20 - Year Growth Plan - City of Kendleton

1.2 Planning ProcessThe 20-Year Growth Plan began with discussions between local leaders, countygovernment officials, stakeholders, and residents. On March 5, 2010 the City Council ofKendleton passed a consent resolution in support of a Community Development BlockGrant (CDBG) application. Fort Bend County Commissioners Court approved theexpenditure on December 21, 2010. The CDBG funds are administered through theHouston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) PlanSource program in coordination with FortBend County. Edminster Hinshaw Russ & Associates (EHRA) was selected to perform thestudy and a contract was executed in July 2011.The largest economic factor concerning Kendleton’s future growth is the recentconstruction of an intermodal rail facility immediately northeast of Kendleton’s CityLimits. When contrasted with the City’s primarily agrarian roots, this new facility has thepotential to dramatically affect the community. The 20-Year Growth Plan uses thissituation as the basis for the project approach. Since the future of the community isdirectly related to the partnerships which will be formed between Kendleton and newland developers, the project approach includes the following primary components:• Community Assessment• Economic Development• Land Use Planning• Public Participation• Stakeholder InterviewsAs project consultants, EHRA teamed with the Texas Engineering Extension Service(TEEX) in order to utilize their expertise in community assessment and allow EHRA tofocus on land use issues. The planning process began with the formation of aCommunity Planning Team (CPT) composed of local and Fort Bend County leaders,business owners, residents, and pastors. The first meeting was held in November 2010while the CDBG funding details and consultant contract were being finalized. TheCommunity Planning Team met monthly which allowed EHRA and TEEX to becomeintimately familiar with Kendleton, from both a built environment perspective and informing relationships with the community.The CPT guided the project throughout the planning process by providing feedback andresources in order to investigate the identified Growth Plan issues. Two communityoutreach meetings were held, both at the Kendleton Church of God, in order to engagethe community and gather valuable feedback from residents. The first meeting was heldon July 23, 2011 and focused on identifying community needs and concerns. The secondmeeting was held on November 19, 2011 and presented the residents with a visualpreference survey and achieved confirmation of proposed future goals. Each meetingwas very well attended, pointedly illustrating the interest that the community has inguiding its future.Further description of these and other meetings as well as survey results are presentedin Section 3.20-Year Growth Plan 3