BRENHAM PLANNING AND ZONING MOVES COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FORWARD

  

Brenham’s Comprehensive Plan is one step closer to completion.

The Brenham Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously Thursday in favor of the plan, which will now head to city council next month.

The plan, entitled “Historic Past, Bold Future: Plan 2040”, acts both as an existing city conditions report, and as a guide for the city’s future direction, needs, priorities, and action items. It addresses areas such as land use and development, growth capacity, economic outlook, parks and recreation, and transportation.

Presentations were given from both Brenham Development Services Director Stephanie Doland and Meredith Dang, recently promoted Practice Leader of Community Planning for Kendig Keast Collaborative.

Doland thanked everyone for their review and contributions to the city’s planning efforts. She said this has been a year-long process with a huge amount of public input, and that the city is “very excited to see the final product of the plan”.  Dang added to that, saying public engagement is “the crux of this plan”.

Dang went over the plan’s strategic action priorities and their implementation, including capital projects, programs and initiatives, regulations and standards, partnerships and coordination, and additional studies. She also discussed the top priority action agenda, which she said the city will focus on in the next one to three years.

 

Dang said, through annual progress reports and minor updates, this plan is intended to be a living document, not sit on the shelf for ten years.

Click here to view the Comprehensive Plan.

Also at Thursday’s meeting, the Commission agreed to withdraw a portion of city ordinance prohibiting metal exteriors for residential uses. Earlier this year, the city council moved to bar the use of a metal façade on residential property in certain zoning districts.

However, during the past legislative session, House Bill 2439 passed, which prohibits Texas municipalities from enforcing ordinances that restrict the use of building material for residential or commercial construction. Therefore, the city moved to withdraw the metal housing restrictions previously passed, in order to be in compliance with state law.

Doland said planners across the state are still trying to understand the impacts of this house bill, and what opportunities exist beyond its “very restrictive provisions”.

The Commission also approved preliminary and final plats of 49 acres of land in the Baker Katz development subdivision. The land, located at the intersection of Highway 290 East and Chappell Hill Street, is being used for Baker Katz’s shopping center project.  Developers intend to split the land into two lots, one being 38.8 acres, and the other being 9.1 acres.