Public safety consultant Citygate Associates recommended constructing a sixth fire station in Missouri City and implementing policy to improve service at a special meeting Monday.

City Council also approved the first reading of an amended ordinance allowing for the development of a residential subdivision and considered two reinvestment zones for tax abatement purposes during the regular meeting.

1) Fire and rescue services

Missouri City should consider establishing a sixth fire station near Lake Olympia Parkway and Vicksburg Boulevard to better meet demands, said Stewart Gary, Citygate Associates public safety principal.

The city’s average call-to-arrival response times in 2016 do not meet best practices recommendations, which is within 7 minutes and 30 seconds to 8 minutes and 30 seconds, according to the Citygate report. The city’s call-to-arrival times spanned 9-12 minutes, depending on individual stations.

Like similarly built communities, Missouri City has curvilinear, meandering roadways, making the street network difficult to serve, Gary said. The city is also experiencing a rapid growth rate with population anticipated to reach 86,476 by 2030, he said.

Travel time cannot be improved without added stations, Gary said. Demand in the community peaks during mid-afternoon hours.

The city has earmarked $1 million to design work for a sixth fire station, according to city documents.

Other recommendations include reviewing the frequency and type of fire inspections, partnering with Fort Bend County Emergency Medical Services to place an additional ambulance at a city fire station, ensuring all personnel meet the minimum annual training requirements, establishing a succession plan to address staff turnover and working with the city of Sugar Land to establish a regional fire training center.

2) Single-family residential development

City Council approved an amended ordinance regarding the development of residential subdivision Shipmans Cove off Watts Plantation Drive.

Although City Council originally approved plans for Ashton Woods Homes to develop Shipmans Cove in January 2017, residents from surrounding neighborhoods Creekmont and Newpoint Estates subdivisions have filed at least two lawsuits to petition the development.

The development will lead to traffic congestion, drainage issues and flooding problems and public safety concerns, said Cindy Forney, Newpoint Estates Homeowners Association director.

“One thing that’s desirable about our neighborhood is that it’s one way in and one way out,” Forney said.

Cameras placed at the only entrance allows the residents to enjoy a nonexistent crime rate, she said. The city’s original plan to pave a street through the neighborhood to access Shipmans Cove would disrupt this.

Council’s newly amended ordinance reduces the maximum number of lots from 280 to 274, sets standards for these lots, provides a minimum 20-foot wide buffer along Shipmans Cove’s perimeter and removes street connections into Creekmont and Newpoint Estates.

Creekmont and Newpoint Estates residents indicated they will withdraw their protests if these new amendments are upheld.

3) Reinvestment zones

City council voted to create Reinvestment Zone 17 and considered Reinvestment Zone 19 for tax abatement purposes to attract new business prospects.

Reinvestment Zone 17 encompasses 29 acres of land within commercial subdivision Park 8Ninety, south of Hwy. 90A. The zone may be the location of a 62,000-square-foot fresh food services company in an existing building, according to city documents.

The developer is Ridge Development, part of Transwestern Development Company, said Cory Stottlemyer, Missouri City media relations specialist.

City Council also approved the first reading of an ordinance to create Reinvestment Zone 19, which encompasses 6 acres of land, also within Park 8Ninety.

More details about the development will be discussed at a later City Council meeting, Stottlemyer said.