Conroe City Council voted against increasing the minimum subdivision lot size from 40 feet to 50 feet at its May 12 meeting with developers concerned about access to affordable housing if smaller lots are not accessible.

Kelly Dietrich, the director of planning and development for Howard Hughes Corp., which has built developments such as The Woodland Hills, said during public comment at the May 11 worksop on the item that the smaller 40-foot lots are important for empty nesters, young families and lower-income residents.

“I think we have to give everybody an opportunity to buy a house whether they can afford it or can't afford it. They have to have a chance because if it wasn't for the opportunity that I had to buy a starter home, I couldn't go to the next level. So for that, I think we need to have affordable housing,” Council Member Curt Maddux said during the May 11 workshop.

Mayor Jody Czajkoski and Council Member Duke Coon said at the workshop that the lot size minimum was lowered to 40 feet in 2018 because of the influx of apartments at the time, and more affordable lots and housing gave residents the opportunity to buy houses instead of apartments.