While a number of new residential areas are planned to meet the expected growth, city officials are concerned about the needs of older residents.
A number of upscale senior living apartment options have opened in the past few years, such as The Solana Reserve in Vintage Park and Del Webb in The Woodlands, but there are few options within Tomball city limits for older homeowners to downsize.
During Tomball City Council’s April meetings, city staff were encouraged by council members to seek out residential developers willing to build smaller homes, like patio homes—smaller homes grouped closely together, sometimes with a shared wall—in the area.
“This is a product that I feel Tomball needs, and I don’t know if developers are aware they can do this,” Council Member Mark Stoll said. “I hear from many people who are past residents of Tomball that they would love to stay but there’s just not anything...to downsize to.”
However, Community Development Director Craig Meyers said developers looking to build these types of homes have not approached city staff.
“We’ve thrown it out there and it’s been their desire just not to [build patio homes] for whatever reason,” Meyers said. ”We are advertising the fact that there has been a desire from council to have these sort of things but no one has moved forward with them.”
At the June 19 meeting, the council approved a zoning change to allow for a planned development district, which would allow for the construction of patio homes, should a developer bring plans for one to the city.
The change lowers the square footage requirement for the living area of a home from 1,400 square feet to 900 square feet and removes a minimum acreage requirement for a residential development with a planned development district land use.
