Piney Point government planning to make itself at home

We noticed a news story yesterday about the city of Piney Point Village's plan to move its city hall to a $1.5 million, 7,000-square-foot mansion — a plan that isn't sitting well with some of the neighbors. KPRC had more on the story yesterday, and it looks like Piney Pointers aren't getting any happier.

The basic idea is this: The city wants to move its offices to the six bedroom, six and a half bath home (complete with swimming pool and waterfall) at 230 Blalock Road. The problems? The neighborhood isn't zoned for that, there isn't enough parking and folks in the neighborhood aren't taking to the idea of having all the functions of city government, including night court, next door. "It doesn't sound practical to me at all. I just can’t imagine buying a residential property to use for conducting municipal business," Ed Hess, one of the neighbors, told KHOU. We imagine the fact that the city kept the plans quiet while purchasing the property didn't help: "We switched to not using our name and were able to buy land and building at a better price than if we were buying land and building a new building," Mayor Carol Fox told KPRC. "Our options for using other peoples' facilities are running out."

Not that we doubt that the house is cheaper than building a city hall from scratch, but residents are wondering about the practical aspects of the plan, including parking — though the house has a large driveway, the nearest parking available is at a nearby church. There are also the questions of how much it'll cost to secure the property and make it handicap-accessible, and how having the city hall in a residential area will affect property values. "I will be the lucky lady who will live next door to the new city hall," resident Karey Bresenhan, who estimates her property value will drop 30 percent, told a group of residents who turned out for a public hearing on zoning. "I don't want to do that. I don't think any of you do, either."

The city government is scheduled to move out of its current offices next month.