Highland Village, Texas

For Houston subdivision, see Highland Village, Houston, Texas.

Highland Village, Texas
City
Location of Highland Village in Denton County, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Denton
Area
• Total	6.4 sq mi (16.6 km2)
• Land	5.5 sq mi (14.3 km2)
• Water	0.9 sq mi (2.3 km2)
Elevation	554 ft (169 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	12,173
• Density	2,206.6/sq mi (852.0/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	75077
Area code	972
FIPS code	48-33848Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1337748Template:GR

Highland Village is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States, hugging the south side of the far western branch of Lewisville Lake. As of the 2000 census the city population was 12,173, though the 2006 projection by the U.S. Census Bureau puts the city's population at 15,738. A number of residential communities are located within Highland Village, including Highland Shores and Castlewood.

Local history and politics

Highland Village incorporated as a city in the early 1960s, though it only registered 516 residents in the 1970 census. The opening of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport helped spur massive growth in cities north of the airport, including Highland Village. The census figures rose sharply: 3,246 in 1980, 7,027 in 1990, 12,173 in 2000, and 14,589 in 2004 (estimated). The city remains a primarily residential area, though more business development is occurring. Rapid growth has led to political conflict, although the city is still relatively small compared to nearby Flower Mound and Lewisville.

Highland Village has been the site of a number of local controversies, including the extension of FM2499 to FM2181 in Corinth, Texas—long planned by TxDOT—and approval of development of one parcel within the city's retail district which will include a Wal-Mart as the anchor tenant. The contested development of FM2499 was originally planned by the impacted communities through a 1987 task force report presented to the Texas Transportation Commission in 1988, which proposed the expansion and extension of FM2499, from SH 121 to IH-35E, in five sections.

At the same time that the Wal-Mart development was being hotly debated, a development on the opposite side of FM2499, with a larger anchor—and offered by its developer to Wal-Mart, but not identified as such—was accepted without opposition. One highly visible activist, Paul LeBon, lost a $725,000 libel and slander lawsuit filed by former councilman Gary Kloepper.

In a recent story, local newspaper The News Connection reported that Duncan Duvall, owner of the Double Tree Ranch in Highland Village, had been arrested in connection with possible illegal water use.

On February 14, 2007 former Denton County District Attorney Bruce Isaacks and his wife, State District Court Judge Vicki Isaacks, filed a libel suit against attorney Bill Trantham and a local newspaper, The News Connection, the newspaper's publisher Shane Allen, its executive editor Bob Weir, and its investigative reporter Stephen Webster. Isaacks was defeated by current district attorney Paul Johnson in the March, 2006 Republican primary.

Emerging Issues

The City of Highland Village mayor and city council commissioned the development of a new logo in 2007, to replace the familiar red, white, and blue logo in use since the 1970s. Citizen reaction to spending taxpayer dollars on this venture has been decidedly mixed. When the new logo was depicted in local newspapers, an informal random survey of 25 citizens revealed overwhelming support for retaining the old logo and abandoning the new. Comments such as "ugly", "weird", and "childish" were among the reactions to the new logo when citizens were shown the old and new logos side by side. The change to the new logo will be an issue that the current mayor and council will have to defend in the next election.

Pressured by the mayor and council, the DCTA initiated bus service in Highland Village in January 2008. News reports by the Dallas Morning News and DCTA Board Minutes posted on the DCTA website revealed that this service, known as Connect Route 22, was averaging less than one rider per hour during its first six months, and costing an average of $55 per ride in taxpayer subsidies. The mayor commented to a reporter for the Dallas Morning News that, "Even if only 8 people per day are riding the bus, that is 8 cars that we are taking off the street."

Geography

Highland Village is located at 33°5′17″N 97°3′21″W (33.087940, -97.055874)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.4 square miles (16.6 km²), of which, 5.5 square miles (14.3 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) of it (13.88%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 12,173 people, 3,874 households, and 3,552 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,206.6 people per square mile (851.5/km²). There were 4,009 housing units at an average density of 726.7/sq mi (280.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.21% White, 1.47% African American, 0.40% Native American, 1.92% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.80% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.46% of the population.

There were 3,874 households out of which 53.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 85.3% were married couples living together, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 8.3% were non-families. 6.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.9% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $102,141, and the median income for a family was $105,109. Males had a median income of $79,626 versus $41,102 for females. The per capita income for the city was $40,613. About 0.1% of families and 0.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Local notes

Highland Village is served by the Lewisville Independent School District, which has three elementary schools and one middle school located in the city. Marcus High School, located in Flower Mound but near Highland Village, is the city's principal high school. Highland Village hosts an annual hot-air balloon festival sponsored by local Lions Clubs. Highland Village voted to become a member of the Denton County Transportation Authority in September 2003.

Highland Village Days is a great annual event in June that brings together Highland Village families and outdoor enthusiasts to celebrate the beginning of summer.

The Highland Shores Community is located in the northwest area of Highland Village and on the south shore of Lake Lewisville. It is a master planned community which contains over 1,600 homes. The first homes were constructed in 1985. The typical lot size ranges from .2 to .5-acre (2,000 m²). The area is served by Lewisville ISD schools.

Community amenities include: community club house, community swimming pools, tennis courts, basketball courts, greenbelts, jogging/bike paths, children's playgrounds, and home owners association

Neighborhood schools serving this area include:

 Elementary schools 
          Heritage - Exemplary 
          McAuliffe - Exemplary 
 Middle school  
          Briarhill - Exemplary 
 High school 
          Marcus - Academically Acceptable

External links

• City of Highland Village, TX website
• The Messenger newspaper
• Lewisville Independent School District website