Land Clearing & Concrete
in Conroe, TX

My address says Conroe. Do I get my permit from the city or Montgomery County?

It depends on the parcel, not the mailing label. Inside the city limits it is City Building Inspections and Permits at 700 Metcalf St, filed online through OpenGov since December 2025. Outside the limits it is the Montgomery County Permit Department at 501 N. Thompson St. In the Joint Planning Area the city issues no building permit, and the county reviews the drainage and detention. The city keeps annexing, so we check your parcel first.

Can I clear my wooded lot before I build?

In the city, not the protected trees. Any tree 6 inches or more cannot be removed before the building permit is issued, the city wants a clearing permit, and it inspects before clearing when trees are being saved. Each new home has to keep or plant three trees: one of at least 4-inch caliper in the front yard and two of at least 3-inch caliper. Out in the county a development permit covers clearing and grading, with County Engineering sign-off above 15,000 square feet disturbed or 500 cubic yards of fill.

Do I need a detention pond?

Under the county's August 2025 Drainage Criteria Manual, the base minimum is 0.55 acre-feet of detention per developed acre. Sites of 20 acres or less use a sliding rate tied to how much of the site is paved, and big-lot subdivisions with lots over 1 acre use 0.35. A single home on an individual lot, or anything disturbing less than 15,000 square feet, is exempt. Detention is sized on Atlas 14 rainfall from the Conroe station, which puts the 100-year, 24-hour storm at 16.1 inches.

How high does my slab need to sit near the West Fork or a creek?

In the city, the finished floor has to be at least 12 inches above the base flood elevation, and a floodplain permit is required. In the county, since October 1, 2025, any development needs a permit unless the rules exempt it, and floodplain review with an Elevation Certificate applies near the mapped floodplain. For context, Lake Conroe released 79,100 cfs during Harvey, and releases peaked near 70,000 cfs in May 2024.

What is the soil like in Conroe, and what foundation do I need?

It is the Willis Formation with Conroe-series soils: gravelly loamy sand on top and a 35 to 50 percent clay subsoil that drains slowly. Water perches on that clay in the wetter months. We get a geotech report, then design the pad, the drainage and the slab for it. It is not the same story as Houston's Beaumont clay. If wet clay has already moved an older slab, we also do foundation repair in Conroe.

Conroe has no zoning. Can I put a metal shop or barndominium on my land?

The City of Conroe has no zoning ordinance, but building codes and your deed restrictions or HOA still apply. In the city, only an accessory building of 200 square feet or less, with no plumbing or electrical, skips the permit, so a real shop or barndominium needs one. Out in the county, each structure needs its own development permit, and each livable one, like a barndominium, needs its own address.