This is a unique moment in the history of Waller County. For decades, the county was a rural exurb of the larger Houston area. Longtime residents view cities like Prairie View and Katy as their own towns with their own institutions whether that be Prairie View A&M or Katy Tiger football. However, over the next decade we can anticipate unprecedent growth in the county, and especially precinct three which runs from north Katy to Prairie View. Due to good school districts and affordable housing new residents from all over the country are looking to Waller County as a place to lay down roots.
Currently that county is growing at nearly 3 percent increase every year. We are expecting to add somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000 new rooftops by 2025. Developments like Sunterra and Freeman Ranch are name brands around the greater Houston area due to their size and scope. Economic investment in the county has run between $500 million and $700 million per year over the last few years. Given the quantity of neighborhoods in the planning stages and recent announcements in commercial investment that number will likely push $1 billion before the end of the decade.
This level of growth and so many new neighbors provides challenges and opportunities. Historic communities may feel they are losing their character. Its hard to say today where “old Katy” ends and Katy “that suburb of Houston” begins. Legacy infrastructure designed to serve farms and get rice crops to market now handle commuter traffic.
The question is, how do we turn challenges like these into opportunities?
The answer is managed growth and that is where county leadership comes in. Our county commissioners and local officials cannot be reactive when it comes to new infrastructure like roads and flood control. We also cannot be insular when it comes to longtime institutions. All of these new residents and new businesses will change longstanding institutions like Prairie View A&M, the Waller County Fair, or the Katy Rodeo. The correct response isn’t to turn inward but to harness these traditions and bring new neighbors in so we can promote the county and give residents a sense of ownership in their new communities. Too often major changes and new growth creates cookie-cutter communities and the problems associated with that lack of oversight and ownership: isolation, strained budgets, public safety challenges, and many other issues.
By leveraging this opportunity in Waller County’s history we can learn from other regions and manage our growth to enhance our communities, not lose them in the shuffle. We can use the investments necessary in county infrastructure to ensure we are building roads today to meet the needs of the future, so we aren’t wasting money and creating congestion over time. The same can be said for all manner of county infrastructure like drainage, broadband expansion, energy and water systems, and more.
Having worked in many of these areas for years and seen other communities and states either champion their opportunities or fail to rise to the challenge, I want to be your advocate for handling this growth and these challenges, and opportunities, in the coming years. Together we can ensure that our county infrastructure, institutions, and government are being managed competently, transparently, and in preparation for the future. Together we can find the right way for Waller County.
