Because The Woodlands is a tea party stronghold, and tends to vote for reform-minded candidates, the “good old boys” on commissioners court see them as a threat and have treated the community poorly. The Woodlands only has one representative on the commissioners court, which has attempted to force unpopular roads such as the Woodlands Parkway extension through regardless of what the residents want. Perhaps the biggest issue of all, is that for years the Montgomery County Commissioners Court has abused and neglected The Woodlands. According to Bunch, The Woodlands requested funding for disaster relief however, it was denied because they were not a city. The township began looking even more seriously at incorporation after Hurricane Harvey devastated parts of the community in 2017. However, as a city, they would be able to have a say concerning which roads would be built inside their city limits. Additionally, two other roads opposed by the residents, additions to Branch Crossing and Gosling, have also been placed on the Montgomery County thoroughfare plan.Īs a township, The Woodlands does not have the authority to stop these projects. The Woodlands Parkway extension is still on the table. While incorporation has been discussed at length since the 1990s, when Houston annexed Kingwood, it has been an especially hot topic in the last few years since the unpopular Woodlands Parkway extension was put on the ballot as part of a road bond package in 2015. It is therefore no surprise that a forum on the topic would draw such a crowd. Becoming a city would change the community’s structure of government significantly. The Woodlands is currently under a township form of government. Township Board Chairman Gordy Bunch gave a presentation on the history of The Woodlands, and what the process of incorporation would look like. Citizens packed a large conference room at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel, with many having to stand it the back and the crowd spilling out into the hallway. Hundreds of residents turned out for a forum hosted by The Woodlands Township on incorporation, the first of its kind in the history of the community.

The woodlands township incorporation