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Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 165 is
located in northwest Harris County, Texas, approximately
20 miles northwest of the central business district of
Houston near the intersection of Fry Road and FM 529.
The District is bounded on the north by the future West
Road right-of-way, the east by a HL&P easement and HC
MUD No. 172, the west by Fry Road and the south by FM
529. The District is wholly within in the
extra-territorial jurisdiction ("ETJ") of the City of
Houston. The District was created by Order of the Texas
Water Commission (now Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality) dated July 6, 1978. In the late 1980s and
early 1990s, the District experienced a severe decrease
in assessed value and a distressed economy. The taxable
value in the District decreased from $26,490,000 in 1987
to a low of $11,198,950 in 1992. The District had to
foreclose on hundreds of acres of undeveloped land, had
no housing growth, and had to file for bankruptcy. Value
of individual homes plummeted and it became hard to
re-sell homes in the District.
In the mid 1990s, the Board of Directors developed a
plan to sell the undeveloped acreage they acquired
through foreclosure to make themselves attractive to
developers to build in the District and to emerge from
bankruptcy. This plan revolved around annexing land to
spread the cost of operating the existing water and
sewer facilities between more people, to increase the
value of property in the District, and to encourage more
attractive development. The Directors also hoped this
plan would provide more parks and green space for the
residents.
After emerging from bankruptcy proceedings in 1998,
the District decided to promote quality development,
including annexations of additional land to share the
cost of the original infrastructure across a larger
District. This allowed the District to reduce its tax
rate.
After a series of annexations, the District's acreage
has grown from 441 acres at creation to 2,147 acres in
2006; the value has increased from $11,198,950 in 1992
to $251,319,691 in 2006; and the tax rate has decreased
from $3.89 in 1989 to $1.32 in 2006. |
