****Meritage Update from Kings River Village HOA Board of Directors:*****
Posted on Nov 4th, 2024
****Meritage Update from Kings River Village HOA Board of Directors:*****
Meritage has provided the following response to the clearing activity:
Thank you for reaching out with your concerns sir. I am the project manager for our development adjacent to King’s River Village and would be happy to answer your questions.
We are currently developing our first section South of Pinehurst Trail Drive to relocate the existing Centerpoint gas pipeline that services the area, which is a project that can take up to 9 months. The Northern portion of this property also has a pipeline that will require relocation, and as such we are needing to get the clearing and survey work for the project done before the process can be kicked off with Centerpoint. The pipeline that services the area must be relocated before we can begin development. I hope this answers your questions and please let me know if there is anything else I can provide at this time sir.
In addition, the HOA board of directors has put together a series of follow-up questions to inquire further details:
During this phase of pipeline relocation, will the entire north section be cleared or just the area needed for pipeline relocation?
Will the Reserve B behind Water Wood Trl shown on the latest plat drawing be cleared or will the existing trees/natural vegetation remain to maintain a natural buffer?(https://plattracker.houstontx.gov/edrc/DocDefaultReports.aspx?myAppId=81988&MyURL=xxx.houstontx.gov/2024/Applications/&myNumb=/2024-1925/SubdivisionPlatPDF_PDF_KINGS%20RIVER%20NORTH_v1.pdf)
Same question for Reserve A
It seems that the land on the southern section is being raised up a good 3 feet or so. Will this also happen on the Northern Section?
Please describe how drainage behind Water Wood Trl will flow properly to retention ponds on the southern part of the lot? Will there be a grading/slope to allow water to flow from west to east and then south on Reserve C to the retention ponds? Today, water flows naturally into the woods and uses the natural swales, so there is concern that this natural drainage would be interrupted especially if there will be a significant raising of the property.
Will the retention ponds drain into the existing stormwater system (as part of MUD 151)?
Do you have an estimated timeline that you can share for full development?
Meritage response:
We will be clearing the entirety of the site at this time due to economies of scale; a tree buffer will remain along the eastern portion of the property and partially on the south side of the property.
The edge of the property called out as reserve B is currently a utility easement that is required to be cleared by Centerpoint. You may remember early into the project that King’s River Village residents requested we clear some of the dead trees along these powerlines, which I was able to have done for a few thousand dollars as a courtesy to our neighbors.
Reserve A will have a pond within that Reserve and will have some additional trees. For both Reserve E and Reserve A these ponds will be open to the public and will provide lake front views for both our residents and yours.
The southern section of lots was raised, however the existing grade was only raised for our internal section. The transition between the pond and the homes adjacent to our southern section is at natural grade, and the pond we are excavating is up to Atlas 14 standards, the new floodplain requirements post-Harvey. We have analyzed our ponds with both Harris County and the MUD, and these ponds will provide both an amenity for the area as well as improve the existing storm system to help further reduce existing flooding issues. We over engineered this pond to ensure that we improve the capabilities of the storm system. Harris County standards only require we detain for our developed impact, but we wanted to make sure we were positively impacting the community.
The drainage in this area will flow to the pond called out in Reserve A, which then connects to a restrictor pipe and storm culvert that will connect the north and south ponds and discharge into the system along Pinehurst Trail Drive. Again, the system we are installing is over-engineered to ensure we are improving the system.
Yes, these ponds will connect to the storm system and Harris County MUD 151 has reviewed our Detention Impact Analysis as well as our Detention plans.
We are anticipating the first section delivers lots in April of 2025, and we anticipate that those 86 homes will be sold out by the end of 2025, early 2026. Section 2 is roughly 6-8 months behind Section 1, but we anticipate civil development of both sections to be completed this year. Once I have fully approved landscape and hardscape drawings for review I am happy to share those with you.
I also believe there was a Facility Use Agreement discussion early on for this project – we will be forming our own HOA and will not be requesting to buy into using the King’s River Village facilities. Additionally, I have been asked by the MUD to ensure we do not use the name “King’s River” in our marketing information. I am happy to oblige to that request and we will be sure there is no confusion between the names of our communities. Please reach out with any other questions or concerns.
Meritage has provided the following response to the clearing activity:
Thank you for reaching out with your concerns sir. I am the project manager for our development adjacent to King’s River Village and would be happy to answer your questions.
We are currently developing our first section South of Pinehurst Trail Drive to relocate the existing Centerpoint gas pipeline that services the area, which is a project that can take up to 9 months. The Northern portion of this property also has a pipeline that will require relocation, and as such we are needing to get the clearing and survey work for the project done before the process can be kicked off with Centerpoint. The pipeline that services the area must be relocated before we can begin development. I hope this answers your questions and please let me know if there is anything else I can provide at this time sir.
In addition, the HOA board of directors has put together a series of follow-up questions to inquire further details:
During this phase of pipeline relocation, will the entire north section be cleared or just the area needed for pipeline relocation?
Will the Reserve B behind Water Wood Trl shown on the latest plat drawing be cleared or will the existing trees/natural vegetation remain to maintain a natural buffer?(https://plattracker.houstontx.gov/edrc/DocDefaultReports.aspx?myAppId=81988&MyURL=xxx.houstontx.gov/2024/Applications/&myNumb=/2024-1925/SubdivisionPlatPDF_PDF_KINGS%20RIVER%20NORTH_v1.pdf)
Same question for Reserve A
It seems that the land on the southern section is being raised up a good 3 feet or so. Will this also happen on the Northern Section?
Please describe how drainage behind Water Wood Trl will flow properly to retention ponds on the southern part of the lot? Will there be a grading/slope to allow water to flow from west to east and then south on Reserve C to the retention ponds? Today, water flows naturally into the woods and uses the natural swales, so there is concern that this natural drainage would be interrupted especially if there will be a significant raising of the property.
Will the retention ponds drain into the existing stormwater system (as part of MUD 151)?
Do you have an estimated timeline that you can share for full development?
Meritage response:
We will be clearing the entirety of the site at this time due to economies of scale; a tree buffer will remain along the eastern portion of the property and partially on the south side of the property.
The edge of the property called out as reserve B is currently a utility easement that is required to be cleared by Centerpoint. You may remember early into the project that King’s River Village residents requested we clear some of the dead trees along these powerlines, which I was able to have done for a few thousand dollars as a courtesy to our neighbors.
Reserve A will have a pond within that Reserve and will have some additional trees. For both Reserve E and Reserve A these ponds will be open to the public and will provide lake front views for both our residents and yours.
The southern section of lots was raised, however the existing grade was only raised for our internal section. The transition between the pond and the homes adjacent to our southern section is at natural grade, and the pond we are excavating is up to Atlas 14 standards, the new floodplain requirements post-Harvey. We have analyzed our ponds with both Harris County and the MUD, and these ponds will provide both an amenity for the area as well as improve the existing storm system to help further reduce existing flooding issues. We over engineered this pond to ensure that we improve the capabilities of the storm system. Harris County standards only require we detain for our developed impact, but we wanted to make sure we were positively impacting the community.
The drainage in this area will flow to the pond called out in Reserve A, which then connects to a restrictor pipe and storm culvert that will connect the north and south ponds and discharge into the system along Pinehurst Trail Drive. Again, the system we are installing is over-engineered to ensure we are improving the system.
Yes, these ponds will connect to the storm system and Harris County MUD 151 has reviewed our Detention Impact Analysis as well as our Detention plans.
We are anticipating the first section delivers lots in April of 2025, and we anticipate that those 86 homes will be sold out by the end of 2025, early 2026. Section 2 is roughly 6-8 months behind Section 1, but we anticipate civil development of both sections to be completed this year. Once I have fully approved landscape and hardscape drawings for review I am happy to share those with you.
I also believe there was a Facility Use Agreement discussion early on for this project – we will be forming our own HOA and will not be requesting to buy into using the King’s River Village facilities. Additionally, I have been asked by the MUD to ensure we do not use the name “King’s River” in our marketing information. I am happy to oblige to that request and we will be sure there is no confusion between the names of our communities. Please reach out with any other questions or concerns.