Leander votes to create Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee

Leander City Council voted at its Nov. 21 meeting to form a committee to advise in the creation of the city’s comprehensive plan.

The Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee will be composed of 16 members, according to the vote. Nine of the members must be approved by a majority on the council, and the other seven—each picked by a council member—will be individually appointed without a council vote.

The nine members requiring council approval will represent:

• Planning & Zoning Commission
• Parks Board
• Public Arts Commission
• Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Board
• Economic Development Committee
• Leander ISD
• Chamber of Commerce
• resident in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ)
• Old Town area resident

Updated every five years, the comprehensive plan serves as a long-term guide for the city, showing in detail where different development types—such as residential, commercial and industrial—should be allowed throughout the city. It also lists goals for the city in terms of economic development and quality of life, according to the city.

Once formed, the committee will meet during the process and confer with Halff Associates, a Dallas-based firm hired for $198,860 on Sept. 19 for consulting on the comprehensive plan, and other stakeholders in the city, according to city documents.

According to city staff, applications for the advisory committee have already been filed through an online application process on the city’s website.

The new comprehensive plan is supposed to be completed by September 2020.

Council plans to further discuss the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee at its Dec. 5 regular meeting.

The vote to form the committee was 6-1, with Mayor Troy Hill voting no without explanation.