Neighborhood Street Reconstruction Petition Being Circulated

Last Updated on May 22, 2010

Years ago, the BMHOA Board attempted to apply for the City of Houston Neighborhood Street Reconstruction Program.  Despite their best efforts, not enough residents were willing to sign up for the program, which then included a provision that the City could assess a lien against each property owner for the cost of the repairs (even though the City had not assessed such a lien since 1992, it continued to insist upon the reservation of such right).  In essence, people were asked to “trust” that the City would not assess a lien, and not enough residents were willing to do that.
 
The good news is that the ...

City has now removed from the NSR petition its right to assess a lien.  The NSR program is now totally FREE.  Under the program, qualifying blocks will receive new streets, sidewalks, street lights, curbs & gutters (plus, where necessary, upgrades to the storm sewer infrastructure).  The NSR petitions are now prepared and ready to be signed.  They will be sent to our Block Organizers soon who will go door to door obtaining signatures.

A few of the pertinent facts about the program:

• The minimum amount that can be petitioned is one block.
• 75% of the abutting property owners in each qualifying block must sign the petition form. This does include corner lots even if the house fronts  another  street.  The  75%  requirement  is  based on linear feet of frontage and not on the total number of houses.
• Signatures are checked against Harris County Appraisal District’s (HCAD) Property Ownership Records. Only property owners’ signatures are accepted. Tenants’ signatures will not be considered.
• Once the street is accepted into the program, the wait time will be determined by available funding and the severity of the need. There are a large number of streets currently in the NSR Program. The City may decline to accept a petition if an evaluation of the street and drainage reveals insufficient need for the project.  The typical wait time is 5-12 years.
• The City will determine the level of improvement to the public right of way required, including base, surface, curbs, gutters, water, wastewater, storm sewers and sidewalks.
• Once a street is accepted, it will not be removed without notification being provided to the petition organizer and the District Council Member.
• Successfully petitioned streets are grouped into a Neighborhood Street Reconstruction (NSR) Project based upon location and overall size. Projects are scheduled for reconstruction based upon geographic grouping, the date of the approved petition, the Pavement Maintenance and Management ratings, and proposed utility or drainage improvement work along the street.  However, due to budget constraints the project design and construction schedule may be shifted.
• Only "Neighborhood Streets" qualify.  In Briarmeadow, that is every street other than Richmond Avenue

NSR Block Organizers have been organized to handle circulating the petition for signatures.  Note that since each block can apply separately, if 75% of people on one block sign up, and residents on the next block do not sign up, only the block with approval will get the improvements.  We are hoping that all of Briarmeadow will apply, but that is up to individual residents being willing to educate themselves and sign the petition.  So far, we have the following NSR Block Organizers (“east” refers to that portion of the street to the east of Stoney Brook; “west” refers to that portion of the street to the west of Stoney Brook; “north” refers to that portion of the street to the north of Richmond; and “south” refers to that portion of the street to the south of Richmond):
 

Ann Arbor North: Amber Stryk Skillern
Ann Arbor South: Roxanna Fortier
Beverly Hill: Sandra Ashford
Chris Drive: Mark Kirschke
Fairdale East: André Walter
Fairdale West: Jennie Leman
Freshmeadows North: Terry Womac
Freshmeadows South: Lu Anderson
Highmeadow East: Peter Owen
Highmeadow West: Sean & Lauren Teare
Longfield Circle: Bob & Rosalinda Baylor
Meadowbriar East: Candy Cronin
Meadowbriar West: Kim Gavens
Meadowcroft: Lee Wiley
Meadowglen East: Chris Smith
Meadowglen West: Rob Schaeffer
Meadowvale East: Donald G. Black
Meadowvale West: Michael Zomcik
Pagewood East: Penny Huang
Pagewood West: Linda Eidman
Skyline East: Terry & Susan Bomar
Skyline West: Jason Stegent
Small Leaf Circle: **[NEED VOLUNTEER]**
Stoney Brook North: **[NEED VOLUNTEER]**
Stoney Brook South: Nancy Burch
Windswept East: Robert Appleby
Windswept West: Gary Fortier

PLEASE NOTE WE STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR SMALL LEAF CIRCLE AND STONEY BROOK NORTH.