Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct information about the program through which the Texas General Land Office has an investment in the development. The article has also been updated to correct that Steve Toth is not running unopposed in November, as he will be facing Democratic nominee Shaun Finnie for Texas' 2nd Congressional District.
Texas General Land Office officials said the development of 5,500 acres of green space near Benders Landing will not happen as previously planned, as pushback continues to mount from residents and elected officials alike due to flooding concerns.
Local leaders said they are now looking to the next state legislative session to help fund a solution.
The big picture
Scarborough Lane Development purchased the property in early 2025 with plans to build between 5,000 and 7,000 homes. The land is located between Spring Creek and the West Fork of the San Jacinto River. It is largely located within the 500- and 100-year floodplain and, in some areas, the actual floodway, Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler said.
“It’s a two-fold problem: if that land is developed, we are concerned that water may end up backing up into those residential communities just north of the property,” Wheeler said. “But the other thing that will happen is, it will send an enormous amount of water farther south of the property—Kingwood, Atascocita, Lake Houston and other areas of Harris County.”
In December, Wheeler—alongside Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Steve Toth, the Republican nominee for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District—announced they were working with state officials to explore options for preserving the land, as previously reported by Community Impact.
The latest
In early May, a group of concerned residents started an online petition opposing the development, which has since garnered more than 3,700 signatures and endorsements from local officials. Susan Marrero, a resident of Benders Landing Estates, said the back of her community flooded during Hurricane Harvey and she hopes the petition will help spread awareness and protect lives and properties from being lost to future flooding.
“This is a catastrophe waiting to happen if developed,” Marrero said. “My business flooded during Harvey, and I can only imagine what people in the Kingwood, Humble and Lake Houston [area] went through—I want to try to help it from happening again.”
Bob Rehak, local flooding expert and author of "Reduce Flooding - Now," said the development would create a public safety issue for both residents of the development and surrounding communities.
The GLO has an investment in the development through the School Land Board, which was established in 1939 to manage the sale and mineral leasing of Permanent School Fund lands. Per GLO officials, the SLB's is composed of five members, and the board's responsibilities include:
- Approving land sales, trades and exchanges
- Purchasing land for the Permanent School Fund
- Issuing permits, leases and easements for state-owned submerged land
In a May 6 emailed statement, GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham told
Community Impact the project would not be moving forward as planned.
