In July, some residents of Colony Park in Galveston called, saying they thought City Councilman Tarris Woods was about to become a neighbor. They were interested because the neighborhood is in District 5 and Woods represents District 1.

Woods said he was still a resident of District 1 and planned to stay there. He said he, like others in public office, has bought property in various parts of town but has not changed his primary residence.

Since then, people have begun sending photographs to the newspaper. The photographs show Woods and his vehicle at the house in Colony Park. At least one of those sending the photographs left a note saying the newspaper should raise the question of Woods’ residency as an issue before the elections in May.

Woods is adamant that he is complying with the law. He says his residence at 812 37th St. is listed as his homestead. It’s the address on his driver’s license. He also said he’s being persecuted, perhaps because he is African-American. He said that several members of the council who are white own more than one piece of property and questions never seem to come up about them.

The Galveston Appraisal District records show the property on 37th Street is valued at $15,750 now and at $24,480 before Hurricane Ike. The property on Colony Park Circle is valued at $180,590, down from $323,630 before the storm. It’s in the name of the councilman’s wife. The appraisal district records list Woods’ homestead exemption on property at 504 Lennox Ave., which is valued at $11,360, down from $19,200 before the storm.

Woods said he thought complaints about his residency had been raised by Jan Coggeshall, a former mayor who has been interim president of the Colony Park neighborhood association. Coggeshall said she had welcomed Woods to the neighborhood. She said while neighbors had asked questions about whether his living in Colony Park would mean he would seek office in District 5, instead of District 1, she said she had no intention of trying to get Woods removed from office.

Woods says 812 37th St. is his legal residence. Residents of Colony Park say he lives at 1 Colony Park Circle.

Some say people should be outraged that Woods is not strictly following the charter — and a charter provision that was designed to ensure that minority communities were adequately represented. Others say Woods is complying with the law, and cite the example of state Rep. Craig Eiland, who has residences in Austin as well as Galveston, to show that people can be excellent representatives even though they spend some time outside their districts.

So who resolves this dispute? You’d think it might be the city, since the city charter requires that a council member reside in the district he or she represents. But Susie Green, the city attorney, says that someone seeking to remove a council member from office because of concerns about residency would have to file a complaint with the district attorney or the attorney general. Some kind of complaint could be filed with city’s Ethics Committee, but that panel has no authority to remove anyone from office.

That, to me, is one of the most interesting details in this story. If the residency rules were important enough to put in the charter, you’d think some kind of provision for enforcement would be there.