Kerrville is looking for input on comprehensive plan update

The city of Kerrville is beginning the process of reviewing and updating its comprehensive plan, also known as the Kerrville 2050 plan. This task will set the tone for future development and planning.

The Planning and Zoning received an initial presentation about elements that could be updated, including transportation and housing. Still, the city also wants feedback from residents and nonresidents of Kerrville.

“I like to say it’s what the city wants to be when it grows up,” said Kerrville Development Director Drew Paxton during a July 11, 2024 episode of The Lead Live. “We are looking 20-30 years into the future.”

The city’s massive effort five years ago to develop the Kerrville 2050 plan proved to be one of its most influential tools in shaping the city’s future, but changes in state law necessitated an update.

Paxton’s most significant tool will be an online survey that solicits feedback about needs related to land use, housing, downtown, the Nimitz Lake area, utility infrastructure, and transportation. Longtime city consultants Freese and Nichols will shape the comprehensive plan. The company outlined its plans, which includes a team of 12, to the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 2.

During that July 2 meeting, P&Z Chairperson Mike Sigerman said the city struggles to communicate two critical issues, water and housing, which are tied together.

“We only have so much control over development,” said Sigerman, adding the state limitations on municipal regulation of development cause communication headaches for cities.

Sigerman told the consultants that he believes Kerrville is managing growth correctly, but he emphasized the communication strategies involved with expressing the limitations facing the city and its staff. In recent years, the Texas Legislature has consistently knocked down the power of cities to regulate growth, with an emphasis that favors developers.

The most recent addition to the anti-city legislation limited a city’s ability to annex territory within its limits. Several large landowners have recently asked to leave the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction to avoid city regulations, including water rules.

As part of the plan, Paxton and his team, including Freese and Nichols Project Manager Caitlin Admire, will conduct a survey allowing residents to comment on an interactive city map. Each resident, including those living outside of the city, can mark an area they want addressed in the revised comprehensive plan.

Check out the plan by visiting the city’s Kerrville 2050 website.