Jump to content

Katy, Texas: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Line 74: Line 74:


Retail centers are springing up all throughout Katy to accommodate the rapid residential growth. The major retail growth is now being focused on the Katy Fort Bend Road near the east entrance to the [[Katy Mills]] shopping mall.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}
Retail centers are springing up all throughout Katy to accommodate the rapid residential growth. The major retail growth is now being focused on the Katy Fort Bend Road near the east entrance to the [[Katy Mills]] shopping mall.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}


"Quite Possibly one of the worst places to live" - Yao Ming, Center for the Houston rockets


==Geography==
==Geography==

Revision as of 19:51, 19 January 2011

City of Katy
City
Location in the state of Texas
Location in the state of Texas
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountiesHarris, Fort Bend, Waller
Incorporated1945
Government
 • MayorDon Elder Jr.
Area
 • Total10.7 sq mi (27.6 km2)
 • Land10.7 sq mi (27.6 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation
141 ft (43 m)
Population
 (2000)[1]
 • Total11,775
 • Density426.1/sq mi (1,103.7/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
77400-77499
Area code281
FIPS code48-38476Template:GR
GNIS feature ID1338960Template:GR
Websitehttp://cityofkaty.com/

Katy is a city located in Harris, Fort Bend and Waller Counties in the U.S. state of Texas, within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 11,775 at the 2000 census.

History

Dr. James M. and Dove Stewart House, on the National Register of Historic Places

Katy, suburb of Houston, Texas, is named for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (commonly referred to as the "K-T Railroad", now a part of Union Pacific) that ran through Katy in the 19th century. Katy was once known as Cane Island. The name is derived from Cane Island Creek which runs just west of downtown. Cane Creek is a branch of Buffalo Bayou. The origins of the name Cane Island are believed to be from the fact that Katy was once a major sugar cane producer and rice producer. To commemorate the importance of rice to the Katy community, the Chamber of Commerce holds the Rice Harvest Festival every second weekend of October.[citation needed]

Katy was recently the location of one of the ten large red balloons in the DARPA Network Challenge on December 5, 2009. The balloon was stationed in Katy Park.[2]

In 2009 the Gadberry Group named Katy as one of nine "9 from 2009" most notable high growth areas in the United States.[3]

After a low income apartment complex was proposed for development in an adjacent unincorporated area, in 2010 the Katy City Council passed a resolution stating that the development would decrease property values.[4] The plans for the complex were canceled.[5]

Economy

Katy Mills

Several corporations are headquartered in areas surrounding Katy.

Igloo Corporation is headquartered west of Katy in unincorporated Waller County.[6] Academy Sports and Outdoors has its corporate offices and product distribution center in unincorporated western Harris County.[7]

In 2008 KBR announced that a new office facility would appear at the intersection of the Grand Parkway and Interstate 10 in unincorporated western Harris County, Texas, between Houston and Katy.[8] The new complex would have been be in close proximity to the Energy Corridor area of Houston.[9] KBR planned to continue to have a corporate presence in Downtown.[10] In December KBR said that it would not continue with the plans due to a weakened economy.[11]

Retail centers are springing up all throughout Katy to accommodate the rapid residential growth. The major retail growth is now being focused on the Katy Fort Bend Road near the east entrance to the Katy Mills shopping mall.[citation needed]


"Quite Possibly one of the worst places to live" - Yao Ming, Center for the Houston rockets

Geography

Map of Katy

Katy is located at 29°47′33″N 95°49′21″W / 29.79250°N 95.82250°W / 29.79250; -95.82250Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (29.792582, -95.822436).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.7 square miles (27.6 km²).None of the area is covered with water.

Katy vs. Katy area

Katy residents often split the city into two informal sections: "Old Katy" and "Katy Area". Old Katy is the actual city limits of Katy and lies mostly north of Interstate 10. This is the original Katy from before the 1970s when Houston's Energy Corridor (and the development that came with it) made its way west on I-10.

The "Katy area" is made up of large sections of unincorporated Harris and Fort Bend counties and mostly sits east and southeast of the city limits of Katy. This area is within the Katy Independent School District and nearly everyone in this area has a Katy postal address.

The Katy area includes new upscale developments and master planned communities such as Cinco Ranch, Green Trails, Wood Creek Reserve, Grayson Lakes, Seven Meadows, new and growing Pine Mill Ranch, Silver Ranch, Firethorne and Grand Lakes, while also encompassing developments from the 1970s and 1980s such as Memorial Parkway, Kelliwood and Nottingham Country.

All of the "Katy area" lies in the city of Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), not Katy's ETJ. This means that the areas of "Katy area" are controlled by the city of Houston and that city has the ability to annex it in the future. The city of Katy cannot annex this area unless the city of Houston releases the area's ETJ to Katy, which has occurred in several small chunks in recent years. The most recent instance of this was in 2001 when Houston ceded about 400 acres (1.6 km²) of ETJ to the City of Katy to allow the Katy Mills Mall and surrounding parking lot to be built entirely within the City of Katy. The city of Katy paid 1 million dollars for this right, but also had added the threat of building the Katy Mills Mall entirely on Katy's land and placing the parking lot in Houston's ETJ. Thus being of no tax benefit to Houston.

The "Katy area" contains well over 250,000 people.[citation needed]

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,775 people in "Old Katy", 3,888 households, and 3,083 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,103.7 people per square mile (426.1/km²). There were 4,072 housing units at an average density of 381.7/sq mi (147.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.98% White, 4.24% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 8.65% from other races, and 2.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.75% of the population.

There were 3,888 households out of which 45.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.7% were non-families. 17.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.37.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.5% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $51,111, and the median income for a family was $57,741. Males had a median income of $38,412 versus $33,004 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,192. 8.4% of the population and 7.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 9.1% were under the age of 18 and 6.5% were 65 or older.

The city contains a sizeable Muslim population, one of the largest in the Houston area.

Government and infrastructure

Local government

Residents of Katy in Harris and Fort Bend counties are within Voting Precinct 9 of the West Harris County Regional Water Authority.[12] The water authority opened in 2001.[13]

County, state, and federal representation

Harris County Precinct Three, headed by Steve Radack as of 2008, serves the Harris County portion of Katy.[14]

The United States Postal Service (USPS) operates the Katy Post Office at 5701 4th Street in the City of Katy[15] The postal service also operates the Katy Post Office Annex at 1331 Pin Oak Road in the City of Katy.[16]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Pupils who live in Katy are zoned to schools in Katy Independent School District.

Three of the elementary schools in the city of Katy are listed here for a full list visit www.katyisd.org

The following middle schools serve City of Katy residents:

Many homes in unincorporated Fort Bend, Harris, or Waller counties which have Katy addresses are served by other schools in Katy ISD.

Private schools

Faith West Academy is located in an unincorporated area in Harris County, near Katy.[22][23] Pope John XXIII High School is located in unincorporated Harris County, near Katy.[24]

Colleges and universities

Katy is served by the Houston Community College System. HCC Northwest College operates the Katy Campus in an unincorporated section of Harris County.[25]

University of Houston System at Cinco Ranch, located in an unincorporated section of Fort Bend County, offers bachelor's or master's degrees in a variety of areas including history, English, or various fields of science or business.

Public libraries

Katy is served by the Katy Branch of Harris County Public Library (HCPL) at 5414 Franz Road. The branch is a partnership between HCPL and the City of Katy. The city joined the county library system in 1921. The Katy Garden Club started the first library, which was housed in several private houses. At a later point it shared space with the Katy Fire Department. The first Katy branch opened in 1940. The Friends of the Katy Library began in 1972. The construction of the current 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) branch began in 2002. The current branch building opened for regular business in Monday April 28, 2003, with its grand opening ceremony on the previous day.[26]

The Fort Bend County Libraries Cinco Ranch Branch Library is in Cinco Ranch, in unincorporated Fort Bend County, south of Katy.[27] The HCPL Maud Smith Marks Branch Library is in unincorporated Harris County, west of Katy.[28]

Parks and recreation

Harris County operates the Mary Jo Peckham Community Center at 5597 Gardenia Lane.[29]

The City of Katy Dog Park is located at 5414 Franz Road.[30]

Forbidden Gardens is an outdoor museum replicating some of China's major historic scenes, including the first Emperor's 6,000 piece Terracotta Army replicated in 1/3 scale.

The Katy Tigers of Katy High School won the 5A state football title in 1959, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2008.

The Katy Community is documented and told about on KatyNation and describes the tradition behind Katy Football.

The annual Katy Rice Harvest Festival is two big days of excitement and family fun with two stages of continuous live entertainment, craft and food booths, carnival and more.

Transportation

Mass transit

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) operates the Kingsland Park and Ride (Route 221) east of Katy at 21669 Kingsland Boulevard. In February 2008 METRO opened a new park and ride location at the Cinemark parking lots near the intersection of Grand Parkway and I-10. The new Route is #222 Schedules can be found at: [3]

Intercity buses

Greyhound Bus Lines operates the Katy Station at Millers Exxon.[31]

Airports

Privately-owned airports for fixed-wing aircraft for public use located near Katy include:

Privately-owned airports for private use include:

Area airports with commercial airline service include George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport, both of which are in Houston.

Community information

In addition to Christus St. Catherine Hospital and the Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, there are currently three major hospital construction projects underway in the Katy area: The Methodist Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital along I-10 and St. Luke's Hospital on Grand Parkway, just South of I-10.

The Katy Family YMCA is located in nearby Cinco Ranch in unincorporated Fort Bend County. The YMCA was formerly named after Ken Lay, due to his having given an endowment of over $1 million. Soon after the Enron scandal began, the YMCA, since removing the name was undoable due to the financial help Lay provided, reduced the name, "Ken Lay" to approximately one-fourth the size it was before. In June 2006 Lay asked for his money to be returned in the wake of his legal trouble surrounding the Enron Scandal; consequently his name was removed and the YMCA was renamed the Katy Family YMCA.

List of mayors

  • Calvin Baird (1946–1947)
  • A.O. Miller (1947–1963)
  • J.E. Hudgens (1963–1967)
  • C.E. Freeman (1967–1969)
  • M.E. Watts (1969–1971)
  • Dan Cox (1971–1979)
  • John G. Morrison (1979–1983)
  • Johnny Nelson (1983–1987)
  • Ward A. Stanberry (1988–1991)
  • J.W. "Skip" Conner (1991–1995)
  • M.H. "Hank" Schmidt (1995–2001)
  • Doyle G. Callender (2001–2007)
  • Don Elder Jr. (2007–present)

See also

References

  1. ^ "US Census Bureau Population Finder: Katy city, TX". factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  2. ^ "DARPA Network Challenge Balloon Coordinates" (PDF). DARPA. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  3. ^ Morrow, Stacy. "Katy, Atascocita named among nation’s highest growth areas." KHOU-TV. January 5, 2010. Retrieved on January 8, 2010.
  4. ^ Hastings, Karen. "Low-income complex potential 'slum area'?" Ultimate Katy, Houston Chronicle. March 22, 2010. Retrieved on March 24, 2010.
  5. ^ Hastings, Karen. "Stiff resistance kills low-income housing plan." Ultimate Katy, Houston Chronicle. April 7, 2010. Retrieved on April 7, 2010.
  6. ^ "Igloo Worldwide Headquarters." Igloo Corporation. Accessed September 5, 2008.
  7. ^ "Contact Academy Sports & Outdoors." Academy Sports and Outdoors. Accessed September 5, 2008.
  8. ^ Dawson, Jennifer. "KBR plans HQ campus." Houston Business Journal. Friday April 4, 2008. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.
  9. ^ Sarnoff, Nancy. "KBR says it's moving to Energy Corridor / Getting close to customers among reasons to leave downtown." Houston Chronicle. Saturday May 3, 2008. Business 1. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.
  10. ^ "KBR Announces Plan for West Houston Campus Location." KBR. May 2, 2008. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.
  11. ^ Sarnoff, Nancy. "Economic crunch undercuts real estate projects." Houston Chronicle. January 3, 2009. Retrieved on January 21, 2009.
  12. ^ "Revised Voting Precincts." West Harris County Regional Water Authority. Retrieved on April 25, 2009.
  13. ^ "A Brief History of the West Harris County Regional Water Authority." West Harris County Regional Water Authority. Retrieved on April 25, 2009.
  14. ^ "Precinct Maps : Precinct 3." Harris County. Accessed October 13, 2008.
  15. ^ "[1]." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on April 8, 2009.
  16. ^ "Post Office Location - KATY ANNEX." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
  17. ^ "Hutsell Elementary School Attendance Zone." Katy Independent School District. Accessed September 5, 2008.
  18. ^ "Katy Elementary School Attendance Zone." Katy Independent School District. Accessed September 5, 2008.
  19. ^ "Wood Creek Elementary School Attendance Zone." Katy Independent School District. Accessed September 5, 2008.
  20. ^ "Katy Junior High School Attendance Zone." Katy Independent School District. Accessed September 5, 2008.
  21. ^ "WoodCreek Junior High School Attendance Zone." Katy Independent School District. Accessed September 5, 2008.
  22. ^ "Directions." Faith West Academy. Retrieved on November 6, 2010.
  23. ^ "Contact Us." Faith West Academy. Retrieved on November 6, 2010. "Faith West 2225 Porter Road Katy, TX 77493."
  24. ^ "Contact Us." Pope John XXIII High School. Retrieved on November 6, 2010. "1800 West Grand Parkway N Katy, Texas 77449."
  25. ^ "Northwest College." Houston Community College District. Accessed September 5, 2008.
  26. ^ "Katy Branch Library." Harris County Public Library. Retrieved on November 29, 2008.
  27. ^ "Cinco Ranch Branch Library Katy, Texas." Fort Bend County Libraries. Retrieved on November 6, 2010. "2620 Commercial Center Blvd. Katy, Texas 77494-6407"
  28. ^ "Maud Smith Marks Branch Library." Harris County Public Library. Retrieved on November 6, 2010.
  29. ^ "Community Centers : Mary Jo Peckham." Harris County. Accessed October 14, 2008.
  30. ^ "[2]. Accessed April 8, 2009.
  31. ^ "Katy, Texas", Greyhound Lines
Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Katy,_Texas&oldid=408837005"