The Woodlands Edition | May 2026

Real estate

BY NICHAELA SHAHEEN

County keeps 40-foot lot minimum

Diving in deeper

Several commissioners signaled they were not ready to support the wider minimum. County Judge Mark Keough said Montgomery County’s reputation for “stable government” means developers need to know the county will not “pull the rug out from underneath them and change midstream.” Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley said earlier updates to the rules were meant to “encourage good development, good developers,” and said that “lot size needs to stay where it’s at.” Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray said he supports a€ordable housing and ‚rst-time homebuyers, but he argued the discussion also has to include county infrastructure demands. The motion to leave the current lot width in place passed 3-1, with Gray voting against.

Montgomery County Commissioners Court voted April 9 to leave the county’s 40-foot minimum suburban lot width in place after hearing feedback during a public hearing on proposed development regulation changes. The court removed the proposed 50-foot minimum lot width requirement from the agenda item and approved the rest of the update, which county engineering sta had described as a set of clerical corrections and clari cations. Speakers who addressed the court largely argued the 50-foot change would raise housing costs and further squeeze rst-time buyers. Cody Miller, government aairs director with the Greater Houston Builders Association, said the proposed increase would make housing “less attainable” by raising land costs and reducing how many homes can be built.

Montgomery County minimum suburban lot width

40-foot

50-foot

Concerns raised A 10-foot increase in lot width could potentially: add $20,000 to lot costs

add $26,000 - $27,000 to the ‚nal price

price out ‚rst-time buyers and retirees

SOURCES: MONTGOMERY COUNTY; MARK WELCH, DAVID WEEKLEY HOMES˜ COMMUNITY IMPACT

Debbie Green, division president at D.R. Horton, said smaller lot homes matter for “the rst responders, the people that work at your grocery stores, everybody that serves us in this county.”

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