City of College Station, TX
Comprehensive Plan

Fueled by expansion of enrollment at Texas A&M University, College Station had experienced rapid growth, adding approximately 25,000 people from 2010 to 2020. Managing that growth, providing adequate and timely infrastructure, and maintaining fiscal health were fundamental challenges. At the same time, quality of life factors such as neighborhood integrity, housing choices, and “things to do” were top of mind for many residents.

The City initiated a significant effort to create an Evaluation and Appraisal Report for the 2009 comprehensive plan. The effort would engage the community, identify the Plan’s successes and shortcomings, consider changing conditions, and recommend appropriate modifications. The evaluation would form a roadmap for a subsequent update to the plan.

Public engagement for a unique planning effort

This process, known as the Next 10, held two rounds of public engagement. For the first round, over 200 College Station residents attended four, in-person workshops. Participants learned about conditions and trends, rated and discussed the plan’s desired outcomes, and identified opportunity locations on a map. Due to COVID-19, the second round was held entirely online to protect the health and safety of the community. Participants were able to submit comments about potential recommendations and conceptual scenarios.

An implementation audit

As part of the data gathering process, an Implementation Progress Assessment was conducted to review each action item in the plan and determine its status (complete, not complete, ongoing, etc.). This audit led to a new way to organize the plan’s strategies and the inclusion of several new action items.

Best practices and scenarios

To understand how the City could potentially address its opportunities, Planning NEXT prepared a best practices report with case study examples from communities comparable to College Station. Another significant component of the effort was the development and evaluation of scenarios for six geographic areas. The scenarios and their performance measures illustrated potential disparities between existing conditions, a likely future supported by the Comprehensive Plan, and an alternative future that may be possible with changes to existing policies.

Related News

Final Plan Document

The Next 10 Comprehensive Plan Evaluation

Tags

Project Type: comprehensive plan evaluation
Community Type: city
Client: College Station, TX
Services: comprehensive planning evaluation, community engagement