As Pearland’s population continues to grow, city officials are thinking critically about how to best develop the city’s remaining 24% of undeveloped land by 2040.

The gist

On Nov. 13, city staff presented Pearland City Council with a comprehensive plan for how Pearland’s remaining undeveloped land could be built out.

City staff stressed the comprehensive plan merely sets forward a vision for how land can be developed to serve Pearland’s current and future needs best, and is not legally binding like zoning regulations are binding.

In summary, the plan’s vision promises to provide Pearland’s diverse, growing population with a strong economy where people will want to live, work and play, goals that align closely with the strategic priorities City Council approved in March.

What it means

To achieve this vision, the plan recommends three strategies including:

• Continuing to develop the Lower Kirby District
• Encouraging middle-market housing
• Updating the unified development code to ensure future permits granted align with the plan’s overall vision

In developing the plan, city staff identified Pearland’s biggest commuter exodus heads toward the Texas Medical Center, so many of the recommendations focus on developing the land to create more health care jobs in Pearland’s boundaries.

City staff identified six areas, or catalyst sites, in Pearland with significant amounts of undeveloped or underdeveloped land, and included recommendations for how Pearland officials should consider zoning regulations and granting land use permits in those areas to best align with the city’s vision for its future.

One more thing

To create the plan, Pearland sourced feedback from the community and stakeholders, including an online survey that garnered over 295 comments and 73 survey responses.