HOUSTON — It's happening from Montrose to the Third Ward -- huge power poles are popping up without warning.
They're going up right in front of houses and residents said they're not being warned.
They aren't your average poles, either, as these take several steps to get around and are very tall.
CenterPoint said they weren't required to tell anyone that the poles were going up and they said the bigger poles replace five smaller poles.
Residents who live near the intersection of Fairview Avenue and Park Street said they're worried that it will hurt their property value and they're frustrated that they didn't have a say in whether or not the pole went up.
- "Just shocked. It was bad. It was very bad," one resident said.
- "It a huge obstruction," another said.
- "A huge eyesore for all of us," yet another said.
Residents said the crews that put up the poles didn't tell them anything except to not park on the street while they were working.
"They would just knock on our door and tell us we couldn't park on the street," Montrose resident Nicole Frizzell said.
According to CenterPoint, the poles are enhancing the electric system in the area. The company also said, in part, "Due to its location in the road right-of-way, it did not require customer notifications."
Third Ward residents are dealing with the same thing.
"They are the size of a trampoline," a resident said.
Nearly four decades ago, R. Michael Lee founded the AIDS Memorial Garden in the Third Ward.
"I'm 70 years old now. When I was in my 20s and 30s, my social years, I have no friends from that. They've all died of AIDS," Lee said.
Since then, it's been a labor of love as he's cared for and tended to a small oasis behind his home. He's worried the memorial will be damaged when the new poles are installed on a nearby bike path.
"Infastructure is important. Infrastructure improvement is important. But it's also important to work with the community," Lee said.
In a statement, the City of Houston said, in part: "The State of Texas gives public utilities the right to construct equipment on public rights-of-way within neighborhoods. We are investigating any enforcement actions that may be available to us, up to and including legal action against CenterPoint if we find a violation of any kind."
Ed Pettitt, the vice president of the Third Ward Super Neighborhood, is surprised that protections against something like this aren't already in place.
"It's totally ruining the character of the Montrose neighborhood and it's going to totally ruin the character of this beautiful, natural hike and bike path," Pettitt said.
CenterPoint said that even though they aren't required to inform residents, they will "strive to ensure that such communications occur in the future."