Comprehensive Master Plan - City of Alvin

Growth StrategiesINTERESTS of the Community • • •The following issues pertain to the City’s capacity to provide adequatefacilities and services and ability to manage its future development. Thefindings are based on analysis of the existing land use and expected futuredevelopment pattern, planned improvements of the water and wastewatersystems, police and fire capabilities and service areas, and both short‐termand long‐range strategies to manage future growth. These issues aresummarized into the following broad categories:‣ Efficient utilization of public facilities and services – The City’spattern of development over the course of its history has naturally grownoutward from Downtown. The City’s earlier development was generallycompact as a result of the grid street system, traditionally smaller lots andhome sizes, and less reliance on the automobile. More recently,development reflects a contemporary design with curvilinear streetsystems, the use of cul‐de‐sacs, and larger, more irregularly shaped lots.With the increased reliance on the automobile, the development patternsof American cities have spreadoutward. The result of this, whichis equally apparent in Alvin albeitat a lesser scale, is thatdevelopment occurs in a sprawlingpattern, leaving sizable pockets ofundeveloped land to separateolder and new neighborhoods. InAlvin, sprawling development islargely a result of the size of theETJ, limited control ofdevelopment in the ETJ(particularly with the delegation ofsubdivision plat approval to theCounty), as well as other factors.Newer developments commonly make use of curvilinear streets and cul‐desacs,which has had the effect of more spread out development, reducedcommunity connectivity, and increases reliance on the automobile – allcontributing to sprawling patterns of development.One of the more significant reasons forthe City’s pattern of development iscaused by the extent of the 100‐yearfloodplain – and other localizedflooding conditions – that affect bothdeveloped and undeveloped areas.Page 5-4