GLENN HEIGHTS — Thousands of new homes and apartments remain in Glenn Heights’ growth and development pipeline, bringing the prospect of new residents, new property values and additional revenue to the city. They also bring a bill that has to be paid.
As Glenn Heights prepares for continued residential growth, the city’s proposed 2026-27 budget provides a clearer picture of how roads, water and wastewater infrastructure, public safety, and other services will need to keep pace, and how those costs could ultimately be shared among developers, the city, and residents.
The GHF Development Tracker currently identifies nearly 3,000 residential units as pending or under construction. The overwhelming majority of major development currently underway in the city is residential, underscoring the importance of how Glenn Heights plans and pays for the infrastructure and services needed to support it. Glenn Heights Future previously gave a breakdown on new residential development headed our way.
The proposed budget acknowledges that challenge directly.
City Manager Clifford Blackwell wrote that the spending plan is designed to maintain existing service levels while addressing needs created by continued growth. The budget includes infrastructure and public improvement investments along with additional public safety resources, according to pages 6-7 of the proposed budget.
By the end of his budget message, Blackwell puts the challenge more plainly.
“The impacts of additional growth and the strains it places on the infrastructure will require the City to re-evaluate its priorities and develop a funding plan to address its needs,” Blackwell wrote on page 12.
Glenn Heights growth brings money to City Hall
Growth does not only create expenses.
The proposed budget says General Fund revenues are increasing in part because of higher development activity, which has increased permit and licensing income.
Licenses and permits are budgeted to generate $847,500 during the coming fiscal year, a 35.2% increase from the current amended budget, according to page 21 of the 2026-27 proposed budget.
New construction can also eventually add taxable property to the city’s tax rolls.
The proposed budget estimates $261,062 in property tax revenue from new property added to the tax roll this year, according to page 2. That represents property added for the current tax year, not the potential value of all development currently in the city’s pipeline.
Impact fees are coming back
One of the most direct ways new development contributes toward infrastructure is through impact fees.
The city’s proposed budget defines an impact fee as a charge or assessment on new development, used to generate revenue for capital improvements or facility expansions necessary and attributable to that development.
Glenn Heights recently completed a new impact fee study after its ability to collect the fees temporarily lapsed. The proposed budget says the city is now “poised to begin collecting the fees once again.”
Money from the Street Impact Fee Fund and Water Impact Fee Fund is expected to contribute toward some projects included in the city’s 2026-27 Capital Improvement Plan, according to page 11 of the proposed budget.
How much revenue Glenn Heights did not collect during the period when impact fees could not be implemented remains unclear.
Determining that amount would require knowing which development activity would have been subject to the fees, when those fees would otherwise have been assessed, and the applicable rates.
The return of impact fees, however, means future development will once again directly contribute toward eligible infrastructure costs attributable to growth.
Growth is also creating new expenses
The proposed budget shows that infrastructure is not the only cost associated with development.
City officials say increased development activity has created a growing need for construction inspections. The proposed budget includes a new Construction Project Manager who would work alongside an existing inspector to oversee infrastructure inspections and ensure compliance with city development regulations, according to page 9.
The longer-term demands extend beyond the development process itself.
On page 11, the city identifies future residential development as one reason Glenn Heights will need to expand staffing to meet increasing public safety, public service, and utility needs.
Roads are another concern.
The city says work continues on the East Bear Creek Road expansion while planning needs are growing for South Hampton and South Westmoreland roads. With additional growth anticipated, Glenn Heights is also planning to issue bonds to fund design work for the expansion of West Bear Creek Road. Those challenges are identified on pages 11-12 of the proposed budget.
That means development-related infrastructure is not funded by a single source.
Impact fees can contribute toward eligible projects. Other projects can involve development agreements, city funds, debt, or outside funding such as grants and appropriations.
Water and wastewater add another layer
Water and wastewater present a different financial challenge because those services operate through the city’s Water and Sewer Fund rather than solely through property tax-supported operations.
The proposed budget says Glenn Heights is reviewing its water rate structure and considering whether residential and commercial rates should be separated. No rate change had been adopted when the proposed budget was prepared, according to pages 9-10.
Glenn Heights is also facing an increase in regional wastewater costs tied in part to capital investment in the regional wastewater system.
The exact effect on Glenn Heights customers remains unresolved. The proposed budget says the increased wastewater expense cannot be absorbed within the existing rate structure and identifies potential rate adjustments as an issue that will have to be addressed, according to page 10.
Glenn Heights Future is awaiting additional records regarding the wastewater increase and will report separately on its potential effects on residents as more information becomes available.
The city is simultaneously looking for ways to reduce the amount of infrastructure that must be financed locally. On page 12, the proposed budget specifically identifies grants and appropriations as alternatives to issuing additional debt for some wastewater improvements.
Who pays for growth?
There is no single answer.
Developers contribute through permits, fees, infrastructure requirements, and, with the city’s impact fee program returning, fees specifically intended to offset eligible infrastructure costs associated with new development.
New construction can eventually expand the property tax base.
The city can use operating revenues, capital funds, and debt to pay for other needs. State and federal grants can reduce the local share of certain projects.
Utility customers can also bear costs through water and wastewater rates when the cost of providing those services increases.
What the proposed budget makes clear is that Glenn Heights’ residential growth is becoming as much a financial planning issue as a development issue.
The city’s certified taxable value increased by 1.25% to $1.910 billion, the city’s lowest growth rate in seven years. The budget says officials do not expect that trend to continue beyond the coming year as new construction values continue to rise, according to page 7.
The question going forward will not simply be how much Glenn Heights grows; it will be a question of whether the revenue generated by that growth, contributions required from new development, and outside funding can keep pace with the infrastructure and services a larger city will require.
