Put the whole proposal on one drawing
A battery lease may reserve a fenced area while also needing an entrance, a road and an electrical route beyond it. Ask the developer to draw each requested area, including temporary space for delivery vehicles, equipment assembly and construction.
Mark the places you intend to keep using: buildings, fields, timber access, gates, ditches and existing easements. Walk through how you would reach them during construction and after the batteries begin operating. Discuss shared roads and gates before agreeing to the lease boundaries.
Ask whether the proposal changes recorded tract boundaries, creates a separate parcel or requests new easements. Have your surveyor or attorney compare the drawing with the deed and existing plats. The developer’s label for the leased area should not leave you unsure about which land rights it wants.
For an option, identify what the developer can investigate during that period and what requires additional permission. Discuss entry, testing, notice, repair of damage and the decision date. An early drawing can help you discuss the proposal without authorizing construction.
Reference: Houston County: Posted subdivision regulations, adopted March 26, 2002
Ask about plat review before assuming a lease avoids it
Houston County’s posted subdivision packet includes a section discussing the form of a land transaction, including options and long leases, when platting is required. It is an older packet, adopted in 2002. Ask the current reviewer how today’s requirements apply to the boundaries, transaction and improvements actually proposed.
Request a written explanation of whether a plat, replat or exemption is needed, who handles it and what documentation supports the answer. Do not rely on the word “lease” alone or apply a printed acreage exception without checking the facts and current requirements.
If the tract is already in a recorded subdivision, read its restrictions and access arrangements with your adviser. Ask whether the battery proposal conflicts with them or requires changes. Confirm any city or extraterritorial-jurisdiction questions with the appropriate offices rather than relying on the older packet’s procedure.
Discuss who pays for survey work, applications, revisions and any necessary improvements. Tie those unresolved items to a clear option period and payment schedule. You should understand what happens if the layout cannot be approved or the developer needs more land than first proposed.
Reference: Houston County: Posted subdivision regulations, adopted March 26, 2002 · Houston County: Posted development documents · Houston County: County Judge’s office
Read recorded rights and owner statements before signing
Ask for the actual documents proposed for recording, not just a description of them. The county’s older subdivision packet contains sample owner and lienholder statements and notes addressing streets, utilities, drainage and maintenance. Have your adviser identify which, if any, apply to this proposal.
Some sample statements involve public dedication, drainage access, title obligations and future maintenance. Discuss any requested rights separately from the battery lease. Ask where they are located, who can use them, whether they continue after the project ends and what can be changed later.
If a mortgage or other lien affects the land, have the appropriate adviser determine whether consent or other documentation is needed. Do not assume the developer’s application, a lease signature and the lender’s requirements are interchangeable.
Limit any representative’s authority to the tasks you intend to allow. Agree who receives official notices and which changes require your approval. Keep the completed forms, drawings and recorded versions so you can see what was submitted in your name.
Reference: Houston County: Posted subdivision regulations, adopted March 26, 2002
Want to ask about your land?
Send the location and what you know. You don’t need a project plan.
Tell us about your landSettle driveway work and future upkeep
Ask which authority controls the road at the proposed entrance and whether a culvert must be installed, replaced or enlarged. Houston County posts a culvert policy document that describes consultation with the precinct commissioner, purchasing responsibility and county installation. Its adoption date and signatures are blank in the reviewed copy, so confirm the current procedure before buying materials or scheduling work.
Have the developer explain the entrance it needs for deliveries, routine service and emergency vehicles. Ask the responsible reviewer and engineer to confirm the design for those uses. A road standard in a general subdivision packet is not automatically the design for a battery site.
The posted subdivision packet distinguishes approving a plat from accepting roads for county maintenance. Ask who would maintain every road the project uses, including shared and private roads. Do not assume a recorded drawing makes the county responsible for repairs.
Put responsibilities for road damage, drainage, gates and fences into the private agreement. Ask how costs are handled if construction traffic uses an entrance you still rely on, and who restores temporary work areas. Make the obligations understandable if the project stops or changes operators.
Reference: Houston County: Posted culvert policy document · Houston County: Posted subdivision regulations, adopted March 26, 2002 · Houston County: Posted development documents
Check flood review and emergency access for the location
The TexasFlood directory lists the Houston County Judge’s office as the county floodplain contact and lists separate contacts for cities in the county. Confirm the reviewer for the actual parcel. Houston County, Texas is the county around Crockett; it is separate from the City of Houston and Harris County.
Ask the developer’s engineer to review drainage across the site, including grading, pads, cable routes and the entrance. Have the applicable floodplain reviewer identify the current documents and permissions needed. A dry-looking equipment area does not answer how the access road or neighboring land responds to heavy rain.
The county lists an Emergency Management and Fire Marshal office. Ask the project team to identify the fire reviewer and responding department for the location, then confirm their requirements for the proposed battery equipment and supporting work. The office’s general information page is not a battery construction approval.
Use the county’s addressing office to confirm the official location information responders need. Its page links to a new 9-1-1 address request. Ask whether the proposed facility needs a new address or other location identification, and how its entrance, gate and equipment would be found during an emergency.
Reference: TexasFlood: Floodplain administrator directory · Houston County: County Judge’s office · Houston County: Emergency Management and Fire Marshal · Houston County: 9-1-1 addressing office and request link
Keep connection studies, payments and removal in view
Local land and road questions are only part of a battery proposal. Ask separately for the planned electrical connection, study progress, upgrade needs and route rights. A nearby power line or another energy project does not establish capacity for this site.
Review what the developer pays during the option and what triggers lease payments. Ask how unresolved permits or electrical studies affect its deadlines and extension rights. You should be able to see the cost of reserving the land and when you can use it freely again if the proposal does not proceed.
Discuss maintenance, removal and restoration before construction is authorized. Ask which company is responsible, what financial protection supports its obligations and how they continue if the project transfers. Include roads, cabling and areas beyond the battery fence in that discussion.
Use the form on this page to share the property location, approximate acreage and contact details. Tell us which part of the land you might consider and what access or uses you want to preserve. If you have received a proposal, let us know what it requests. Contacting Sunland America starts a discussion; it does not commit you to a lease or sale.
Reference: Houston County: Posted subdivision regulations, adopted March 26, 2002 · Houston County: County Judge’s office
Questions landowners ask
Does leasing only part of my property avoid plat review?
Do not assume it does. Ask the current reviewer how the proposed transaction, boundaries and improvements are treated, and request the applicable procedure or exemption. The county’s posted older packet discusses long leases when platting is required.
What should the developer’s drawing show?
The reserved battery area, entrance, permanent and temporary roads, electrical route, work areas, drainage and existing easements. Mark the parts of the tract and access you want to keep using.
Does county approval of a plat mean it maintains the roads?
The posted subdivision packet distinguishes plat approval from road-maintenance acceptance. Confirm who maintains each proposed, shared and private road and put the project’s repair obligations in the agreement.
Who should I ask before replacing an entrance culvert?
Start by identifying the road authority. For county road work, ask the appropriate precinct office to confirm the current procedure, design review and purchasing or installation responsibilities.
Is this the same county as the City of Houston?
No. This guide concerns Houston County, Texas, around Crockett. Confirm the parcel location before using an office or form for the City of Houston, Harris County or another state’s Houston County.
Can a nearby power line prove my land works for battery storage?
No. Ask for the intended connection point, electrical study status, required upgrades and route rights. Local land review does not establish grid capacity.
What do I need before contacting Sunland America?
Start with the property location, approximate acreage and contact information. Tell us how you use the land, what you want to preserve and whether you already have a proposal. You do not need to commission a survey or study to start the conversation.
Sources & further reading
Sources reviewed October 8, 2026. All 21 physical pages of the posted subdivision packet, including its signed March 26, 2002 adoption page, and both pages of the posted culvert document were visually reviewed. The culvert document has blank adoption-date and signature fields. Current amendments, applicable plat exceptions and battery-use classification are not established by these artifacts. County addressing, judge and fire-office pages were read; the TexasFlood directory was checked for Houston County rows. The linked address-request survey and hazard-mitigation plan were not reviewed. This guide concerns Houston County, Texas, around Crockett, and does not establish a permit decision or available grid capacity. Local rules and program details can change. Check the requirements for the actual project.
- Houston County: Posted development documents
- Houston County: Posted subdivision regulations, adopted March 26, 2002
- Houston County: Posted culvert policy document
- Houston County: 9-1-1 addressing office and request link
- Houston County: County Judge’s office
- TexasFlood: Floodplain administrator directory
- Houston County: Emergency Management and Fire Marshal