Boomburbs of the Future: Fulshear?

Chron: Big changes in small town: As suburbia rapidly makes its way west, Fulshear officials have been busy getting ready (Mike Snyder, Nancy Sarnoff)

Fulshear's leaders have seen the growth coming for years and have been busy preparing for it, adopting regulatory ordinances unusual for such a small town. These measures include sign restrictions, a major thoroughfare plan and an updated subdivision ordinance.

Preservation of the town's small-town feel has been a cornerstone of these efforts. This goal has been assisted by adjoining landowners who petitioned to be in Fulshear's extraterritorial jurisdiction -- the area subject to annexation -- rather than Houston's.

"A lot of people moved out to Fulshear for the country life, the big lots, the openness," said Tommy Kuykendall, chairman of the town's planning commission. "Houston is an urban concrete jungle -- that's the perception. But the two worlds are coming together very rapidly."

... and I don't think that means Houston is getting a downtown farm anytime soon.

The development of northwest Harris County looks like it's approaching a temporary point where it's harder and harder to scale up. At least until the next housing boom. Development around the Katy area is a lot more practical and as long as towns like Fulshear are cooperative (I've got no idea what Tomball is doing, but it's more than a mild curiosity), there seems to be a lot more growth in that direction for the short term.