The College Station City Council on Thursday unanimously and "enthusiastically" approved a new comprehensive plan of its vision for the city's future.
The plan, in the works for nearly three years, addresses traffic congestion and the need for additional parks and open space and encourages development while protecting neighborhoods, said Bob Cowell, the city's director of planning and development services.
"Even though this is the culmination of a great deal of work, it's actually the beginning of even more work," Cowell said.
The last comprehensive plan was put together in 1997, when the city had a population of about 61,000 and $9 million in annual sales tax revenue. Today, the city has more than 91,000 residents and twice as much sales tax revenue, Cowell said.
The plan aims to prepare the city to accommodate at least another 34,000 people expected to arrive in the next 20 years, he said. The plan positions the city to meet the increased demand for roads and water while maintaining response times for emergency vehicles, Cowell said.
"A number of the key pieces of implementing this are either under way or will come before council in a few months," he said.
Project Manager Jennifer Prochazka said the plan included provisions for neighborhood integrity and growth management. She said residents had volunteered thousands of hours working on the plan.
Bret Keast, a planning consultant hired by the city, said officials and residents must remain diligent in the plan's implementation to make it work effectively because it's easy for people to get sidetracked with other issues.
"The plan has not been without good dialogues as well as debate, which has been healthy for this plan," Keast said.
Keast said it's important that the plan remain visible and easily accessible.
Key initiatives in the plan include environmental projects, phased expansion of the city's water supply, master plans for economic development and for specific neighborhoods, a strengthened code enforcement program, commercial area redevelopment and the rejuvenation of existing parks, Keast said.
Also at Thursday's meeting, the City Council:
* Approved extending the city's red-light camera contract with American Traffic Solutions for 20 years.
A bill in the Texas House of Representatives that would ban the use of the cameras has been passed and now awaits a Senate vote.
The city activated five new traffic cameras Thursday, and Traffic Engineer Troy Rother said discussions in the Legislature would have no effect on the city's plans for the program.
The city had 31/2 years remaining in its contract with the company before it was extended. The contract can be canceled at any time with no penalties, Rother said.
* Approved the removal of parking on both sides of Park Place between Anderson Street and Texas Avenue.
Rother said the removal was needed to create access to the street for emergency vehicles that can take up a large amount of space -- 26 feet across is the minimum amount of space needed for a fire truck to fully extend its equipment.
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