NEWS BRIEFS
News from Harris County, Katy & Harmony Public Schools
County primary runo election results nalized
Harmony Public Schools to o er fully virtual option in 2022 23
BY HANNAH ZEDAKER & ANNA LOTZ
Runo elections are deemed necessary when no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote. The May 24 runo election included the two highest-performing candidates from the March primaries. RUNOFF RESULTS
In the May 24 runo elections, Alexandra Del Moral Mealer took the Republican nomination in the race for Harris County judge, while Lesley Briones won the Democratic seat for Harris County Precinct 4 commissioner, who represents the Katy area. Results from the Harris County Elections Adminis- trator’s O ce show Briones garnered 53.91% of votes for commissioner while opponent Ben Chou secured 46.09%. Briones will face incumbent Jack Cagle, a Republican, on the Nov. 8 ballot. In the Republican Harris County judge race, Del Moral Mealer earned 75.42% of votes, while Vidal Martinez had 24.58%. In November, she will face Lina Hidalgo.
BY LAURA ROBB
On May 23, Harmony Public Schools announced it will o er full online learning options to all students during the 2022-23 school year, according to a news release from the charter school system. The virtual school, dubbed Harmony Virtual Academy, is approved for about 572 students in the fall 2022 semester. In 2021-22, about 400 students attended Harmony Virtual Academy, per the Harmony Public Schools news release. Eligibility for the virtual schooling requires students to be enrolled at Harmony for the applicable school year, maintain at least a 90% attendance rate, have passed their most recent State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readi- ness and be passing in all core subjects. “Parents deserve to have a choice in their child’s education,” Harmony Public Schools CEO Fatih Ay said in an email. “And so many families have told us that a virtual option is a choice they still need.”
Lesley Briones 53.91% Ben Chou 46.09% Alexandra Del Moral Mealer 75.42% Vidal Martinez 24.58%
Harris County Precinct 4 commissioner, Democratic seat
Votes
Harris County judge, Republican seat
Votes
SOURCES: HARRIS COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Katy zoning de nitions updated after nearly 40 years
residents live. “C-1 is light commercial,” Smith said. “By de nition, it is designed to co-exist and live right next to residential. [These changes are a] massive improve[ment].” Businesses already in these districts are grandfathered in and will not have to make any changes in accordance with the rede ned land uses. RACHEL LAZO, CITY PLANNER FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT “THE LANGUAGE USED FOR THESE STANDARDS WOULD HELP ENCOURAGE MAINTAINING THE CHARACTER AND REDEVELOPMENT OF THE OLD KATY DISTRICT.”
BY ASIA ARMOUR
determine the land uses and de nitions for each of the aforemen- tioned districts. Most changes were made to the C-1 commercial district, where commissioners prohib- ited smoke shops, liquor stores, sexually-oriented businesses and tat- too shops; and updated the purpose statement to ensure new businesses are in line with the intention of the district, Lazo said. Minimal changes were made to the OKD and C-2 districts. The OKD now allows “micro-industrial” busi- nesses—such as breweries, wineries, distilleries and roasteries—and the C-2 district can have “commercial amusement” uses, including bowling alleys, billiards and shooting ranges. Council Member Dan Smith thanked Lazo and the CPZ for their work on the zoning de nitions, espe- cially when it comes to integrating the uses of C-1 with districts where
On May 23, Katy City Council accepted rede ned terms and land uses for commercial, industrial and the “Old Katy” zoning districts as determined by the city planning and zoning commission. The last time these terms were updated was 1983. Rachel Lazo, city planner for the public works department, presented the rede ned terms for C-1 commer- cial districts; C-2 general business districts; the OKD, or “Old Katy” district; and M industrial districts. The city’s planning and zoning commission approved an actionable plan of work in November 2018, which prioritized revising the bound- aries of the Old Katy District, Lazo said. In early 2019, the city planning and zoning commission added minimum standards for architecture, parking and signage, she said. The second priority was to
Eligibility for the virtual schooling requires four things from students. ONLINE ELIGIBILITY
Pass the most recent State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness Maintain at least a 90% attendance rate Enroll at Harmony for the applicable school year
Pass all core subjects
SOURCE: HARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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KATY EDITION • JUNE 2022
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