After nearly 25 years of operating under a comprehensive plan written in 1989, the city of Jersey Village is looking into updating the document to better prepare for future growth.
The 1989 plan contained a lot of data, but very little in terms of recommendations and guidance, said Jersey Village Mayor Rod Erskine. The development of a new plan is crucial in helping city staff better understand the direction in which Jersey Village should be headed, with input from business owners, residents and City Council.
"Staff wants to proceed in the direction that council wants them to go, but our long-term vision isn't clear," Erskine said. "We want to give staff something more to work with aside from the feedback they get once a month at City Council meetings."
Little has been determined about the scope and design of the comprehensive plan at this point. City Manager Mike Castro confirmed a more involved discussion on a potential plan took place at the Sept. 16 City Council meeting.
"I think if we have an overall goal in mind as we look to develop any undeveloped parts of the community, we can coordinate all the activities of the many different stakeholders that are going to be involved in that development," Castro said. "We have internal stakeholders and external stakeholders, and getting all sides on the same page benefits Jersey Village greatly."
City objectives
The Hwy. 290 expansion project is expected to have a direct impact on Jersey Village, and staff considers the comprehensive plan update as a way to guide the city through the growth that will follow.
"I think the Hwy. 290 expansion is going to spark a renewed interest in the 290 corridor and in Jersey Village specifically," Castro said. "The comprehensive plan will enable us to better prepare for that."
Attracting businesses to the area will become more of a focus. Leading up to the implementation of the plan, Erskine said he would like to meet with business owners in a review of the city's zoning ordinances to gauge how people feel about them.
Erskine said "tear-down" projects are likely to become more common in Jersey Village and he would like to see the plan prepare for them. "Tear-down" refers to a process during which a person buys an older home on valued land, tears it down and builds a newer, larger one in its place.
"The economy is going to drive when it will happen," Erskine said. "We've had the foresight to look at our ordinances and codes to start to take into account how to prepare for tear downs and home design."
Other major decisions that will likely be planned out include the development of a new city hall and how to handle wastewater treatment services.
"We have to decide if we want to continue with our wastewater treatment plant as a part of this joint powers group or if we just want to build our own," Erskine said. "There are synergies around building our own plant, sized to us, not us and another group of people adjacent to Jersey Village."
Existing plans merge
The new comprehensive plan would likely complement a series of existing plans managing different aspects of the city, Erskine said. Among the plans that could be merged into the new comprehensive plan are the Jersey Village street repair program and utility rehabilitation program, as well as studies into how to use open space.
"We did a big survey a few years back on what people want to do with open space," Erskine said. "Some feedback we got suggested building jogging tracks around the 40-acre detention pond, so those sorts of projects would be considered."
The decision on whether the city should reach out to a consulting firm to help develop the plan is being discussed. Erskine said the city may seek bids from contractors following the Sept. 16 meeting.
"The plan has to be evergreen," he said. "Every year or two we're going to need to have a workshop and revisit it based on what's changed. Just like in a business, you've got to keep your plan fresh."
