The City of Texarkana, Texas has assembled a Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee made up of residents, council members, and city staff, and partnered with Halff Associates, Inc., and Texas A&M University of Texarkana to create Texarkana’s Comprehensive Plan.

A city’s comprehensive plan is an important guiding document that sets the tone for how a city will develop, grow, and change over time. More specifically, the plan will help guide growth and development in the city for the next 25 years. The team of Halff Associates, Inc., and local partner Texas A&M University-Texarkana, who will partner with the Steering Committee, possess the experience and knowledge to complete a successful Comprehensive Plan.

Over the next 12 months, the comprehensive planning process will include three phases:

(1) Project Initiation and the Status of Texarkana

(2) Citywide Vision Plan

(3) Comprehensive Plan & Implementation

Mayor Bob Bruggeman emphasized the importance of the plan.

“The Comprehensive Plan is the long range planning tool that will help Texarkana reach its full potential,” Bruggeman said. “It is important for residents to engage in the process as the plan will have a direct impact on the future quality of life in our community.”

This new Comprehensive Plan will provide clear direction for the development of the community. This includes land use, transportation, parks and recreation, downtown and urban design. It replaces the City’s previous plan, which was adopted in 2001.

Rick Leisner, Director of Planning and Project Manager for Halff Associates, Inc. explained the purpose for a Comprehensive Plan.

“A Comprehensive Plan is a statement of a community’s vision of itself now and in the future, which directs the physical growth, development and redevelopment of a community,” Leisner said. “The plan serves as a tool, combining the many functional parts into a unified document that helps the community to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.”

The plan will balance the importance of commercial development with the preservation of Texarkana’s character and quality of life. City leaders have strongly encouraged Texarkana’s citizens to get involved in the planning process and provided multiple opportunities to do so including project website, citizen survey and public workshop meetings.

The first public engagement meeting will be held Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 at 6PM at the Texarkana, Texas Convention Center.  This meeting will focus on introducing the comprehensive plan, gaining valuable input from the community, and showcasing current projects. Citizen input is valued and all residents are encouraged to attend and be a part of planning Texarkana’s future.

Additional information can be found at their website Renew Texarkana via email at renewtexarkana@txkusa.org; at Texas City Hall by contacting David Orr, Director of Planning & Community Development, Daphnea Ryan, City Planner II; or Rick Leisner, Director of Planning and Project Manager for Halff Associates, Inc.

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