Conroe neighborhood fights mobile home development
CONROE, TX
Construction has already begun. And while current residents worry about the possibility of crime and depreciating home values, the developer says his project will enhance the neighborhood.
A once quiet Conroe neighborhood is now a buzz with bulldozers.
Lincoln Heights is tucked away on the southeast corner of Conroe. But to the surprise of homeowners, a new mobile home subdivision is going in across the street.
"When the bull dozers and the dump trucks and things were coming in and the trees where falling, we didn't know a thing about it," resident Linda Stennis said.
The 5.7-acre lot was purchased last summer by developer Leo Hewett. Twenty-two mobile home lots with water and sewage hook up will be for sale in just over two weeks, he says.
But nearby residents say a mobile home subdivision will change their neighborhood.
"I'm worried about security, and I need that. I'm here by myself, alone," resident Ellouise Byrd said.
"We're concerned about home values, crime," Stennis said.
Currently the city of Conroe regulates where single mobile homes can be located. However, a mobile subdivision of 20 or more is unrestricted.
Hewett says his community will be deed restricted, not allowing any rentals.
"Everything has been done by their ordinances and by their rules, so end of story," Hewett said.
Hewett also feels his mobile home subdivision will actually increase surrounding property values.
"You take a tax base of a $25,000 lot and a $50,000 home, it's $75,000 or $80,000; here is a house over here that I bet is not on the tax rolls for ($20,000)," he said.
But this issue in Lincoln Heights now has the attention of Conroe City Council concerned about mobile communities being allowed in any current neighborhood.
"We are going to lose that personal attention that we can give one another when a trailer park comes in," Stennis said.
This issue has City Council taking a closer look and has formed a subcommittee to evaluate whether regulations should be added on where mobile subdivisions should be allowed. It should advise council with their decision in 30 days.
