On Jan. 31, dozens of community members attended Tomball’s comprehensive plan open house held at the Tomball Community Center.
“The comprehensive plan is the document that, in the next five to 10 years, you are telling your city what you want them to do,” Mayor Lori Klein Quinn said in remarks at the open house. “What are the decisions that are going to be done that will affect the character of your town, that will affect the transportation, the land use. This comes from you. This is your plan.”
What happened
Locals were invited to the open house to share their thoughts, opinions and feedback on the city and its future for the new comprehensive plan. Attendees were invited to use Post-Its and dot stickers to mark up various posters on different aspects of Tomball, such as downtown, its streets and its land uses.
During the open house, Alexis Garcia, a project manager with engineering firm Freese and Nichols, gave a presentation on the comprehensive plan and what it entails.
“This isn’t our plan,” Garcia said during the presentation. “It’s not the city’s plan. It’s your plan—the people who live here.”
How we got here
Last May, Tomball City Council approved a professional services agreement with Freese and Nichols to spend $450,000 developing updated comprehensive, future land use and major thoroughfare plans as well as create a unified development code, Community Impact previously reported.
The city’s last comprehensive plan was adopted in 2019, and included information on topics such as the city’s existing conditions, visions and recommendations for Tomball and plans for implementation.
What they’re saying
In interviews during the open house, several community leaders shared their thoughts on the turnout and what they hope to see out of a comprehensive plan.
- “I really like the infrastructure,” council member Dane Dunagin said. “We need the water and the sewer. I’m worried about what’s going on in Tomball. We need to make sure that it keeps growing—managed growth but growing.”
- “I think the turnout was fantastic,” said Kelly Violette, executive director of the Tomball Economic Development Corp. “It really underscores the fact that people are invested in Tomball, that they love Tomball.”
- “I just love [the turnout],” said Bruce Hillegeist, president of the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce. “I want people to be involved. ... This is their city, and we need their input.”
- “[A comprehensive plan] gives council a direction,” Quinn said. “And council serves at the pleasure of the citizens.”
Stay tuned
In her presentation, Garcia shared a timeline for the comprehensive plan, with adoption anticipated to happen in August.
- August-October 2023: Background analysis
- November 2023-May: Plan development
- June-July: Implementation plan
- August: Adoption
Tomball residents are also invited to take the city’s online survey for the comprehensive plan, which will close Feb. 4 at 11:59 p.m., Garcia said.
Learn more about the comprehensive plan and take the online survey by visiting www.tomballtx.gov/404/2024-comprehensive-plan-update.
