HTX-TOM: Impact 10/28/2025

The city of Tomball’s newly adopted comprehensive plan serves as a long-term blueprint for managing the city’s growth, guiding development and shaping infrastructure over the next five to 10 years.

What you need to know: As Tomball nears build-out within its 13.4-square-mile limits, city leaders are looking ahead to how the final pieces of undeveloped land will be used. The city’s newly adopted comprehensive plan outlines a refined future land use map that guides zoning, density and development decisions.

Diving in deeper: The new future land use map builds on years of data analysis, regional coordination and community feedback, per the comprehensive plan. Community Development Director Craig Meyers said planners considered Tomball’s strong growth and limited space to ensure the plan balanced redevelopment with preservation.

What else: With the plan adopted, city staff will now use the map to guide rezoning and development decisions. Meyers said updates to the zoning ordinance are already underway to align with the new designations, including the addition of duplex zoning and adjustments in mixed-use corridors.

Discovery Learning Center, a child care service for children ages 6 weeks to school age, is coming to Tomball, founders and owners Jody and Dustin Friesen confirmed.

The gist: The owners said the center will focus on a play-based, developmentally appropriate curriculum that encourages learning through exploration and creativity. The center will be open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. with plans to extend to 10 p.m., pending state approval.

The independent, family-owned center will include a reading space, a hands-on garden experience, outdoor adventure paths and an interactive classroom space. The final timeline for opening will depend on the completion of licensing and inspections, the owners said.

Going forward: The Friesens said they are currently hiring staff and accepting early interest from families seeking care.

• 1211 Rudel Road, Tomball

Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough lifted the county’s burn ban Oct. 26 following recent rainfall, he announced via Facebook. 

The gist: Keough said that the county’s Keetch-Byram Drought Index average is 530, which is "well below levels of concern." The KBDI is an index that is used to measure wildfire potential from 0 to 800, with 800 representing absolutely dry conditions, according to its website. The decision to lift the burn ban was made in coordination with the county fire marshal and the county's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Keough said. 

Before you go: The burning of outdoor trash and commercial waste is still illegal countywide, Keough said.

Three city infrastructure projects in Tomball have been temporarily paused due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, city officials told Tomball City Council during its Oct. 20 meeting.

Managing the impact: The city received a total of $7 million in Community Project Fund grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to improve drainage and infrastructure across several neighborhoods, Project Manager Meagan Mageo said. 

The funding includes $3 million for improvements for South Persimmon and Timkin streets, $2 million for North Cherry Street storm sewer upgrades, and $2 million for storm sewer improvements for Carrell and Lovett streets.

All three projects recently entered the design phase, but city officials have directed engineering firms to suspend work until the federal government reopens, Mageo said. The pause is necessary because Tomball cannot request reimbursement for grant-related expenses during the shutdown.

Officials said the halt will have minimal costs, as the projects are still early in development.

A total of 79,647 in-person and mail ballot votes have been cast in Harris County halfway through the 12-day early voting period ahead of the Nov. 4 general and special elections, according to the county clerk’s office.

By the numbers: That’s nearly 607,000 less votes compared to the 2024 general election early voting numbers, where Harris County voters cast more than 686,500 ballot votes. The county’s voter registration department found that more than 2.5 million people are registered voters in the county.

At the polls: Early in-person voting runs from Oct. 20-31, and Election Day is Nov. 4. For more information about what’s on the ballot and what to bring to the polls, visit www.communityimpact.com/election.

Quote of note: Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said in an October news release the county will have 70 early voting locations and 600 voting locations on Election Day.

“This election provides Harris County voters an opportunity to shape the future of their communities and impact leadership at both the local and state levels,” Hudspeth said.

During the first week of early voting Oct. 20-25 almost 3% of registered voters in Montgomery County cast their ballots, with 12,239 votes cast–or 2.63% of registered voters. As of Oct. 26 there were 464,644 registered voters within the county, according to Montgomery County Election Central. 

Going forward: The last day of early voting is Friday, Oct. 31 and election day is Nov. 4. There are nine early voting locations across Montgomery County. 

Texas is home to about 3.5 million small businesses, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses. Estimates show that the average Texas small-business owner could save about $2,500 per year if voters approve an expanded business tax exemption on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The details: State Proposition 9 would exempt up to $125,000 of a business’s personal property, such as equipment, furniture and vehicles, from taxation. Texas business owners currently receive a tax exemption on property worth $2,500 or less.

“At $2,500, virtually everyone's paying this tax,” NFIB Texas Director Jeff Burdett said in an Oct. 24 interview. “If you have a desk, a computer and a chair, you're probably over $2,500 [in inventory]. … It makes no difference for almost any business.”

At the polls: Early voting in the Nov. 4 election began Oct. 20 and runs through Oct. 31. For more information about the propositions and candidates on your local ballot, visit www.communityimpact.com/voter-guide.