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Many U.S. cities have adopted plans for land use and mobility, enforced through zoning codes. In Houston, famously the nation's largest unzoned city, a different approach is needed.
Here, Parker said, the market drives certain types of development into certain areas, and the city scrambles to build the infrastructure needed to keep up. To the extent possible, Parker said, this plan will aim to encourage development in areas that need it and help the city make better decisions in allocating resources as development trends emerge.
It will not, she said, advocate zoning.
So what do you guys think? Is this just more talk that will result in nothing being planned, overlapping efforts, and general confusion, as to what the plan really is?
Well, if Spiderman is involved, where can it go wrong?
The obvious problem, as written, is the implementation by the next administration.
I can easily see this as a plan to pay for new reports, new studies and reworked plans for years to come. With each new administration, I envision hundreds of thousands paid to political donors, I mean experts, to fix the old plan.
April 27, 2014 | Updated: April 27, 2014 10:41pm
Ask Mayor Annise Parker about "smart growth" or "new urbanism" and you're more likely to get exasperation than excitement. Houston's most powerful policy wonk prefers incremental reforms to sweeping gestures.
Parker, however, has given the green light to a "general plan" for Houston - though she says she has not forgotten her skepticism of such efforts."BluePrint Houston, somewhere around here I have the stack of documents from it," Parker said, waving her hand around her City Hall office in reference to a decade-old planning effort. "It was a great exercise, but we didn't implement it. As we do this, I want to be able to implement it."
Many U.S. cities have adopted plans for land use and mobility, enforced through zoning codes. In Houston, famously the nation's largest unzoned city, a different approach is needed.
Here, Parker said, the market drives certain types of development into certain areas, and the city scrambles to build the infrastructure needed to keep up. To the extent possible, Parker said, this plan will aim to encourage development in areas that need it and help the city make better decisions in allocating resources as development trends emerge.
It will not, she said, advocate zoning.
"We've had a lot of planning in this city and most of us continue to do a great deal of it," said Central Houston president Bob Eury. "What we haven't had is the coordination and the ongoing framework for coordination. That's what is so incredibly important coming out of this process."
The effort is in its early stages, with Denver-based urban planner, professor and consultant Peter Park having conducted a "plan to plan" in recent months, holding discussions with numerous civic leaders to get a sense of what makes Houston tick and decide what the plan should look like.
City officials presented results of that effort and next steps to a City Council committee last week, to general enthusiasm from council members and civic leaders.
Planning and Development Department director Patrick Walsh said the plan should prevent inefficient decisions, such as paving a street and then tearing it up a few years later to install new drainage pipes, or redundant plans being pursued by the city and local development boards.
It would identify the public's preferences in specific areas and help guide investment choices, Walsh said. For instance, a park could be a place to relax, or it could be a catalyst for economic development, such as Discovery Green. Or, he said, if it included a trail, it could be part of the city's mobility system; or it could provide drainage for a nearby public project.
"We are attempting to recognize that there's been an awful lot of very good work that's gone on before us," Walsh said. "It's time to take advantage of that work and utilize it ... There is no need to re-create the wheel here." Interactive website
The plan will cost roughly $500,000, to come from the city, foundations and economic development boards, and would finish in early 2015, to be part of next year's capital and budget planning.
The next steps will be to identify who should participate in the planning discussions, compile information on existing plans and policies and examine data on regional trends and forecasts, Walsh said.
Officials envision an interactive website that explains the city's plans, policies and coming infrastructure projects, and also features performance metrics covering areas such as delivery of services and budget conditions.
Parker said neither comprehensive planning advocates' highest hopes, nor opponents' worst fears, will be realized in the final product.
That sort of rhetoric hasn't calmed David Crossley or Peter Brown's excitement. The two smart-growth gadflies launched BluePrint Houston 12 years ago and, despite the time invested, never quite saw the idea take root. The same could be said for a 1994 effort dubbed Imagine Houston.
"I've had outside developers who are interested in investing in Houston ask me, 'Show me your adopted plan so I get a feel for where I might do a pro- ject,' " Brown said. "I met with deputy administrator of the EPA in Washington … (who) said, 'Show me your adopted comprehensive plan.' There wasn't one. This is going to help us in many, many ways."
Even those typically inclined to frown at such proposals see promise.
Josh Sanders, of developer-led Houstonians for Responsible Growth, said there was "some initial trepidation" among his members when whispers emerged of a "general plan." Those fears proved unfounded, he said, as the planning strategy took shape.
"We think the city does need more of a strategic outlook and does need more coordination between its existing plans," Sanders said. "What we can do a better job of doing is figuring out how to plan and accommodate growth." What happens in 2016?
Councilman Larry Green welcomed the idea but expressed concern that the plan could be discarded when Parker is forced from office by term limits at the end of 2015.
"If we make this investment in an actual plan, how do we move forward with regard to the actual plan?" Green said. "You can't compel a new administration to take your priorities and move them forward."
Walsh said a good plan should reflect the public's priorities.
Councilman Jerry Davis called for public engagement as planning proceeds.
"One thing (citizens) don't want to see is a plan that's evolved or established that does not include them, or includes them as a byproduct," he said.
Jane West of the Super Neighborhood Alliance, whose group has advocated a plan for the city, agreed.
"Institutional memory of any city is its citizenry, and its citizenry needs to be a vital part of this planning process," West said. "Without citizen participation, no planning is ever going to be successful."
What is interesting about cities that officially lack zoning is they often pass a lot of piecemeal standards that attempt to fulfill similar purposes without using the dreaded "Z" word.
Last edited by War Beagle; 04-28-2014 at 02:47 PM..
April 27, 2014 | Updated: April 27, 2014 10:41pm
Ask Mayor Annise Parker about "smart growth" or "new urbanism" and you're more likely to get exasperation than excitement. Houston's most powerful policy wonk prefers incremental reforms to sweeping gestures.
Parker, however, has given the green light to a "general plan" for Houston - though she says she has not forgotten her skepticism of such efforts."BluePrint Houston, somewhere around here I have the stack of documents from it," Parker said, waving her hand around her City Hall office in reference to a decade-old planning effort. "It was a great exercise, but we didn't implement it. As we do this, I want to be able to implement it."
Many U.S. cities have adopted plans for land use and mobility, enforced through zoning codes. In Houston, famously the nation's largest unzoned city, a different approach is needed.
Here, Parker said, the market drives certain types of development into certain areas, and the city scrambles to build the infrastructure needed to keep up. To the extent possible, Parker said, this plan will aim to encourage development in areas that need it and help the city make better decisions in allocating resources as development trends emerge.
It will not, she said, advocate zoning.
"We've had a lot of planning in this city and most of us continue to do a great deal of it," said Central Houston president Bob Eury. "What we haven't had is the coordination and the ongoing framework for coordination. That's what is so incredibly important coming out of this process."
The effort is in its early stages, with Denver-based urban planner, professor and consultant Peter Park having conducted a "plan to plan" in recent months, holding discussions with numerous civic leaders to get a sense of what makes Houston tick and decide what the plan should look like.
City officials presented results of that effort and next steps to a City Council committee last week, to general enthusiasm from council members and civic leaders.
Planning and Development Department director Patrick Walsh said the plan should prevent inefficient decisions, such as paving a street and then tearing it up a few years later to install new drainage pipes, or redundant plans being pursued by the city and local development boards.
It would identify the public's preferences in specific areas and help guide investment choices, Walsh said. For instance, a park could be a place to relax, or it could be a catalyst for economic development, such as Discovery Green. Or, he said, if it included a trail, it could be part of the city's mobility system; or it could provide drainage for a nearby public project.
"We are attempting to recognize that there's been an awful lot of very good work that's gone on before us," Walsh said. "It's time to take advantage of that work and utilize it ... There is no need to re-create the wheel here." Interactive website
The plan will cost roughly $500,000, to come from the city, foundations and economic development boards, and would finish in early 2015, to be part of next year's capital and budget planning.
The next steps will be to identify who should participate in the planning discussions, compile information on existing plans and policies and examine data on regional trends and forecasts, Walsh said.
Officials envision an interactive website that explains the city's plans, policies and coming infrastructure projects, and also features performance metrics covering areas such as delivery of services and budget conditions.
Parker said neither comprehensive planning advocates' highest hopes, nor opponents' worst fears, will be realized in the final product.
That sort of rhetoric hasn't calmed David Crossley or Peter Brown's excitement. The two smart-growth gadflies launched BluePrint Houston 12 years ago and, despite the time invested, never quite saw the idea take root. The same could be said for a 1994 effort dubbed Imagine Houston.
"I've had outside developers who are interested in investing in Houston ask me, 'Show me your adopted plan so I get a feel for where I might do a pro- ject,' " Brown said. "I met with deputy administrator of the EPA in Washington … (who) said, 'Show me your adopted comprehensive plan.' There wasn't one. This is going to help us in many, many ways."
Even those typically inclined to frown at such proposals see promise.
Josh Sanders, of developer-led Houstonians for Responsible Growth, said there was "some initial trepidation" among his members when whispers emerged of a "general plan." Those fears proved unfounded, he said, as the planning strategy took shape.
"We think the city does need more of a strategic outlook and does need more coordination between its existing plans," Sanders said. "What we can do a better job of doing is figuring out how to plan and accommodate growth." What happens in 2016?
Councilman Larry Green welcomed the idea but expressed concern that the plan could be discarded when Parker is forced from office by term limits at the end of 2015.
"If we make this investment in an actual plan, how do we move forward with regard to the actual plan?" Green said. "You can't compel a new administration to take your priorities and move them forward."
Walsh said a good plan should reflect the public's priorities.
Councilman Jerry Davis called for public engagement as planning proceeds.
"One thing (citizens) don't want to see is a plan that's evolved or established that does not include them, or includes them as a byproduct," he said.
Jane West of the Super Neighborhood Alliance, whose group has advocated a plan for the city, agreed.
"Institutional memory of any city is its citizenry, and its citizenry needs to be a vital part of this planning process," West said. "Without citizen participation, no planning is ever going to be successful."
That's the "plan" !
Still haven't figured out what they are "planning."
They have long range transportation plans, just not always the funding. They have sewer and water plans. They aren't allowed to zone. So what are they planning?
Still haven't figured out what they are "planning."
They have long range transportation plans, just not always the funding. They have sewer and water plans. They aren't allowed to zone. So what are they planning?
As far as I can tell from this same article is that the "plan" is to spend $500k on a website where the City will post their plans to develop infrastructure. We the "Citizenry" will then use this website to 1) admire their plans 2) plan around their plans ? Am I right ?
So let me see... Fill deep pockets of politicians and development/construction firms to create plans to develop infrastructure. Sounds like a well thought out plan to me.
Not sure about the plan, but I just want to say I think Houston is very lucky to have a mayor like Mayor Parker.
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