may know where to find them online.

when the first seat belt law was enacted (early 80's i think) i had a friend stress that i wear a my seat belt. every time she noticed i didn't have my seat belt on she would ream me. fortunately, wearing a seat belt became a habit for me before i ran off the road avoiding a red light runner, before i hydroplaned on a dark country road rolling my (brand new) honda accord, before i came over a hill at 75 mph only to hit a stalled vehicle in my lane at midnight (no street lights). my seat belts have saved my life and the life of those in my car more than once. the police would do better to have neighborhoods they protect and are assigned to, rather than pulling people over (a dangerous activity) for not wearing a seat belt or going 7 mph over the speed limit. too much time is spent generating revenue rather than getting to know people where they live.

she trashed her dressing room? yeah, serious rejection issues.

completely overrated.

the assessment taxes will go down. so the .74 comparison will be moot. even if the houston taxes would have been lower, the services received for those taxes would have been abysmal.

what a relief! of course, i may not watch the view anymore. the only reason i've been watching is because of the friction between elisabeth and the others. i was waiting for elisabeth to stand up for herself and she has. it will be interesting to see what becomes of her. rosie will throw herself into less controversial "charities" so that she won't have to defend herself on live television. it's difficult to need constant approval from others. she'll get plenty of hugs and kisses for being a spokesperson for her pet projects. it would serve rosie (and everyone else for that matter) well if she would quit being a ("you didn't stand up for me!") victim and really stand for something. btw, aren't internet reruns of daily shows great? i'd never get to keep up with this drivel if it weren't for high speed internet access and the networks' willingness to stream the video.

so, if i spend 10,000 a year in the woodlands, i'll pay an extra $200 in taxes. at the same time, my association fees could be cut in half (for me that would be $200, for katiedidit $400). seeing as i spend less than $400/mon outside of groceries, i could come out ahead. the people who spend the most will pay the most. let's not forget the people who travel to the woodlands to shop; they will be paying the lion's share. according to the woodlands development company: current pop (01/01/06) the woodlands 80,659 montgomery co 375,519 20 mile trade area 1,231,820 projected pop (2010) the woodlands 102,893 montgomery co 453,313 20 mile trade area 1,456,679 easily, there are more people from outside the woodlands who will be paying for "the woodlands, tx." the financial burden will shift, somewhat, from the homeowners to the spenders, whether or not they live here. more taxes to come from somewhere other than woodlands residents.... May 24, 2007, 9:57AM Hotel business strong in Town Center area Local facilities stay booked up with mix of travel and conventions By BETH KUHLES Chronicle Correspondent The hotel business is booming in The Woodlands, and it is getting harder and harder to find a room for visitors during weekdays. From the full-service to smaller, limited-service offerings, rooms are filling up. "It's hard to find a room here, you often can't stay here," said Oak Ridge North Mayor Fred O'Connor, a member of the Town Center Improvement District board. "We had people come in and we had to put them up in Conroe." While many think of the mega-sized space in The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center or The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center as the big winners in the community, it is actually the smaller hotels ringing Town Center that are leading the growth this year. "Clearly, The Woodlands Town Center is becoming a regional destination for corporate meetings, conventions and leisure travel," said Frank W. Robinson, president of Town Center Improvement District. "The strong corporate economy, coupled with the emergence of the destination appeal, have made The Woodlands Town Center an attraction for overnight visits. The full-service hotels meet the demands of certain segments of business and Town Center is fortunate to have upscale limited-service properties that attract leisure and business visits as well as corporate and convention groups." Between January and April, hotel taxes collected in Town Center grew 14.7 percent over the same period in 2006. The biggest increases were seen in smaller, limited-service hotels, which have been able to raise rates because of the demand. ......... Room for more Another element that may be leading to the overall success in Town Center is cooperation among the hotels. Instead of undercutting prices, the hotels are providing overflow for major conventions or groups that come to the area. At least two more hotels are in the pipeline for Town Center. Market Street is negotiating for a 70-room boutique hotel, which it hopes to announce by the end of the year, said Harold Dull, general manager of the shopping and office district. A 10-story hotel with 150 to 200 rooms was on the drawing boards by The Woodlands Development Co. near Waterway Square. full story the tax burden for incorporation will not be completely on the backs of the residents, in fact, the tax burden could be less for many woodlands residents.

here we go. i've copied a letter going around the woodlands this morning. Historic Event! And a note by Claude Hunter: At approximately 3:45 pm on 5/24/07, the Texas House concurred with the Senate in passage of HB 4109 which allows for expansion of Town Center Improvement District to include all of The Woodlands that is in Houston

when the tcid expands its taxation authority over the majority of the woodlands, many activities of the hoa's will be funded by this tax (a 1% and 2% sales & use tax, 7% hotel tax) and hoa fees will decrease. so, the people who spend more will pay more. i have not read or heard of any other tax. from the houston chronicle: Sales tax issues One of the first orders of business will be identifying new sales tax revenues that will be generated. In addition to collecting sales taxes from village shopping centers and outlying strip centers, TCID will increase sales tax collections to two percent by creating of a community-wide economic development zone. The TCID now collects a one cent sales tax in Town Center, the Texas 242 business corridor and along parts of Research Forest. It collects two cents in the Market Street entertainment and retail complex, the Woodlands Mall outdoor expansion area, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and along the Texas 242 business corridor to fund public improvements. The Town Center Improvement District will tackle that study by defining the new area of the expanded district, canvassing business in the new areas and verifying sales tax collection through the State Comptroller office, said Don Norrell, general manager of the Community Associations of The Woodlands. Preliminary data is expected by spring, but final figures probably will not be available until August or September. full story

the president's press conference this morning began at 10AM, essentially squelching "the view". the majority of the press conference was about iraq. i'm sure it was a coincidence but curious none the less.

http://www.lakeflato.com/ i like lake flato quite a bit. some of their projects may be too "modern barn"; however, some projects touch on the elements you like.