Developers, MUD and engineers ask Conroe council to exempt two northern developments from temporary moratorium; staff recommends denial

Developers and an affected municipal utility district asked the Conroe City Council in June 2025 to grant exemptions from a temporary moratorium on development on the city’s north side, saying the city’s capacity figures misstate actual water and sewer capacity and that denying the appeals would harm buyers and existing districts.

Daniel Gillum of Tri Point Home Development and Stephanie Deloss of Lisle Engineering told the council the two projects at issue—Westridge Cove Section 4 and Clopton Farms (sections referenced in the appeal letters)—meet Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) minimums and that the city has not produced on-the-ground data to justify denying service. Gillum said purchasers are cancelling contracts and that continuing the hold is causing financial harm to buyers, developers and districts.

Deloss said water models calibrated to field flow and pressure show adequate capacity for the parcels in question and disputed the city’s operational-zone mapping used in staff calculations. She also told council the wastewater capacity for Clopton Farms is supported by a contract with UD 4 for 300,000 gallons per day and cited a planning estimate of 979 connections that would use roughly 293,700 gallons per day.

Tim Green, an attorney for Montgomery County Municipal Utility District No. 147, urged the council to comply with a December 2020 utility-functions agreement the district says the city has an obligation to honor and to lift the moratorium for land inside that district.

City staff identified the two projects as subject to the council-approved temporary moratorium on the northern side of Conroe and recommended denial of the exemption requests. In response to the presentations, councilmembers asked staff to circle back with engineering, provide specific technical recommendations based on the material presented and to email the council before the next meeting. No formal council action was recorded at the meeting.

Why it matters: The moratorium affects active construction, pending sales contracts and revenue timing for tax entities and utility districts. Developers say the hold increases HOA dues and MUD tax burdens and can leave prospective buyers with cancelled contracts; staff cites health-and-safety and system-capacity concerns as grounds for restraint.

Council next steps: Council asked staff to follow up with engineering about the site-specific field data and the city’s modeling assumptions and to report back by email prior to the following meeting. No vote on an exemption was taken during the session covered by the transcript.