2/4/26 – Yesterday, the Houston Planning and Development Department called to say that Romerica has withdrawn the variance request for its plat application from the Houston Planning Commission’s agenda for 2/5/26. So, if you were planning to go downtown to protest it tomorrow, there is no longer any need.

Kingwood Residents Concerned about Floodplain Development

Local residents in Kingwood Lakes, Barrington and Trailwood Villages became concerned when they discovered that Romerica was back with the third-iteration of plans to build in the floodway and floodplains of the San Jacinto West Fork. Romerica was seeking plat approval to build a 500,000 square-foot, two-hotel complex with 125 large-luxury villas in a swamp.

The company claimed it would elevate all structures and 6000 feet of roads 60 feet wide on the northern-most part of their property.

But their preliminary drainage analysis also showed them bringing in fill dirt. And Romerica’s ambitious plans indicated they would have to bring in far more dirt than their drainage analysis indicated.

During the debate about their plans with Houston Public Works, it became clear that Romerica had not complied with regulations requiring them to post signage at the entrance to their property that notified the public of their plans.

Unanswered Questions, Concerns

Yesterday, I received a phone call and email from John P. Cedillo in the City’s Planning and Development Department.

His email said, “The application for River Grove GP [General Plan] has been withdrawn by the applicant and will not be considered at the upcoming Planning Commission meeting on February 5. The applicant will need to re-submit and re-start the process including the notice requirements, such as notice letters and notice signs erected for the site.”

In my opinion, this is good news. Many questions remain about Romerica’s plans. For instance, they claimed the hotel would be a Fairmont. But after days of trying, I could not find anyone at Fairmont who would confirm that.

A source in the hotel business told me that the reputational damage to a hotel chain would be so great if one of its properties flooded that they typically have higher standards than even city and county regulators. That’s especially true of high-end international chains, such as Fairmont. Word of a flooded Fairmont Hotel would spread around the world overnight because they draw international clients.

Another source called the proposed development “on the wrong side of the tracks.” That was not a slur against Kingwood, just an acknowledgment of market potential for the planned location. He said that all chains look at traffic counts as their first location-screening tool. “If it’s not on or near an interstate freeway, they don’t want to hear about it,” he said.

Even though plat approvals have to do with street layouts, residents were concerned about the potential to make flooding worse in the area at the south end of Woodland Hills Drive – especially in an area where the thoroughfare itself, i.e., the evacuation route, would be under water in a 100-year flood.

In fact, it last went under water in May 2024.

Ronnie Bulanek, a Barrington resident said of Romerica’s latest setback, “It is great news. It will/should be very difficult to develop the land in question without dramatic consequences for the neighboring communities. Until the Lake Houston dam and other flood mitigation issues are completed nothing should be developed in this parcel.”

For More Information

Romerica is the same company that previously proposed building 50-story high-rises next to the floodway of the West Fork. The Army Corps nixed that plan.

Romerica later proposed building homes on stilts. But the company ran into challenges with the Planning Commission then, too.

For more information on Romerica’s proposal, see their presentations which include schematics:

• Phase 1
• Phase 2

Chris Bloch, a flood activist who has studied Kingwood drainage issues for decades, had these concerns about the proposed development along South Woodland Hills.

Those concerns were only exacerbated when Bloch obtained Romerica’s preliminary drainage analysis the day of the last Planning Commission Meeting on 1/22/26. It raised more questions than answers. Luckily, the Planning Commission deferred action on Romerica’s variance request at that meeting, too. District E City Council Member Fred Flickinger had it pulled from the Commission’s agenda.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/4/26

3081 Days since 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.