In an effort to control growth and add to its tax revenue while providing outlying residents with enhanced services, the city of Pearland is in the process of annexing more than 480 acres of land along Bailey Road. The planned annexations, along with a construction project on the thoroughfare, aim to address the needs of a city that experienced a 170 percent increase in population from 2000-2013, officials said.
“Annexation is based on a lot of factors,” Pearland Director of Community Development Lata Krishnarao said. “Growth is a big factor. If [an] area is growing, and all of a sudden there is an impetus to put in more public infrastructure and manage growth, then that’s one reason cities will annex.”
The annexation plans come at a time when construction is set to begin on improvements to Bailey Road. The project will expand the thoroughfare and revamp the corridor’s drainage system to enhance mobility and safety, city officials said.
Pearland first publicly revealed the annexation proposals at an open house in late July. Krishnarao said residents within the planned annexation who spoke during the comment period gave mixed reviews. While some were glad to receive expanded city services, others expressed concerns over increased taxes, she said. Residents also were divided on the subject of
zoning regulations.
“We heard [arguments] both for and against [the annexations],” Krishnarao said. “Some residents were happy because there would be land-use control. Right now they are worried [because] they have homesteads there, and they have no control [over] what is going to happen next door to them. When Bailey [Road] gets [expanded] there will be much more pressure for development.”
If City Council approves the proposed annexations, the newly annexed tracts would initially become part of the suburban development district under residential zoning. The city would then begin the zoning process to select the district that best conforms with the land’s current and projected future use, Krishnarao said.
“After the annexation we’ll get the residents involved [with the zoning process],” she said. “We’ll do a detailed land-use analysis to see what makes [the] most sense.”
Proposed annexations
The two 242-acre tracts of land slated to be annexed sit on the north and south sides of Bailey Road. The area north of the thoroughfare stretches between Kennedy Drive and FM 1128, and the second segment to the south is located from FM 1128 to Veterans Drive, according to city officials. [polldaddy poll=9083040]
When updating the future land use portion of the comprehensive plan in 2010, the council designated six areas for possible annexation, Krishnarao said. The tracts along Bailey Road were among those identified.
“At that time the council had started talking about looking at areas in our [extraterritorial jurisdiction] that we might need to annex in light of all the capital improvement projects that the city was undertaking,” she said. “[The city] was going to improve Bailey Road, and it was important to direct growth on both sides not just for the most efficient traffic flow, but also in terms of land uses.”
The annexation process calls for two public hearings—scheduled for Oct. 12 and 19—before the council can vote on the ordinance. To complete the annexation, the ordinance must pass two readings. City officials expect the second reading to be Nov. 23. If approved, the city would then begin the process of providing additional services to the annexed areas.
Effects on residents
While residents in the proposed areas receive some services through interlocal agreements, the range of those services would expand upon annexation, officials said. As it stands, the city of Pearland provides police and limited fire and emergency medical services to these areas. Brazoria County Precinct 2 Commissioner Ryan Cade said the annexation would benefit the county in addition to the residents.
“Our sheriff’s department has an entire county to patrol with the resources it has available,” he said. “[If] this area is annexed, [residents] will benefit from local law enforcement as well. That is good for [Pearland] and the county.”
New or enhanced city services would include police protection, fire and EMS services, solid waste collection, animal control, fire code enforcement and maintenance of streets, drainage facilities and parks, according to officials.
Residents within the proposed annexations would begin paying taxes to the city of Pearland in October 2016, according to officials. The newly annexed tracts would have their property values assessed in January. The added income would help maintain the cost of city services and reduce the burden on current taxpayers, officials said.
Bailey Road project
The project on Bailey Road will widen the roadway to a four-lane, concrete curb-and-gutter thoroughfare with raised landscape medians and dedicated left-turn lanes from FM 1128 to Veterans Drive, officials said.
The roadway will transition back to a two-lane asphalt segment approximately 1,700 feet west of FM 1128.
“East-west circulation has always been challenging because we only had [FM] 518,” Krishnarao said. “That was the only [thoroughfare] that connected both parts of [Pearland].”
The council approved a $21.3 million construction contract for the project to Texas Sterling Construction on Aug. 24. Houston-Galveston Area Council—through its Transportation Improvement Plan—will fund 80 percent of the project and Pearland will provide the remainder. Construction is slated to begin in mid-to-late September and take two years to complete, officials said.
The contract was the latest cost going toward the development of the Bailey Road area, officials said.
“The city is investing over $64 million in that corridor,” Pearland Assistant City Manager Trent Epperson said. “When you make that type of investment in a corridor that basically [has] one side [outside] the city limits, it merits taking a look at annexation so we can [justify] this type of investment.”
