Conroe, TX Development Impact Fees (2026)
Normalized development impact fees, water & sewer connection (tap/SDC) fees, and mitigation fees for Conroe, Texas — per dwelling unit, by category, with links to every official source.
What a single-family home pays in Conroe
$3,750 total per unit across 2 fee categories.
- Water connection (tap / SDC)$1,875
- Sewer connection (tap / SDC)$1,875
At $3,750, Conroe is below the Texas tracked median of $12,871 — relatively affordable to build in.
Full fee schedule — single-family
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Mitigation Tree mitigation payment in lieu of preservation/planting — Sec. 102-32 tree-canopy mitigation fee, charged per square foot of additional canopy needed to meet coverage requirements, payable only if a variance from tree preservation/planting is granted. The adopted Exhibit I (Appendix A) lists $5.00/sq ft; note the adopting ordinance body text (Sec. 10b) stated $3.50/sq ft — the Exhibit table is the codified Appendix A value, hence $5.00 used here (medium confidence due to that discrepancy). Conditional/situational, not a flat per-dwelling charge; excluded from total. alternative · not added to total | per sq ft | $5 | City of Conroe, Texas Nov 13, 2025Medium |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water tap fee (3/4" meter, standard residential) — City of Conroe Appendix A Fee Schedule, Chapter 70 (adopted by Ord. No. 2759-25, effective 11-13-2025). Sec. 70-74 requires the applicant to pay a tap fee per Appendix A when the connection permit is issued. The 3/4" tap is the standard residential water service connection and is used as the primary single-family row. The city makes the connection from the main to the property line and sets the meter. | per meter | $1,875 | City of Conroe, Texas Nov 13, 2025High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Sewer tap fee (4" tap, standard residential) — City of Conroe Appendix A Fee Schedule, Chapter 70 (Ord. No. 2759-25, eff. 11-13-2025). 4" is the standard residential sewer tap/connection. unitBasis recorded as per_meter (per connection/tap size) for consistency with the water tap; this is a one-time connection charge, effectively per dwelling unit for a typical single-family home. | per meter | $1,875 | City of Conroe, Texas Nov 13, 2025High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water tap fee — 1" meter — Alternative (larger) meter size; mutually exclusive with the primary 3/4" residential tap. Excluded from total. alternative · not added to total | per meter | $2,000 | City of Conroe, Texas Nov 13, 2025High |
Coverage & caveats
Conroe is a home-rule city in Montgomery County, TX (pop. ~114,581, 2024 est.). KEY FINDING: Conroe does NOT currently levy any Texas Local Government Code Ch. 395 impact fees. On June 26, 2025 the City Council approved a $549,500 contract with Freese and Nichols to STUDY the feasibility of implementing water/wastewater (and roadway) impact fees; the study runs ~20 months with two required public hearings, so any impact fees would not take effect until ~2027 and would apply only to projects that have not pulled permits by adoption (source 6). Therefore there are currently NO water, wastewater, roadway, or drainage impact fees per service unit/LUE, and NO water/wastewater capacity-reservation charges. WHAT EXISTS TODAY for a residential builder: one-time WATER and SEWER TAP (connection) fees set in the City's Appendix A Fee Schedule, Chapter 70, adopted by Ordinance No. 2759-25 effective 11-13-2025 (primary source 0, Exhibit D). For a standard single-family home the connection cost is a 3/4\" water tap ($1,875) plus a 4\" sewer tap ($1,875) = $3,750 total one-time connection cost. Larger meter/tap sizes (1\"–10\"+, 6\" sewer) are included as excludeFromTotal variants. WHAT DOES NOT EXIST (not allowed under TX law / not adopted): NO school impact fee (prohibited in TX), NO park/parkland fee, NO police impact fee, NO fire impact fee, NO library impact fee, NO open-space or affordable-housing fee, NO general/capital facilities impact fee, NO drainage impact fee, and NO transportation/roadway impact fee (the roadway impact fee is only under study). SEPARATE DISTRICTS: Within Conroe city limits the City provides water and sewer directly, so no separate water/sewer district tap fee applies inside the city; many surrounding NEW subdivisions in Montgomery County sit inside Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) that levy their own tap/connection fees and ad valorem/standby charges, but those are district-specific and outside the City of Conroe's own fee schedule, so they are not quantified here. Conroe ISD does NOT charge a school impact fee (Texas prohibits them). Pass-through monthly utility surcharges (San Jacinto River Authority surface-water fee $3.60/1,000 gal; Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District $0.06/1,000 gal) are recurring usage charges, not development/connection fees, so they are excluded.</coverageNotes> <parameter name="feeNotes">Primary authoritative source is the City of Conroe Appendix A Fee Schedule, Chapter 70 (Exhibit D to Ordinance No. 2759-25, effective Nov 13, 2025). Note: Conroe's Code of Ordinances on Municode references fees \"as established in appendix A\" but does NOT host the dollar amounts in Municode; the amounts live in the separately maintained Appendix A fee schedule (the Nov 13, 2025 ordinance exhibits, sourced here directly from the council document portal). REPRESENTATIVE SINGLE-FAMILY total one-time connection cost = water 3/4\" tap $1,875 + sewer 4\" tap $1,875 = $3,750. OTHER REAL FEES a residential builder pays (captured in notes/sources but NOT normalized into the per-DU total because they are area/valuation/plat-based rather than flat per-unit development fees): (1) Residential building permit fee = $0.64 per sq ft of building area, plus a nonrefundable residential plan review fee = $0.32 per sq ft (Exhibit A, Sec. 14-38(c)); for a ~2,250 sq ft home that is roughly $1,440 permit + $720 plan review. (2) Subdivision/plat application fees (Exhibit G, Sec. 94-73): preliminary plat $1,000 + $15/lot + $50/acre for reserves; final plat $1,000 + $15/lot + $50/acre; minor plat $700 + $15/lot + $50/acre — these are per-application/per-plat, not per-dwelling. (3) Tree-canopy mitigation $5.00/sq ft of additional canopy (Sec. 102-32) only if a variance to tree preservation/planting is granted (included as an excluded conditional row). (4) Protected tree removal permit $200/tree; residential lot clearing permit $25/lot (Exhibit I). Tap fees: unitBasis recorded as per_meter (sized per tap diameter); the standard residential connection is a single 3/4\" water tap and 4\" sewer tap, effectively per dwelling unit. The FY 2024-25 adopted budget shows water/sewer tap revenue (~$1.0M/yr, ~200 water taps and ~85 sewer taps annually), corroborating these are the active connection charges. All tap-fee figures are high confidence (verified verbatim against the City's adopted Exhibit D). The tree mitigation figure is medium confidence due to a $5.00 (Exhibit/Appendix A) vs $3.50 (ordinance body text) discrepancy.</feeNotes> </invoke>
Sources
8 official sources · 9 high-confidence figures.
- 1Exhibit D — Chapter 70 Proposed Tap Fees (Appendix A Fee Schedule, adopted Ord. No. 2759-25)City of Conroe, Texas · fee schedule · effective Nov 13, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 2Ordinance Amending Appendix A – Fee Schedule (Chapters 14, 30, 58, 70, 82, 90, 94, 98, 102)City of Conroe, Texas · ordinance · effective Nov 13, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 3Exhibit I — Chapter 102 Vegetation Fee Schedule (tree mitigation, clearing permits)City of Conroe, Texas · fee schedule · effective Nov 13, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 4Exhibit G — Chapter 94 Subdivisions Fee Schedule (plat application fees)City of Conroe, Texas · fee schedule · effective Nov 13, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 5Exhibit A — Chapter 14 Buildings and Building Regulations Fee Schedule (building permit & plan review fees)City of Conroe, Texas · fee schedule · effective Nov 13, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 6Code of Ordinances Sec. 70-74 — Water tap and sewer connections; tap fee (amended Ord. 2759-25)City of Conroe / Municode Library · ordinance · effective Nov 13, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 7Conroe City Council approves study on implementing impact fees to fund infrastructureCommunity Impact · news article · effective Jun 26, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 8City of Conroe FY 2024-2025 Adopted Operating Budget (water/sewer rate ordinance, tap revenue)City of Conroe, Texas · government report · effective Oct 1, 2024 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
Conroe impact fees — FAQ
- How much are development impact fees in Conroe, TX for a single-family home?
- As of 2026-06-16, total development fees for a single-family detached home in Conroe are about $3,750 per unit — roughly $0 in impact/development fees plus $3,750 in water/sewer connection fees. Figures are normalized from official sources; verify with the jurisdiction before relying on them.
- Are impact fees in Conroe the same as building permit fees?
- No. Impact fees (and water/sewer connection fees) fund off-site capital — roads, parks, schools, utilities — and are charged per new dwelling unit. Building permit and plan-review fees are separate and are not included here.
- How often do Conroe's impact fees change?
- Most jurisdictions adopt fees by ordinance and escalate them annually (often by a construction cost index), with occasional mid-year updates. Always confirm the current adopted schedule with the jurisdiction. ImpactFeeAtlas last verified Conroe on 2026-06-16.