Comprehensive Master Plan - City of Alvin

Growth StrategiesAnnexation PoliciesAs a general policy statement, annexation should occur prior to or concurrentwith development at the City boundary line to properly plan for andcoordinate the extension of adequate public facilities and services. Thefollowing policies should be considered in guiding the City’s decisions forannexing additional territory:Policy 1: The City will annex territory in compliance with state law and inaccordance with the policies of this Comprehensive Plan.Policy 2: The City will anticipate and effectively manage its long‐term patternof growth in a forward‐looking and fiscally responsible manner, whilebalancing the needs of current residents and existing infrastructureinvestments.Policy 3: The City will ensure that future growth is closely coordinated withinfrastructure investments, compatible with existing development,environmentally sensitive, and fiscally responsible.Policy 4: The City will establish criteria for considering the suitability ofrequested extensions to the corporate limits.Policy 5: The City will prepare and maintain an annexation plan and conductassociated service planning for gradual expansion of the corporate limitsand extension of municipal facilities and services, where determinedfeasible and beneficial to the City. The plan will be periodically updatedto account for changing development conditions and new infrastructuredevelopment.Policy 6: In order to maximize the efficiency of the existing infrastructure, theCity will direct growth toward developable and under‐utilized areaswithin the current corporate limits before additional territory in the ETJ isconsidered for annexation.Policy 7: The City will focus its annexation strategy toward the growth areasat the fringe of the current City limits to extend municipal services andmanage development quality.Policy 8: The City will use fiscal impact analyses to assess the projected costsof providing municipal services and weigh them against the anticipatedrevenues of each annexation proposal, whether initiated by the City or aproperty owner. Fiscal impacts will be assessed on a multi‐year timeframe,recognizing that first‐year costs may exceed revenues because of up‐frontservice extension costs and capital expenditures, as well as the lag timePage 5-27