Claire Goodman

Sugar Land's decades of growth have come with a tradeoff: The developable land that once helped fuel its expansion is growing scarcer, forcing the city to rethink how it attracts new businesses. Less than 4% of Sugar Land remains available for development, leaving the largely built-out city unable to compete for many of the business recruitment opportunities that fuel its economy.

Fulshear homeowners will pay about $5.74 more per month in city property taxes under a new tax rate approved by City Council, as parks debt comes due and the city's once-rapid growth begins to slow. Council voted 5-2 Sept. 1 to adopt a tax rate of $0.19 per $100 of taxable value as part of the city's fiscal year 2027 budget. The increase amounts to about 13.5% over last year for a home with the city's median taxable value of $527,823, according to Mariah Liendro, Fulshear's communications manager.