City moves forward on new Westchase park

"When you look at the park map, the green spaces around District F ... you see the majority of it is still orange and red," he said, referencing a visual representation of the city's master parks plan. "This will help us, but we need to do a better job."

Here is a link to a more detailed report on the parks sector Le is talking about (note that the third page of the report better explains his references to "orange" and "red" areas).

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The $3.6 million needed to buy the site -- on Wilcrest across a gully from the Westchase library -- came not from the strained city budget, but from a dedicated park fund that has become Houston's only reliable source of funding for new parkland.

The money comes from dollars generated under a 2007 ordinance that divided Houston into 21 sectors and levied $700-per-unit fees on residential developers who did not set aside green space. The fees generated within each sector must be spent there within three years and can be used only for park improvements.

The recession initially undercut the idea, limiting city parks staff largely to replacing playground equipment. Since late 2012, however, the funds have accumulated enough in some sectors to fund roughly $9.8 million worth of land purchases, covering more than 10.7 acres.

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With zero dollars slated for parkland acquisition in the city's five-year capital plan and bond dollars focused on the Bayou Greenways 2020 effort to create linear parks along Houston's waterways, the open space fund is Houston's best bet to expand greenspace, save the occasional philanthropic windfall.

Mayor Sylvester Turner has in the past floated the idea of asking voters to approve more parks bonds this fall, but has not yet announced a formal plan for the November ballot

The general manager of the Westchase District (a local board funded by taxes levied on area businesses) Jim Murphy, also a state representative for west Houston, last October said he expected the facilities to be finished within two years.

>>>Scroll through the above gallery to see Houston's hottest parks