Montgomery County Texas Considers Second Lot Size Increase in 13 Months
A residential community developed by Ellison Development — made possible by attainable lot sizes. A proposed 50-foot minimum lot width would make communities like this impossible to build.
Ellison Development logo — horizontal land developer based in Conroe Texas
Castle's Edge — an established Ellison Development community in unincorporated Montgomery County, Texas. Developed on attainable lot sizes, now home to working families building equity and generational wealth.
Ellison Development shares data on how a proposed 50-foot lot minimum would impact housing affordability for working families in Montgomery County, Texas
Montgomery County adopted a 40-foot minimum lot width in March 2025 as part of its first overhaul of development regulations in over 40 years. The proposed change would raise that minimum again to 50 feet — a second increase in just 13 months. Builder analysis estimates that each additional 10 feet of required lot width adds approximately $100,000 to the cost of a new home.
"The communities we have developed in this county — Marie Village, William Trails, Castle's Edge — were made possible by attainable lot sizes," said Bill Ellison, Founder of Ellison Development. "We have seen firsthand what happens when working families can access homeownership, and we have seen what happens when they can't. The data on this is clear — lot size is one of the most direct drivers of home price, and what gets decided at this hearing will shape who can afford to live in this county for years to come."
The Houston Association of Realtors' Q4 2025 Affordability Report found that 56% of Houston-area households cannot afford the current median home price of $337,200. The National Association of Home Builders' 2023 Priced-Out study found that every $1,000 increase in home price eliminates 3,054 potential buyers from the Houston metro market. A $100,000 price increase driven by a lot-size mandate would eliminate more than 300,000 prospective buyers from consideration.
The homeowners in Ellison Development communities speak to this directly. "I never thought I would own a home," said Melissa, a homeowner in an Ellison Development community. "I thought I was doomed to rent for the rest of my life — and I am here now." For Victoria and Joshua, another couple who purchased in the county, homeownership represented something their generation had been told was no longer attainable. "It is not a dream that our age group kind of gets to have anymore," Joshua said. "So it was amazing to find something attainable — that we can own something, and build generational wealth."
"No one is proposing limits on how many apartment units can go on a given parcel of land," said Colleen Ellison, Co-Founder of Ellison Development. "Apartment construction faces no equivalent lot-size restriction — 7,770 new apartment units were built in the Houston area in 2025 alone. But when it comes to single-family homes — the only housing type that lets a working family build equity and own something outright — the regulatory impulse is to make the lots bigger, the homes pricier, and the dream further away. That contradiction has to be named directly."
The Texas Legislature's 2025 passage of Senate Bill 15 — which prohibits large municipalities from requiring residential lot widths greater than 20 feet in new single-family subdivisions — reflects a statewide recognition that minimum lot size regulation is a primary driver of housing unaffordability.
Ellison Development currently has two communities under active development in unincorporated Montgomery County — Baron Village and Saddle Village — designed to bring attainable homeownership to first-time buyers, veterans, and workforce families.
The hearing is open to all Montgomery County residents. No registration required — just show up
HEARING DETAILS:
Date: Thursday, April 9, 2026
Time: 9:30 AM
Location: Alan B. Sadler Commissioners Court Building, 501 North Thompson, 4th Floor, Suite 402, Conroe, Texas
More information: ellisondev.com/montgomery-county-affordable-housing
About Ellison Development:
Ellison Development is a horizontal land developer based in Conroe, Texas, founded by Bill and Colleen Ellison. The company develops residential communities throughout Montgomery County and the greater Houston region, partnering with trusted homebuilders to deliver quality homes at attainable price points. Established communities include Marie Village, William Trails, McCrorey Trails, Gemini, Lake Conroe Cove and Castle's Edge. Baron Village and Saddle Village are currently under active development. For more information visit EllisonDev.com.
Colleen Ellison
Ellison Development
+1 281-936-0936
Marketing@EllisonDev.com
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Homeownership in Montgomery County: Real Stories from Real Families
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