CITY LOOKING TO UPDATE MAJOR THOROUGHFARE PLAN
The City of Brenham is looking to update its Major Thoroughfare Plan which was last updated in 2014. The plan is designed to give city staffers guidance on major streets in the city to meet the transportation needs of residents. City Engineer Lori Lakatos said that recently several issues have come up where the plan conflicts with proposed development. She said one example concerned the proposed extension of Sager Street. A developer wanted to put in single family homes along the extension, but was blocked because the roadway was designated as a Major Collector Street. Driveways from private residences are not allowed to connect to Major Collector Streets. Another example was for a plat approval for a property in the city’s Extra Territorial Jurisdiction. She said that the right of way for a proposed city street extension needed to be part of that plat.
Councilwoman Susan Cantey commented that she expects Brenham to grow quickly and we need to get this done. City staff will be working on cost estimates for the plan and will bring it back to council later in the year.
For a change, grow the city up and not out. Urban dwellers love this anyway. Plus it conforms to German heritage in keeping the city centralized. Rural folk can still keep the freedom and autonomy they desired when they purchased their property. Based on some comments I read on this website it seems many urban dwellers want rural folk under the thumbs of more bureaucratic and taxing entities so they too can enjoy benefits they just don’t know they need or will need. What many in the city just don’t get is that part of the fun of living in the country is providing your own (and usually more effective) solution to the problem (not the governments solution).
Just more of THE END of SMALL Town which I have been ranting about for MANY years.
It’s finally Wake Up Day for the sleeping citizens.
Only, with the chasing off of Visitors and mismanaged and poorly promoted offerings of the area — it’ TOO LATE!
Slowly but surely this town will be covertly forced into becoming a city with Urban and suburban communities. Sure,new businesses and more jobs are welcomed and great for Brenham. Is money realy worth more than your freedom? If so, this is when we will start to see Brenham lose its grip on the ability to control within our community. Or is it already happening?The day our ONLY water source main for this town was basically given permission to be compromised,was the day these outside sources came to the conclusion that this town would be less of a conflict for land use. Population control is coming our way.Houston is overpopulated…. “They arent willingly leaving so how can we disperse the congestion?” “Lets modify the weather and force a chunk of people out of here by literally flooding them out of town.” Harvey victims relocate and settle to nearby well organized towns such as Brenham….Businesses are popping up left and right,sales tax hits above average,just perfect for the new urban and suburban communities soon to come.More jobs,more people,more money.But with that good,bad also follows close behind.With the welcomed rise in population,theres now,unwelcomed violence,criminal activity, traffic congestion,more air pollution,more disease,more laws,rules,regulations, and less of a right to your own life,livelihood,lifestyle,land and privacy.
Please make sure the city planner gets a copy of this map. Evidently, the planner has previously not received this map or does not understand how to read the map. This was evident especially with the growth on Old Mill Creek Road. The planner had an opportunity to require the road to be widened to accommodate the tremendous development and growth. This opportunity was overlooked and a complete failure. Thanks for the update; it shows that there may still be hope for intelligent planning in the future.
Pecan Glen Resident, I see you’re back to your favorite old axe. Since you persist on grinding away, would you be willing to enlighten us all on just how wide the Old Mill Creek right-of-way is currently, and in which segments? As in, how wide is the R.O.W. within the city limits, and how wide outside the city? Is the OMC R.O.W. the same width all the way to Burton? How wide do you think it should be? Which govt. agency is responsible for determining the various right-of-way widths? If the city or cou ty needs you to give up ten or twenty feet of your land along OMC to bring it to your desired width, are you willing to give up your road frontage without recompense?
Why do you say they can’t widen the road? How wide is the right of way thru there? How widd is it supposed to be as a ‘minor collector’?
What is the furthest out “Minor Arterial Proposed”? It doesn’t currently exist, so what road(s) would it be? It’s like a loop even further than FM577.
The city is at it again doing it’s best to grow the city by leaps and bounds which is opposite of what the survey that was done many years back showed what the citizens wanted, keep the small town feel. The next question is who really gains from these changes?
Councilwoman Susan Cantey commented that Brenham “will grow quickly”. I hope so, being that employment opportunities are lacking, save for some low-paying retail jobs. What does Ms Cantey know, to base that comment on? Are there some companies planning to move to Brenham? I hope most people in Brenham will push for some good commercial development with companies that can pay taxes and provide decent middle and upper managerment opportunities. Only then can Brenham provide the services and upgrades to streets and public faclities to make to greatly enhance the experience of living in Brenham
It would be nice if the city and county would keep the existing roads smooth and free of pot holes, ie old William Penn road for one.
Folks, I strongly urge you to take a good hard look at this map and what it represents, whether you live within the city limits or within a couple miles. The changes to how you access or use your property are very significant, and they are affecting longtime Brenham residents already. The city can and will use these designations to leverage you in ways you will not believe, and you won’t have any options once you discover the leverage. Better to know beforehand and be prepared. Self-initiated changes to your property can result in the city appropriating a significant amount of your acreage — without the eminent domain process, without a court judgement, and without you receiving any compensation. Keep your eyes and ears open.
Is Tex Dot aware that city declares the 290/36 Loop as a Freeway as TxDot continue the North loop and 290 W with same grade intersections? Doesn’t look like TXDot has any plans to elevate the BB/577 intersection with the loop.