Comprehensive Master Plan - City of Alvin

Land Usefacts & figureselements that must be present and issues to be addressed beforeDowntown can achieve success.As the historic heart of thecommunity, residents have voicedtheir desire to see Downtown onceagain become a center ofcommunity activity. They areinterested in seeing it retain itshistoric character, made evident bythe urban traditional scale ofbuildings, street enclosure, andemphasis on the pedestrian. Therewere numerous references toprotecting the community’s smalltownfeel, which, in part, relies onstrong recognition of a City center,rather than auto‐oriented stripcenters and big‐box retailers. Theywould like to see more developmentStreetscape enhancements like those along S. Gordon Street are one ofin Downtown, filling in vacant lotsmany components for returning Downtown to a true community center.and reusing empty buildings.Creating public spaces andattractions to draw residents and visitors and establishing Downtown asa local and regional destination is also desirable. Achieving this visionrequires formulation of policies and codes to enact control over the use,character, and scale of development.The Downtown area includes a mixture of public uses, such as City Hall,The Railroad Depot, library, museum, and senior center, with numeroussemi‐public institutions such as churches, daycares, and a lodge. Thereare also industrial and intensive commercial uses near the railroad, suchas the lumberyard and large warehouses. Commercial uses include ablend of offices and retail establishments primarily located adjacent to therailroad, along Sealy Street, and between S. Gordon Street and MagnoliaStreet, although there are also individual commercial uses encroachinginto the neighborhoods. The prevailing residential use is single‐family,site‐built dwellings, although there are a few scattered manufacturedhomes on individual lots, houses that have been converted to multipletenant dwellings, and apartments. There are several instances of homebasedbusinesses, some of which are commercial uses and others used forPage 3-7April 1, 2005