Tomball holds annexation hearing for Greyloo Grove, advances PID setup and legal-services agreement

The Tomball City Council on Aug. 4 opened and closed a public hearing and adopted on first reading an annexation ordinance for the Greyloo Grove subdivision, a mixed-use project proposed on about 49.301 acres at the intersection near Huffsmith-Coryell and Medical Drive.

The action starts the formal annexation process for a development that, according to city staff presentations, anticipates roughly 88 single-family homes (estimated at about $625,000 each) and a 45,000-square-foot retail parcel valued at roughly $16 million. The council also took public comment during a separate hearing on creating Public Improvement District No. 15 (PID 15) for the same property; city staff said the PID would encompass about 43.149 acres of the site and finance reimbursable public infrastructure via an $8,000,000 reimbursement bond request.

The council adopted the annexation ordinance on first reading by a recorded vote of 4–0. Staff advised the public that the PID creation resolution will be held until a transfer of the Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) is complete. During the meeting staff explained the PID mechanism as a developer-financed reimbursement tool for infrastructure (streets, water, wastewater, drainage) that is assessed annually against properties in the district for a specified term; staff said typical PID assessment terms vary and that the assessment remains with a property if it is sold until the assessment term ends. City staff also explained that individual property owners may prepay assessments if desired.

Separately, council approved a professional services agreement to establish an escrow account to pay legal invoices associated with PID formation and bonding; staff said invoices would be billed to the city but paid from developer-provided escrow funds and that developers must replenish the account when thresholds are reached. The motion to approve the professional services agreement passed 4–0.

Council responses included clarifying questions from attendees about how a PID assessment is collected and its term; city staff and another staff speaker walked through qualifying costs, the types of infrastructure that can be reimbursed, and that the developer is responsible for replenishing the escrow for legal fees. No final PID creation resolution was adopted at the Aug. 4 meeting because the CCN transfer needed to be completed first.

The annexation and PID hearings are distinct steps in the city's development-review process: the annexation ordinance was advanced on first reading, the PID public hearing was held to consider advisability, and the PID creation resolution will be considered later once the CCN transfer is finalized. The professional services agreement establishing an escrow for PID legal costs was approved at the meeting.

Council members voted unanimously on the recorded actions taken at the Aug. 4 meeting; there were no amendments to the professional services agreement recorded at the meeting.