With a consultant on board and its advisory committee in place, Jersey Village has begun the process of drafting a new comprehensive plan. The Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee—composed of 12 residents and stakeholders in the Jersey Village area—met with consulting firm Freese and Nichols in May, and City Council participated in a visioning workshop June 16.
Council members at the workshop were asked to identify the city's top priorities, threats and opportunities. Members also reviewed survey comments from an ongoing survey available through the city's website.
Council members were in agreement on what the city's top priorities should be, focusing mainly on promoting new development, improving the city's image and attracting retail, restaurants and entertainment venues to the city.
"These businesses help with the tax base, generate revenue and are of value to the residents," Councilman Greg Holden said.
Top identified threats were related to construction on Hwy. 290 and the loss of commercial base from businesses being forced to relocate. Mayor Rod Erskine said he thought the city could manage the current expansion project, but is concerned about future expansions as well.
"As soon as the concrete dries, [The Texas Department of Transportation] starts expanding again," he said. "I'm worried more about the longer term if they decide to expand again next time."
Council was divided in identifying top opportunities for the city. Opportunities focused on a range of issues, including expanding the city's ETJ, providing better access to transit, enhancing property maintenance codes, redeveloping the freeway frontage road area and redeveloping the golf course.
Several council members suggested keeping an open mind to what the golf course land could be used for in the future.
"The best use of that space for now is as a golf course, but I think the approach ought to keep an open mind and be flexible," councilman Harry Beckwith said. "What will be the best use of that space 20 years from now?"
Others countered that the golf course is a central part of Jersey Village's character, providing much needed green space for the residents. Councilwoman Sheri Sheppard suggested keeping the golf course and developing more recreational opportunities around it.
"We could turn it into a golf course plus," Sheppard said. "We could expand it to include more recreational space, tennis courts and other amenities."
Other potential uses of the golf course include redeveloping it as general park space, as single-family residential or into a mixed-use town center.
Survey comments submitted over the past month point to several areas of concern among residents, including creating community identified signage, the need for an image branding marketing campaign and a desire for neighborhood upkeep without giving the city strict control.
Several council members, including Councilman Justin Ray, agreed on the importance of marketing and signage.
"There needs to be an aggressive campaign to make sure Jersey Village is a destination people want to move to," Ray said.
The process of creating and adopting a new comprehensive plan is expected to run through May 2015. Meetings with the CPAC, City Council and the community at large have been scheduled throughout this timeframe. A community roundtable will give the public a chance to provide thoughts on the plan July 10.
"We are very open to comment and we appreciate all the input," said Wendy Shabay with Freese and Nichols.
Upcoming meetings are listed below:
Public meetings
July 10—Community roundtable, open to public
Feb. 12—Public meeting where public provide feedback on draft
TBA—Planning & Zoning public hearing and adoption
TBA—City Council public hearing and adoption
CPAC meetings
Aug. 14—CPAC reviews survey, drafts goals
Aug. 28—CPAC innovative design workshop
Sept. 9—CPAC reviews land use, transportation
Oct. 14—CPAC plans economic development
Nov. 13—CPAC reviews community character, parks and recreation, open space
March 12—CPAC final review
City meetings
Jan. 15—City Council reviews recommendations
