Debate ensues over future of Montrose Boulevard From the cover
Two-minute impact
Meet the board
Key
Replaced
Retained
Board chair: Joe Webb
TIRZs are governmental entities in Texas that collect incremental tax revenue within their boundaries to fund improvements, such as street and sidewalk projects. The four new Montrose TIRZ members were approved for their positions by Houston City Council on July 2, and the first meeting with new members took place July 22. Public speakers at that meeting were divided on whether the Montrose Boulevard project should proceed as originally planned or if the board should come up with a new design that preserves more trees with narrower sidewalks. TIRZ plans call for removing 57 trees as part of Phase 1, describing those trees in project documents as “either seriously compromised by overhead utility lines” or “in unhealthy, constrained planting areas.” Plans call for planting 137 new 3.5-inch caliper live oak and cypress trees in their place. Those seeking to change the project have taken aim at proposals to widen sidewalks to a 10-foot-wide shared-use path on the east side of Montrose and the narrowing of medians, which they said threaten trees. To project supporters, the shared-use path is a critical component allowing for safer travel to Buffalo Bayou.
Matthew Brollier: Senior analyst with real estate evaluation and consulting firm Deal Sikes Once served as chief of staff to former Houston City Council member Jack Christie
Vice chair: Lisa Hunt
Director: Amanda Flores
Robert Guthart: Transportation planner with the professional services firm WSP
Director: Vacant seat
Murad Ajani: Past president of the Ismaili Council for Southwestern United States, which is leading efforts to build a new Ismaili Center on Montrose Boulevard
Director: Abby Noebels
Director: Jeffrey Watters
Helen Zunka: A Hyde Park resident who has served with the Hyde Park Civic Association
Director: Eureka Gilkey
Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones are governmental entities that collect incremental tax revenue within their boundaries and use that funding on projects to improve the area: How it works • Street, drainage, sidewalk improvements • Affordable housing incentives • Landscaping and exterior facade improvements
TIRZ board members serve two-year terms and must be:
• Chosen by the mayor of Houston for consideration • Approved by the Houston City Council • A resident of the county in which the zone is located or an adjacent county, or own property in the zone
SOURCES: MONTROSE TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE, CITY OF HOUSTON/COMMUNITY IMPACT
A closer look
Montrose Boulevard improvement project
Phase 1 A 10-foot-wide shared use path would replace existing four-foot-wide sidewalks. Trees abutting the sidewalk would be removed with new trees planted in a new buffer space. Medians in Phase 1 would be narrowed from 30 feet wide to 20 feet wide, which TIRZ officials said would not contribute to tree loss. 57 trees would be removed in Phase 1, which TIRZ officials said are unhealthy or interfere with utility lines. Cost: $14.7M Status: Design work completed; construction originally set for early 2024, but project was put on pause in March
“We’ve explained this and explained this, and people don’t want to hear it,” he said. Jonna Hitchcock is the co-founder of Save Montrose Live Oaks, an advocacy group that formed in 2023 to push for the TIRZ to adjust its plans so fewer trees are removed. Hitchcock—who doesn’t live in Montrose but said she used to for 25 years—said she is not opposed to more pedestrian-friendly changes and drainage fixes. However, she said she thinks the loss of trees goes beyond what is necessary. The removal of the 57 trees in Phase 1 essentially involves removing all trees on both sides of the street, she said, which raises concerns about what Phase 2 could entail. Hitchcock urged the new TIRZ board to seek more variances that would allow the plan to move forward in a way that preserves more trees. “This is what makes Houston livable—shade, aesthetic beauty,” she said. “If you think of trees growing 25-45 years, that is a long-term infra- structure investment that we need to capitalize on and protect.”
TIRZ officials said the project will improve drainage to handle a two-year rainfall event while also making one of the neighborhood’s major north-south corridors more pedestri- an-friendly. Design work has been completed on the first phase of the project, but construction has been paused by Whitmire’s review after the new mayor took office in January. Former TIRZ Chair Joe Webb, who was replaced in July, said he and the other board members attempted to meet directly with Whitmire but instead were limited to interacting through his Senior Advisor Marlene Grafrick. At the time of his removal, he said he had not received any feedback on solutions the board proposed, which included installing six-foot- wide sidewalks throughout Phase 1 instead of the 10-foot-wide shared-use path. Webb said the project would require the removal of at least 37 trees no matter which design is chosen, based on the city’s design stan- dards, and because of the number of trees that are in poor health or interfere with utility lines.
W. CLAY ST.
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Shared use path
E S T H E I M E R R D .
RICHMOND AVE.
Phase 2
69
Cost: TBD Status: TBD
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