HTX-PLF: Impact 10/22/2025

Manvel City Council approved at its Oct. 20 meeting a subdivision variance for the southwest corner of Meridiana Parkway and Jordan Street.

The approval also included an installation of four-way stop signs at the intersection to prevent accidents. 

The overview: The developer—GR-M1 Ltd., a developer with Rise Communities LLC, which is a developer for Meridiana—will mill and overlay the full width of the existing asphalt on Jordan Street along the project boundary, according to city documents. 

The details: The subdivision variance was granted because constructing the required concrete half-street would have created a disjointed roadway condition, officials said.

The variance is in correlation with over seven acres of land at that intersection. The land will have commercial development with a potential gas station and convenience store. The remainder of the land will be a future residential section, according to city documents. 

Big City Wings closed its Pearland location on Aug. 23, according to a social media post.

The details: With over 13 locations, Big City Wings is a Houston-based franchise that specializes in wings.

• 9721 Broadway St., Pearland

San Jacinto College’s board of trustees approved a tax rate of $0.154615 per $100 valuation of a home at its Oct. 6 meeting. The tax rate will decrease by $0.0253, or 0.16%, compared to the 2024 tax rate, according to tax documents from the college.

What residents should know: While the tax rate will decrease, taxes on an average home are expected to rise by more than 3%, according to college tax documents. Taxes on an average home with a taxable value of over $188,000 will have over $290 to pay in taxes. This is over a 3% increase compared to 2024, when homes with a taxable value of nearly $182,000 had over $280 to pay in taxes, according to tax documents.  

In November, Harris County Commissioners Court will consider a worksite safety policy proposal seeking to standardize safety protocols countywide in order to reduce injuries and strengthen worker protections on authorized construction sites. 

By the numbers: Workplace injuries in 2021 cost $167 billion and amounted to $47.4 billion in wage and productivity losses, according to a 2024 report from a Houston-based Occupational Safety and Health Administration training organization.

The experts: Linda Morales is the organizing coordinator at the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation. Harris County’s current contractor safety record policy is taken into account during the bidding process, Morales said, where contractors and subcontractors must show a proven safety record that complies with industry standards.

In their words: “What it does is that it helps prevent habitual violators of health and safety standards from operating on Harris County projects, but what they don’t have is a policy that addresses real-time safety issues that arise on county projects," Morales said.