For generations, working families and independent landowners moved to unincorporated Montgomery County specifically to escape city red tape, endless permitting fees, and intrusive government mandates. Out in the county, Texans could build homes, start small businesses, and utilize their land without asking municipal bureaucrats for permission. That fundamental legal freedom is now directly in the crosshairs of county politicians.
On October 8, 2026, the Montgomery County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to send an official resolution to state representatives and senators in Austin. The resolution demands state legislative changes to grant county commissioners limited ordinance-making power over land use, property development, and building standards. Unincorporated land accounts for roughly 78 percent of Montgomery County, representing a vast area where property owners currently operate free from municipal zoning restrictions.
By lobbying state lawmakers for ordinance authority, county officials are seeking to duplicate municipal bureaucracy across rural and suburban acreage. If granted by the Texas Legislature, this power would allow commissioners to dictate land development standards, impose new building codes, and mandate costly municipal-style permits for unincorporated properties. Rather than respecting the traditional limits of county government, local leaders are seeking expanded authority to regulate private land.
Broad municipal land-use mandates and zoning restrictions artificially restrict property rights and drive up development costs. Research from the Reason Foundation in Reason Foundation: Houston's Housing Success: A Model for Cities demonstrates that flexible, non-zoned land-use models keep real estate affordable and responsive to community needs without government distortion. Extending municipal-style ordinance powers into unincorporated territory threatens to stifle free enterprise, increase construction expenses, and erode foundational property rights.
Montgomery County residents chose to live in unincorporated areas precisely to avoid municipal overreach. State legislators must reject this request for expanded ordinance powers and protect Texas property owners from county government expansion.