Cleaning up Kingwood From the cover
The framework
The catalyst
associations. The trails associations are also in charge of mowing and maintaining rights of way along major roadways near the trails. Price said the KSA—a nonprofit established in 1976—is responsible for maintaining the three major entrances to Kingwood and more than 350 acres of land spread across five parks in the area. “The KSA takes the lead in trying to coordinate things with the city [of Houston],” Price said. Price said the KSA is funded by dues paid by member organizations, noting the amount of money collected from each member varies depending on the number of housing and commercial units within that organization’s area.
Although the city of Houston annexed Kingwood in 1996, the maintenance of most of the public spaces in the area has been carried out by a com- bination of community associations, trails associ- ations and the Kingwood Service Association, KSA President Dee Price said. While the city of Houston is responsible for main- taining Dylan Duncan Skate Park and portions of the medians along four arterial roadways, Price said individual community associations are responsible for the maintenance of property within their village. Outside of villages, Price said five trails asso- ciations are responsible for maintaining portions of Kingwood’s roughly 75-mile greenbelt system that aren’t already maintained by community
When Jay Mincks moved to Kingwood in 1990, he said he was drawn to “the livable forest” that had been newly developed by Friendswood Development Company. “At the time, Friendswood was still deeply involved in the community,” Mincks said. “They had people on every one of the [homeowners associations] providing leadership because … they were trying to sell real estate, so that meant making sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to do.” Six years later, however, Kingwood was annexed by Houston and the developer was no longer involved with providing maintenance or oversight. Nearly three decades later, Mincks said he believes litter, broken curbs and downed trees now have a “broken pane effect” on the once pristine community. In hopes of addressing these issues, Mincks and a handful of other Kingwood residents held the first meeting of the Beautify Kingwood Task Force on April 10 with the goal of providing a voice for Kingwood and helping the community get back to its roots. “This is really an advocacy [group] for a community that we love,” Mincks said. “It’s just the observation that we’ve just kind of let things slip … and the feeling like there’s nobody really accountable.” The newly-formed organization is just one of several initiatives launched in recent years to help maintain and restore Kingwood.
Kingwood Service Association jurisdiction 1 North Park Recreation Area 2 Deer Ridge Park 3 River Grove Park 4 Creekwood Nature Area 5 East End Park 3 MAIN ENTRANCES (UNMAPPED) City of Houston jurisdiction 6 Dylan Duncan Skate Park A Northpark Drive B Kingwood Drive C Woodland Hills Drive D West Lake Houston Parkway
Kingwood villages*
FORD RD.
5 trails associations maintain portions of Kingwood's 75-mile greenbelt system
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1
5
A
C
6
4
D
B
2
3
LAKE HOUSTON
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NOTE: THIS MAP MAY NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE OF ALL KINGWOOD VILLAGES. THE CITY OF HOUSTON MAINTAINS PORTIONS OF THE MEDIANS OF THESE ROADWAYS SOURCES: KINGWOOD SERVICE ASSOCIATION, CITY OF HOUSTON, KINGWOOD.COM/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Dig deeper
Kingwood tree canopy
3,000 trees planted by TFK since 2022
Bloch said the nonprofit works with individual neighborhoods to identify areas where tree plantings should occur. Plantings are followed by a two-year watering schedule, which is carried out manually by volunteers, as the irrigation system in Kingwood’s medians do not meet Houston standards and are therefore unable to be used. Bloch said the nonprofit also helps pick up litter throughout Kingwood and works with CenterPoint Energy to identify trees that need to be removed to avoid power outages. Moving forward, Bloch said the organization
Also on a mission to restore Kingwood’s beauty, Trees for Kingwood launched in 2022 with a focus on the community’s tree canopy. The volunteer-run nonprofit partners with Trees for Houston and is funded through donations. “We saw [Kingwood] in its original beauty, and we’ve seen the damage that’s been done and we want to restore it,” said Joyce Chambers, a Trees for Kingwood board member. Board member Chris Bloch noted Kingwood has lost thousands of trees over the years due to drought, natural disasters and invasive species.
4 trees lost out of 200 planted by TFK in first year 300-350 trees lost throughout Kingwood during Hurricane Beryl
SOURCE: TREES FOR KINGWOOD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
is working on acquiring land for a tree farm, which would allow volunteers to transplant trees throughout Kingwood as they mature.
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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