Some of Harris County’s most popular residential communities have been built on land once designated part of the floodplain.
A Houston Chronicle investigation found that in the past decade, developers and homeowners have challenged FEMA’s flood maps and successfully removed at least 6,556 Harris County homes from official floodplains.
INVESTIGATION: A little-known appeal process has erased thousands of wealthy Harris County homes from floodplains
In most cases, they did so by bringing in dirt to raise the structure or lot above the minimum flood level. Researchers, including FEMA’s own advisory committee, have warned that the practice does not guarantee safety and, in some cases, could shift the danger to nearby properties.
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The changes can, however, lift the mandatory requirement for homeowners with federally backed mortgages to purchase flood insurance, which can easily save them over $1,000 a year.
Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, worked as a local floodplain manager in Ohio for a decade. During that time, he said he constantly received calls from property owners asking how to use FEMA’s map change process to get out of the flood insurance requirement.
“I have seen property owners and developers spend thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to argue about an inch of elevation,” Berginnis said. “People are more afraid of the insurance requirements than they are of the flood disaster.”
Here are the eight subdivisions with the most homes removed from FEMA floodplains since 2016.
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Elyson
Homes and amenities in the Elyson subdivision are photographed in Katy on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. Developers and property owners in some Houston-area communities have used a FEMA process to remove flood-prone properties from designated floodplains.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Elyson, a sprawling 3,600-acre master-planned community in Katy, had by far the largest number of map changes in the Chronicle’s analysis.
The community opened in 2016 on land crossed by three floodplains. Since then, the developer has continued to add new sections on former floodplain land. Records show Elyson is responsible for 2,167 of the 6,556 property-level flood map changes in Harris County over the past decade.
Newland Communities, the original developer, previously told the Chronicle that engineers had assured them that the use of fill, combined with other drainage measures, would provide sufficient protection. Brookfield Properties, which acquired Newland Communities in 2021, did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment.
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Bridgeland
Workers build homes in the Bridgeland master-planned community in Cypress on Nov. 10, 2025.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle
Bridgeland is one of the Houston region’s largest master-planned communities, spanning more than 11,000 acres in Cypress. The Chronicle found 464 properties removed from high-risk flood zones across two of its villages: 389 in Parkland Village and 75 in Prairieland Village.
Parkland Village opened in 2018 as one of Bridgeland’s major residential sections, with lakes, trails, parks, schools and other amenities. Prairieland Village, one of its newer sections, continued Bridgeland’s westward expansion with new homes built around parks, waterways and open space.
Developer Howard Hughes did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment.
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King Crossing
The King Crossing neighborhood sign is displayed at the entrance of the neighborhood in Katy on June 23, 2026.
Jacob Lujan/Houston Chronicle
King Crossing is a 320-acre master-planned community on the northwest side of Katy. The development first broke ground in mid-2014 and features homes ranging from 1,400 to 4,000 square feet, along with amenities such as a resort-style pool, walking trails and lakes.
The Chronicle found 450 property-level map changes in King Crossing, spread across five FEMA cases over the past decade.
Developers Pulte Homes and Beazer Homes did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment.
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Willow Springs
Homes in the Willow Springs subdivision are photographed in Houston on June 23, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Willow Springs is a KB Home community in north Houston near Texas 249.
The subdivision is smaller than some of the large master-planned developments on the list, but it still had one of the highest numbers of flood map removals in the Chronicle’s analysis.
Since 2016, there have been 260 successful flood map revisions in the neighborhood. All were done after dirt was brought in to raise the lots or structures, FEMA records show.
Cara Kane, a spokesperson for KB Home, the developer of Willow Springs, said since the community was built over 10 years ago, her team does not have specific information about various FEMA changes and is not aware of the process.
Wildwood at Northpointe
The Wildwood neighborhood sign is displayed in front of the recreation area in Tomball on June 23, 2026.
Jacob Lujan/Houston Chronicle
Wildwood at Northpointe is a 700-acre Tomball community developed by Friendswood Development Co. It dates to the mid-2000s and includes trails, wooded areas, parks and larger suburban homes.
The Chronicle identified 235 property-level map changes in Wildwood at Northpointe, spread across 11 FEMA cases over the last 10 years.
Founded in 1962 and later acquired by Lennar Homes, Friendswood Development Co. is best known for developing Kingwood and Clear Lake City. A previous Chronicle analysis found it has also been one of the region’s most active builders on flood-prone land.
Lennar did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment.
Fall Creek
Homes in the Fall Creek subdivision are photographed in Humble on June 23, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Fall Creek is a 2,300-acre master-planned golf community in Humble, near Beltway 8 and the Golf Club of Houston.
In 2003, its first residents started moving in, and the community now includes about 2,500 homes, as well as pools, trails, sports facilities and other amenities.
Eleven FEMA cases removed 216 Fall Creek properties from official floodplains.
The developer, Johnson Development, did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment.
Villages at Northpointe West
The Villages of Northpointe in Tomball is photographed on June 30, 2026.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle
Villages at Northpointe West is part of the broader Northpointe area near Tomball, where much of the residential development took shape in the 2000s and 2010s.
The area includes newer single-family homes near schools, parks and commercial corridors in northwest Harris County.
In Villages at Northpointe West, 210 properties were taken out of FEMA floodplains through two cases.
Lennar, its developer, did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment.
Miramesa
Miramesa Recreation Center in the Miramesa subdivision in Cypress is photographed on June 30, 2026.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle
Miramesa is the newest section of the Canyon Lakes West master-planned community, south of U.S. 290. Construction began there in 2016, bringing newer single-family homes, lakes, trails and resort-style amenities.
Along with larger developments such as Bridgeland and Elyson, it sits near the eastern edge of the Katy Prairie, which has become one of the region’s most active pockets of floodplain homebuilding.
Over the past decade, FEMA records show 168 Miramesa properties were removed from official floodplains.
The developer, Land Tejas Companies, did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment.