Join Us at the Open House to review the Draft Comprehensive Plan
Join us at the Houston Fire Station on Thursday, May 5th to review and provide feedback on the City of Houston’s Draft Comprehensive Plan. Members of the project team and Steering Committee will be in attendance to answer any questions you may have. Please continue to help your community plan for the next 20 years by visiting us at the Open House.
Thank you for attending the Second Open House on June 4th
The second Open House focused on the Community Impact Assessment. Thank you for joining us to identify and analyze the impacts upcoming projects may create for the City of Houston. The information gathered at the Open House will be incorporated into the CIA.
Thank you for participating in the Survey!
Thank you for your participation in the City of Houston Comprehensive Plan Household Survey, conducted by the McDowell Group over the last two months. Your opinions will help guide Houston’s future.
The Future’s Workshop was held on September 18th at the Houston Fire Station where residents gathered to answer the question;
“What should Houston be like in 20 years?”
If you missed the Workshop, it’s not too late to participate. Please use the comment form or contact the Project Manager to tell us what your ideal future of Houston is like!
Workshop Summary:
In small groups, residents were tasked with “creating ideal futures” and openly discussed what the future of Houston should include; all responses were recorded. After the small group session, residents reported key themes and ideas shared within their group to all attendees in an effort to find common ground on the future.
The Mind Maps are the complete list of ideas and themes we heard the community say during the Future’s Workshop:
View or print the Workshop’s Small Group Mind Maps.
View or print the Workshop’s Whole Group Mind Maps .
The following is what we heard the community say in the whole group session:
Community Character
- Houston as a destination for tourism and recreation
- Have a unique identity or theme for us to be recognized by- distinguish Houston Alaska from the rest of the country and state
- Preservation of residential character – keeping “Houston Houston” with larger parcels for housing and minimal light pollution and noise
- Own a recreational identity; more than just trail heads
- Design standards for development
- Establish a Town Center keeping to the Houston feel
- Preservation of existing trails and ecology
- Involving community in the development and construction of community facilities
- Maintaining the quiet dark character – open for growth but keep it rural
- Community needs to be proactive
- Family friendly
- Make both sides of the river and railroad tracks feel like one community
- Wide reaching community government and development- increased involvement
Working Mission Statement:
The community of Houston wants to develop as a destination for tourism and recreation; while maintaining a family friendly community that will encompass a future town center, designated trails and community facilities.
Transportation
- Train station in the City
- More connectivity – more emergency access
- Town center that is accessible and multiuse
- Multiuse pathways
- Better signage
- Main road be protected – increased vegetation
- Maintain multiuse trails
- Improved lighting and roadways
- Eventually expand availability of utilities and services
- Safety on the Parks corridor
- Development of King Arthur Rd.
- Hawk lane bike path – improvement of pedestrian safety via pathways and lighting
- Industrial development along the rail lanes- light industrial
- Increase vegetative buffers in roadways
- Main artery needs proper planning for controlled access and the expansion of the Parks highway and the secondary roadways – proper planning for corridor
- Port to Parks
- Bus stop marker, signage, and lighting
- Park and ride with Valley-movers throughout Mat-Su and Anchorage Bowl
Summary Statement:
There is a need to increase safety, accessibility, and mobility through much of the City and improvements shall be beneficial to all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized uses, while maintaining the community character.
Planning
- More staffing for City, Fire department should not be responsible for all emergency and police services
- Evolve into a 1st class city
- Corridor study
- Planning land use (one comment on no zoning restrictions)
- Water resource planning –special attention to the flood planes
- Development suitability study
- MSB build out- match with community growth
- Program to reduce junk cars
- Transfer centers
- Incentive for people to come here – education, recreation facilities, design
- Encourage subdivision with more high income development
Summary Statement:
Effective, implementable planning is a recognized need for successful growth, development, and overall health of the community, as defined by its residents.
Housing
- Incentivize Dr. and medical facilities to move here
- Assisted care facilities
- Plan for multi-family and senior housing with the aging population
- Conveniences for high end houses for a higher tax base – designate areas for high end housing
Summary Statement:
The availability of housing in Houston should be appealing for a wide range of incomes, while providing opportunities for satisfactory, safe living for all residents.
Community Facilities and Services
- Education – elementary school
- Town Center with; pedestrian friendly facilities, landscaping, panels and walk theme, restaurants, mixed use, near river or railroad, building codes (Form based codes)
- Youth summer programs
- Opportunities for post-secondary education/carter school
- Public safety; EMS expansion, year round water flow for fire
- Flood control response planning
- Community watch
- Recreation; trails, multiuse, designated facilities for recreation (rinks, pools, ball courts), preservation of natural areas, facility maintenance for motorized and non-motorized users including horses and dogs
- Animal shelter
- Utility expansion dependent on road alignment ; natural gas, coal, alternative energy
- Recreation destination; use Little Su for business services (tourism)
- Cemetery
- Veterinary clinic
- Daycare
- Business districts; planned, designed, and built
- Pharmacy
- Dentist
- Medical facilities
- Assisted care facilities
- Gas station and goods services
- Grocery store or food shops
Summary Statement:
The City of Houston recognizes the need to expand its facilities and services in order to provide safe and satisfactory living for its residents, while enhancing the City’s autonomy, economy, and unique identity.
Economic Development
- Keep tax base
- Local jobs
- Riverwalk
- Community identity for economic development (using it to draw in visitors and residents)
- Centralized for recreation for Hatcher Pass, Deskha, etc. – capitalize on natural location
- Facilities at King Arthur; Laundromat, shower, gym, meeting place
- Daycare
- Natural resource development; coal mines, power plant, city owned utility
Summary Statement:
While maintaining the current tax structure, the City of Houston aims to develop economically by capitalizing on its current amenities and natural resources; allowing commercial and light industrial development as long as it aligns with the community character and will be to the benefit of City residents.
