Signorelli Tries Again to Expand Commons of Lake Houston into Floodplains

10/14/25 – Signorelli Company has filed another general plan with the Houston Planning Commission for expansion of the Commons of Lake Houston. The new area for proposed development will be called The Crossing at the Commons of Lake Houston.

The new plan dated 9/23/25 shows roughly 450 new homesites on approximately 105 acres. About half the homes will be wholly or partially in the current 100- or 500-year floodplains.

How Big Are Those Floodplains?

The expansion area is carved out of a larger 284-acre area, mostly in the floodplains of the San Jacinto East Fork, across the river from Kingwood’s East End Park. See above and below.

In the map above, the dotted lines snaking through and around the homes represent the 100- and 500-year floodplains.

The current flood maps released in 2007 are based on data acquired after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. But, Harris County Flood Control has said that FEMA will release new flood maps before the end of this year based on data acquired after Hurricane Harvey.

And those new flood maps will reportedly show floodplains expanding 50% to 100%. However, even under the current, outdated flood maps, half the planned homes are in floodplains.

Could the imminent release of new flood maps explain the motive behind Signorelli’s submission of a new general plan at this time?

Previous Attempts at Development Met Stiff Resistance

This is apparently the third time, Signorelli has tried to get plans for The Crossing approved. The previous attempts met with stiff resistance. Reportedly, Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia personally testified at the Houston Planning Commission against Signorelli’s plans when he was Precinct 2 commissioner (before redistricting).

Later, Signorelli fought the City of Houston all the way to the Texas Supreme Court for the right to develop the floodplain land. Signorelli claimed Houston regulations adopted after Hurricane Harvey made the land virtually un-developable. The developer argued that they violated property rights and amounted to inverse condemnation.

The Supremes did not rule outright for Signorelli in March 2025. They remanded the case back to the trial court when they found procedural errors in the trial court’s original decision. As of this writing, I can find no public records indicating a subsequent trial court ruling.

However, the previous iteration of the general plan for the Commons showed no stormwater detention basins. This iteration shows the addition of a 31-acre basin that could might provide fill to elevate some or all of the homes out of the floodplain.

That’s an improvement. But Harris County Flood Control District regulations call for a mandatory minimum of .55 acres of detention per acre. So, Signorelli’s plan seems to fall short of that requirement.

Lot Size and Shape Typically Exacerbate Flooding

Moreover, the small, narrow lots shown in the general plan typically increase impervious cover which can lead to faster runoff and higher flood peaks.

Narrow-lot developments often have less room for detention or swales on-site, forcing greater reliance on underground detention vaults or regional drainage systems.

Neighborhood-wide, narrow-lot development can raise local drainage loads significantly. For example, a Houston Public Works study of a pilot area in Near Northside reportedly found:

Converting a block of 24 large lots (total 3.5 acres) into 72 narrow-lot homes raised impervious area from 42 % to 82 %, doubling the 2-year storm runoff volume and increasing peak flow rate by ~65 %.
(Source: City of Houston Infill Redevelopment Drainage Assessment, 2019.*)

This area has flooded three times in recent years. During Harvey, Imelda, and the May 2024 flood. The new development could put people in harms way. However, the developer hasn’t yet filed a full drainage study or flood-mitigation plan. So we don’t yet know the flood danger.

Concerns of Residents

At this point, residents’ I talked to had three primary concerns about the new development.

• Consistency with the surrounding area
• Traffic congestion/wear and tear on roads
• Loss of recreational area.

One resident told me, Signorelli promised the community that the land now proposed for development would be turned into soccer fields. It wasn’t. But at least it people could hike on it.

If a bright spot exists, approximately 180 acres will remain along the river if Signorelli builds these homes. That’s slightly larger than Kingwood’s East End Park on the opposite side of the river. But there’s no guarantee Signorelli won’t try to develop the remaining 180 acres, too, in the future.

On 10/16/25 Planning Commission Agenda, Then…?

This issue will be on Thursday’s Planning Commission agenda. General-plan approval is only a first step in developing a neighborhood or tract of land. If the General Plan is approved the developer then submits the plat application(s). If that is approved, the developer moves on to submitting the plans to the Office of City Engineer for approval of permits.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/14/25

2968 Days after Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

*While I have found references to the study, I have not yet found the study itself.