Heights and Northwest Houston: From the Heights Out US 290

Inside the city, addresses in the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest and Rice Military are checked with Houston ISD's School Zone Search Tool. For the Cypress area, Cy-Fair ISD's School Zone Locator covers Pre-K through grade 12 for 2026-27 and lists 281-897-4013 if an address returns no school; Tomball ISD posts an attendance zone map for its area. Because TEA does not collect attendance zones, enter the exact address in the district's own tool before relying on a school.

Sources: Houston ISD: School Zone Search Tool · Cy-Fair ISD: School Zone Locator · Tomball ISD: Attendance Zone Map · Texas Education Agency: School District Locator FAQ Checked Nov 4, 2026

The whole region is in Harris County, so properties are appraised by HCAD (hcad.org) and taxes are collected by the Harris County Tax Office (hctax.net). Addresses inside Houston city limits carry a City of Houston rate, while addresses outside a city often add a MUD or similar utility district that TCEQ says can levy its own tax; the Tax Office's Truth in Taxation summary lists each unit's adopted rate for tax years 2022 to 2026. Pull the address's HCAD account to see its exact taxing units, then match each to its adopted rate.

What MUD and PID taxes mean

Sources: Texas Comptroller: Harris County property tax directory · Harris County Tax Office: Truth in Taxation Summary (jurisdiction tax rates) · TCEQ: GI-043 General Information on Water Districts Checked Nov 4, 2026

HCFCD says the 111-square-mile White Oak Bayou watershed stretches from central to northwest Harris County and includes Jersey Village and parts of the City of Houston, while the Cypress Creek watershed covers 267 square miles of northwest Harris County and extends into Waller County. HCFCD lists Tropical Storm Allison (2001), Hurricane Ike (2008), the 2016 spring floods and Hurricane Harvey among the county's major flood events. Check the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and on HCFCD's MAAPnext draft maps, and ask for the seller's disclosure and any elevation certificate.

How to check a flood map, step by step

Sources: Harris County Flood Control District: White Oak Bayou watershed · Harris County Flood Control District: Cypress Creek watershed · FEMA: Flood Map Service Center · Harris County Flood Control District: MAAPnext Checked Nov 4, 2026

Inside Houston city limits, the City's Floodplain Management Office permits construction in the 100-year floodplain, 500-year floodplain and floodway and provides elevation certificates on file to owners who show proof of ownership. In unincorporated Harris County, the Office of the County Engineer requires a Floodplain Development Permit for all work in the floodplain and a post-construction finished-floor elevation certificate for Special Flood Hazard Area structures. First confirm whether the address is inside city limits, then ask the correct office for its floodplain records.

Sources: City of Houston: Floodplain Management Office · Harris County Office of the County Engineer: Floodplain Management Checked Nov 4, 2026

The City of Houston has three Houston Heights historic districts (West, East and South), whose boundaries the city describes as roughly following the parts of the neighborhood that are still largely intact; the Heights' industrial and commercial areas are not in any of them, and the National Park Service designated the Heights a Multiple Resource Area in 1983. Inside a city historic district, a Certificate of Appropriateness is required to change exterior features, build an addition, construct a new building, relocate or demolish, while ordinary maintenance that does not change design or materials generally is not. Check the address against the city's district boundary maps before planning work.

Sources: City of Houston Planning: Houston Heights West, East and South boundaries · City of Houston Planning: Houston Heights historic districts · City of Houston Planning: Certificate of Appropriateness Checked Nov 4, 2026

Close in, TxDOT's North Houston Highway Improvement Project Segment 3 is reconstructing parts of I-10, I-45, I-69 and SH 288 around downtown. Farther out, TxDOT's Grand Parkway Segment F-1 is a 12-mile toll road from US 290 near Cypress to SH 249 near Tomball, while Segment E runs 15.2 miles from I-10 near Katy to US 290. HCTRA operates the Tomball Tollway; check TxDOT project pages for current lane closures along a specific route.

Sources: TxDOT: North Houston Highway Improvement Project, Segment 3 · TxDOT: Grand Parkway Segment F-1 · TxDOT: Grand Parkway Segment E · TxDOT: Houston area toll roads Checked Nov 4, 2026

METRO's Northwest/US 290 corridor has park and ride routes 216 West Little York/Northwest Station, 217 Cypress and 219 Cypress/Northwest Station/West Little York to downtown Houston, using the HOV express lane. Check METRO's current schedules and nearest stop for the specific address.

Sources: METRO: Park & Ride Checked Nov 4, 2026

The Houston Heights was annexed by the City of Houston in 1918, according to the city's Heights history page, which notes the original deed restrictions stopped being enforced after annexation and that the Houston Heights Association now manages newer restrictions in some sections. To check a specific address, look at the taxing units on its HCAD account or use the City of Houston Planning Department's geographic data and annexation contacts.

Sources: City of Houston Planning: Houston Heights historic districts · City of Houston Planning: Annexation · Texas Comptroller: Harris County property tax directory Checked Nov 4, 2026