Montgomery County overhauls development regulations

Among the new regulations, developers will now be required to submit a traffic impact analysis with most new residential and commercial developments. A traffic impact analysis is a study which examines if existing road infrastructure will be able to support new traffic or if improvements to a roadway are required. All developments will also now be required to have a minimum of a 6-foot privacy fence if the development backs up to an existing residential area.

What else?

Another new development regulation will require all subdivisions or commercial properties which disturb more than 15,000 square feet must have a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan. The plan will require developers to have measures in place to prevent silt and sediment from running off into local drainage systems.

The regulations are applicable to all new developments outside of existing municipalities such as The Woodlands Township, Conroe, Shenandoah and Oak Ridge North. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s five-year American Community Survey, Montgomery County's population is still growing rapidly.

Next steps

While Montgomery County does have a drainage criteria manual, Gray said during a State of the Precinct address on March 12 those regulations are also set to be re-evaluated in the near future.

The regulations will also be retroactively effective for any new developments registered within one year prior to the official effective date of March 17, meaning some developments may need to submit additional information and receive additional permits.

"We're going to make sure everybody's following the law,” Gray said. “We’re going to make sure residents in those areas, those subdivisions, they have a peaceful day. ... We're going to help protect those property owners.”