The Urban Service Boundary Expansion Plan is Underway

In February 13th’s General Government and Planning (GGP) Committee, Councilmembers will heard an update on the Urban Growth Plan, which will lay out a vision for development in the new expansion areas of the Urban Service Boundary (USB).

The Urban Growth Master Plan is being led by planning firm TSW Consultants, with several subcontractors focusing on specialized areas like transportation, financial sustainability, and public engagement. Full Disclosure: CivicLex is serving as a subcontractor working on this project.

While public engagement is ongoing, the consultant team will develop individual land use and development concepts for each expansion area, which they will present to the Planning Commission and Council in July. You can see an overview of the project timeline below.

A survey is open for residents to share their priorities for development in the expansion areas. So far, 694 residents have responded to the survey. The biggest issues cited by survey respondents include:

• Neighborhoods: safety, walkability, amenities

• Environment: trees, rural greenspace conservation, urban greenspaces

• Jobs and prosperity: housing affordability, public education, wages and benefits

• Transportation: traffic congestion, walkability, public transportation

• Equity: housing affordability, housing access, equitable development

Councilmembers' questions were largely focused on public engagement. Councilmembers encouraged Planning staff and project consultants to host events in their respective Districts, attend neighborhood meetings, and share information about input opportunities with Councilmembers.

No action was taken on the item. You can watch the meeting recording on LexTV.