Montgomery County Commissioners Reject 50-Foot Lot Minimum in 3-1 Vote After Packed Public Hearing

April 9, 2026  ·  Conroe, Texas  ·  Ellison Development

CONROE, TX — The Montgomery County Commissioners Court voted 3-1 on Thursday to reject a proposed increase to the county's minimum residential lot width, defeating a measure that would have raised the standard from 40 to 50 feet in unincorporated areas of the county.

The vote came after a public hearing in which developers, homebuilders, real estate brokers, first-time buyers, retirees, and residents spoke in near-unanimous opposition to the proposed change. 

When a commissioner asked directly whether anyone in the room supported the 50-foot minimum, the record reflects no response. The motion stripped the 50-foot lot width requirement from a broader package of development regulation changes, leaving the 40-foot minimum adopted in March 2025 intact. The vote was 3-1, with Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray casting the lone dissenting vote.

 

The proposed increase had been included in a package of amendments described by county staff as addressing "clerical errors and necessary clarifications." Opponents at the hearing repeatedly challenged that framing.

'A Major Policy Decision, Not a Clerical Correction'

Mike Stoecker, a developer and public speaker at the hearing, was among the first to challenge the framing directly.

"What concerns me is this change is being presented as part of a package of clerical corrections and clarifications — but changing the minimum lot width by 25 percent is not a clerical correction," said Stoecker. "That is a major policy decision."

Stoecker laid out the economic chain he said would follow from the increase.

"If you increase lot sizes, you increase lot cost. When you increase lot cost, you increase home prices. When you increase home prices, you reduce homeownership. When homeownership goes down, more people are pushed into renting," said Stoecker. "Let me say it again: when homeownership goes down, more people are pushed into renting. That is not good for families, it is not good for communities, and it is not good for the long-term tax base in Montgomery County."

He also argued that restricting attainable homes would not slow growth — it would redirect it toward rentals.

"If you make a traditional starter home with smaller lots impossible or more expensive to build, the market will not stop. It will simply shift," said Stoecker. "Instead of homes on 40-foot lots, you will get more apartments, more duplexes, more townhomes, more fourplexes, more rental communities, and more mobile homes."

Stoecker also noted that the lowest average household income by precinct in Montgomery County belongs to Precinct 4 — the precinct whose commissioner cast the only vote in favor of the increase. "Home ownership will be affected in that precinct more than any other," said Stoecker.

Builders Present Hard Data

Cody Miller, representing the Greater Houston Builders Association — the local affiliate of the Texas Association of Builders — presented a formal legal objection filed by TAB on April 7, arguing the regulation may violate Texas Local Government Code Section 232.101(b)(4).

"At its core, this change will make housing less attainable by increasing the cost of land for homes and reducing the number of homes that can be built," said Miller. "That directly impacts families trying to enter the housing market here in Montgomery County, which is clearly a place that people want to live in."

Miller also argued the economic case against larger lots. "Rooftops are key data points that retailers look at when deciding where to bring new businesses," he said. "Fewer attainable homes ultimately means fewer opportunities for that kind of economic development."

Mark Welch, a 22-year veteran of David Weekley Homes who oversees acquisitions across the builder's 12 Montgomery County communities, provided granular land cost data from 118 closings the company completed on lots smaller than 50 feet in the county last year.

"The common price for a front foot for a lot is $2,000 a foot, so a 10-foot increase would equate to a $20,000 lot cost increase," said Welch. "A builder will run that through his system and it'll end up costing the home buyer $26,000 to $27,000 more for the same home, same size home." The average home in those communities sold for $366,000 on approximately 2,100 square feet, Welch said. He also noted that the average age of the first-time homebuyer is approaching 40 years old, citing rising prices as the primary driver.

Darren Ward, founder of Pelagic Property Group and a 10-year Montgomery County resident, presented market demand data from his current 720-lot Sherbrooke development in Magnolia. His 40-foot and 45-foot lots — producing homes in the $250,000 range — are projected to sell 60 units per month. His 55-foot lots, producing homes closer to $450,000, are expected to sell 2 per month.

"The kids get to stay where they grew up. They stay where they went to school. They stay where their friend base is. They stay where the church is based. They stay where the families are based," said Ward. "But they can't afford the $450,000 houses we're building. We know that."

Residents Speak to What Is at Stake

Debbie Green, Division President at D.R. Horton and a Montgomery County resident, described the human cost in direct terms.

"If you take this away, the people that you're hurting are the first responders, the people that work at your grocery stores, everybody that serves us in this county — and they will be forced out," said Green.

Green also pointed to the recent elimination of 30-foot lots as a prior step in the wrong direction. "We already took the 30-foot lots away. That's the most vulnerable group here that needed those lower-priced homes. To take the next step away from all of those people, I just don't feel it's right for the county," she said.

Kenna Stephenson, a real estate broker and Magnolia resident, said the affordability gap is already reshaping where young families can plant roots. "The kids that I coached in Little League and cheerleading in the Magnolia Youth Football Association — they're buying houses in Hempstead," said Stephenson.

Wyman Farr, a Houston Association of Realtors member and Montgomery County resident and business owner, kept his remarks brief. "I'm just here today to support and advocate for first-time home buyers because I don't believe that expanding the lot size is going to be in the interest of people that can only afford minimum housing," said Farr.

Christine Smith, a retired teacher who raised four children as a single parent before purchasing her first home at 70, addressed the court directly. "I found where I live now on a 40-foot lot and I could afford to buy a home," said Smith. "This is my retirement. This means everything to me."

Ellison: Reject the 50-Foot Minimum — and Go Back to 30

Bill Ellison, founder of Conroe-based Ellison Development and a 20-year Montgomery County resident, told the court that rejecting the 50-foot minimum was necessary but not sufficient. Ellison Development currently has approximately 3,000 lots in development in the Montgomery County area.

"Everybody knows me as the king of 30-foot lots here in Montgomery County and the true affordable nature of homeownership," said Ellison. "Coming up from welfare, as a foster kid — we were homeless at about eight, nine years old. That is a true passion of mine: affordable homeownership. We're going the wrong direction trying to go from 40s to 50s. I think we should truly look at going back to 30s and making that okay and moving on."

Ellison's call to restore 30-foot lots is backed by market evidence on the county's doorstep. The Gemini community in Splendora — developed by Ellison Development and built by D.R. Horton, located just across the Montgomery County border in Liberty County — offers homes starting in the $150s. According to D.R. Horton, more than 20 homes went under contract within the first few weeks of sales, with the first residents moving in this weekend.

The demand at Gemini reflects a real and documented affordability gap in the surrounding area. According to 2024 U.S. Census data, the median household income in Splendora is $85,461 — well below what is needed to qualify for the median-priced home in Montgomery County. The median property value in Splendora is $254,500, with a homeownership rate of 61.2% and a poverty rate of 13.5%. The most common jobs held by Splendora residents are in office and administrative support, material moving, and installation and maintenance — working families who live near Montgomery County but are being priced out of it.

These families are buying across the county line because the attainable product does not exist inside it. Homes starting in the $150s, made possible by smaller lots, are putting first-time buyers into ownership for less than what they pay in rent.

"When you look at the numbers, it's pretty straightforward," said Ellison. "Families can own a brand-new home for less than they're paying in rent. That puts real money back in their pocket every month. Over time, that adds up. And that changes lives."

The Dissenting Vote: Commissioner Gray's Position

Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray cast the lone vote in favor of retaining the 50-foot requirement. His stated concerns centered on the county's infrastructure capacity, service burden, and traffic. "I think we all support affordable housing and first-time home buyers — but we don't have to be coy and pretend it's just about affordable housing. It's price points and we've all got to survive," said Gray.

 

Gray presented data showing that the county's breakeven service burden — the minimum home value at which the county covers its costs — is approximately $343,000. The average price point on a 40-foot lot is around $300,000, he said. That gap is real. But what the figure does not account for is who is actually trying to buy those homes. According to 2024 U.S. Census data, the county-wide median household income is $97,300 — and a household at that income level would need to stretch significantly to qualify for a $300,000 home at current interest rates. For the large share of Montgomery County households earning below the median, a $300,000 home is already out of reach. A 50-foot minimum would have pushed entry-level prices even further beyond them.

Gray also cited a regional survey — consistent with the 2025 Kinder Houston Area Survey conducted by Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research, which drew nearly 9,800 responses from Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery County residents — in which traffic ranked as the number one concern of Montgomery County respondents, with the cost of housing ranking fourth. His point was that affordability is not the top issue residents report. The data bears that out — but the survey's composition matters. According to the Kinder Institute's own report, 48% of Montgomery County survey respondents earn $100,000 or more annually. Compare that to The Woodlands — located in Precinct 3 — where the median household income is $140,701 and the median property value is $511,700, with a poverty rate of just 5.55%, according to 2024 Census data. Splendora, just across the county line near Precinct 4, has a median household income of $85,461, a median property value of $254,500, and a poverty rate of 13.5%. A survey dominated by higher-income households will naturally rank traffic first and housing affordability fourth — because for a household earning $140,000 with a $511,700 home, housing affordability is not the most urgent concern. For the working families in and around Precinct 4, it is a different calculation entirely.

"The real affordability crisis is the taxes that get hung on these first-time home buyers and the people," said Gray. He challenged those in attendance to show up at school district hearings and push for lower property taxes as a more direct lever on affordability. "I appreciate y'all showing up today. I would ask you to show up for the home buyers then and help lower the taxes," he said.

"I represent the people of Montgomery County, specifically East Montgomery County and their way of life and it is an affordable place to live," said Gray. "With that being said, I oppose."

What Comes Next

Several commissioners indicated an interest in working with state legislators on a framework that acknowledges the different character of different precincts. "I think there's a happy medium somewhere," said Commissioner Ritch Wheeler during the discussion period. "I don't think it has to be a one size fits all, because Montgomery County isn't a one size fits all." The court closed the hearing at 3-1. The door stayed open — for now.

 

The full April 9, 2026 Commissioners Court hearing is archived at montgomerycountytx.new.swagit.com. The 44th Kinder Houston Area Survey is published by Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research at kinder.rice.edu. Ellison Development's full research series on housing affordability and lot size in Montgomery County is available at ellisondev.com/montgomery-county-affordable-housing.