Sugar Land council approves land-use and zoning changes for Imperial Highway 6 Tract H over resident objections

The Sugar Land City Council voted in first consideration to amend the city’s future land use map and to adopt a planned-development general development plan for roughly 30 acres east of Highway 6 (Tract H), enabling compact residential uses such as townhomes and live-work units alongside commercial space.

Redevelopment planning manager Ruth Lohmer told the council the amendment is a staff-initiated step to allow “compact residential uses” in the Imperial Highway 6 area and to prepare the site in case market demand for housing emerges. She told councilors the city’s housing stock is heavily weighted toward single-family homes and that adding medium-density housing can increase taxable value per acre; she cited an Urban3 analysis that showed medium-density residential producing roughly $4,200,000 in value per acre compared with lower-density uses.

The amendment reallocates the Future Land Use Map designation from Regional Commercial and Services to Neighborhood Activity Center for the tract, which staff said is intended to permit a mix…