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 affordable housing and first-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 staff had described as a set of clerical corrections and clarifications. Speakers who addressed the court largely argued the 50-foot change would raise housing costs and further squeeze first-time buyers. Cody Miller, government affairs 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 final price
price out first-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 first responders, the people that work at your grocery stores, everybody that serves us in this county.”
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CONROE - MONTGOMERY EDITION
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