City of University Park, Texas
Committed to Excellence
Centennial Master Plan nears adoption.
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Tuesday, May 31 at 10:45 a.m. - All Ages Story Time @ UPPL.
Wednesday, June 1 at 3 p.m. - Surf's UP with Reading: Mad Science.
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Saturday, June 4 at noon - Children's Fishing Derby in Caruth Park.
Thursday, June 16 at 3:30 p.m. - STEAM Station @ the Library.
Tuesday, June 7, 2022 - City Council Meeting
Tuesday, June 21, 2022 - City Council Meeting
After two years of work involving ongoing direction from our resident Master Plan Steering Committee and feedback from thousands of other residents through town halls, virtual meetings, surveys, and focus groups, the City’s Centennial Master Plan is heading to the City Council for adoption on June 21. Like its predecessor, the City’s 1989 Master Plan, the Centennial Master Plan is a big picture document that focuses on creating a vision for key aspects of city management and city character. Once the listening stages of the process drew to a close, various resident focus groups developed 127 potential action items. Then, after multiple rounds of discussion involving Master Plan Steering Committee members and City staff, our project consultant, Gap Strategies, crafted 75 action items into Five Themes:
Centennial Master Plan
The plan recently received recommendations for approval from the Master Plan Steering Committee and the City’s Planning and Zoning Commission, making it ready for Council consideration on June 21. City staff is still reviewing the document below for its overall readability, but no substantive changes to content or direction are anticipated prior to Council adoption.
Date
Meeting
Status
April 11
Steering Committee Meeting (recommended approval)
Complete
April 20
Standing Committee Briefing
April 26
Planning & Zoning Commission Work Session
May 10
Planning & Zoning Commission (recommended approval)
May 24
City Council Work Session
June 21
City Council Meeting (consider adoption)
Scheduled
In preparation for the City’s 2024 Centennial, the City Council has asked for the development of a new master plan to assist the community with decisions and policies that will preserve and enhance the city for the next generation.
In August, Council appointed former Mayor Pro Tem Bob Begert committee chairman. Throughout September, residents wanting to volunteer for a spot on the committee had the opportunity to submit an online application. We shared information about the sign-up process in the Arbor and UPdate, on the City’s social media accounts, and on the City’s website. In October, after a thorough review process, City Council appointed 15 steering committee members and a vice chair. Those selected represent a broad range of ages, expertise and neighborhoods. Applicants not selected for the steering committee will be asked to participate in the development of the plan through focus groups and other tasks during the course of the anticipated 18-month process.
Steering Committee Roster
June 2020
As a resident of University Park you now have the opportunity to take an online survey that will provide us with guidance on numerous long-term community concerns. The survey is 20 questions and takes just 10 minutes to complete. Gap Strategies, the consulting firm assisting us with the project, worked hard to strike a balance between length and the collection of needed information. Data collected from the survey will help to build a foundation for our new Centennial Master Plan. This fall, after Gap has had time to analyze findings, we will report back. As the project progresses, there will be additional opportunities for resident input through town halls and stakeholder meetings.
August 2020 Using social media, our monthly publications and postcards that were sent to every household, in June and July we asked you and your neighbors to give the City guidance on several long-term community concerns. Response to the 20-question online survey was outstanding. More than 2,100 residents took part. Data from the questionnaire will help us build a foundation for our new Centennial Master Plan, a document that will serve the City for years to come. This fall, after our consulting firm has analyzed the findings and our resident steering committee has reviewed a summary, we will report back. As the project progresses, there will be additional opportunities for resident input through town halls and stakeholder meetings.
November 2020 As you know, our Centennial Master Plan is in the early stages of development. This summer, many residents like yourself helped provide guidance on long-term community concerns through an online survey. As the data-gathering phase continues, you now have the opportunity to participate in a Virtual Town Hall! The Virtual Town Hall will remain available through the end of the week, giving you the flexibility to participate at your convenience while maintaining elements of a traditional town hall. Participants will be guided through this virtual experience with an informational video, slideshow, and interactive exercises. Tell us what you love about this community and what drives you crazy with an interactive mapping exercise (shown below). Even better, you'll be able to see what your neighbors have already shared! Most participants can expect to spend about 15 minutes completing the virtual experience. This online format will provide a safe, self-paced experience while maintaining the collaborative nature of this engagement. An alternative option will be provided for those without online access. Contact Amanda Hartwick, Special Projects Coordinator at 214-987-5303 for more information.
Participate Now! Click here for the full exhibits show in the Virtual Town Hall
2021
Efforts to update the City’s Master Plan are starting to take shape. After initial data-gathering involving a Community Survey last summer, a Virtual Town Hall was conducted just before the holidays. Participants were guided through the online experience with an informational video, slideshow, and interactive exercises. In less than two weeks, more than 1,000 residents participated! That’s far better than traditional Town Halls that are lucky to draw interest from 75 to 100 people.
Through an interactive mapping exercise we asked residents to share what they love about the community and what drives them crazy. We also asked for ideas on how to make our neighborhoods even better. With topics ranging from connectivity and traffic flow, to how to refresh commercial areas like Snider Plaza and Miracle Mile, we received nearly 200 comments. On average, participants spent about 15 minutes on the site, indicated their desire to furnish our resident steering committee with ample feedback and thought-provoking ideas. The next phase of the project involves taking all of this information to focus groups for further study. Identified study areas are:
Big Bets: Looking to the Future
City Character and Aesthetics
Financial Sustainability
General Quality of Life
Parks, Trails, and Green Space
Public Safety
Public Works and Infrastructure
SMU/HPISD Relationship
Utilities and Community Connectivity
Zoning, Development and Lane Use
In the coming weeks, as the focus groups get to work, we’ll continue to report on our progress. The Centennial Master Plan remains on pace to be adopted by year-end. Between now and then we will be asking for more feedback and direction.
April 2021 A virtual orientation was held last month for new resident volunteers who are joining the Master Plan project. Residents have been divided into 10 focus groups and tasked with studying the following areas:
Zoning, Development and Land Use
Over the next several months, groups will meet to discuss these overarching topics in detail and develop numerous recommendations for each. This summer, as the focus group work concludes, our consultant will collect the entire batch of recommendations and begin assembling a draft Master Plan. This draft plan will then be presented to the community through a Town Hall for additional feedback and direction. After additional revisions, the plan will ultimately be presented to City Council for adoption by year-end. As always, we’ll continue to report on the progress of the plan in the coming months.
These themes will become the foundation of the plan. The recommendations will continue to be refined by undergoing a review by the City’s Leadership Team. Then, later this month, the Master Plan Steering Committee will meet to give another assessment of the goals and recommendations. After the steering committee weighs in, Gap Strategies will compile the work into a draft plan. As the draft plan develops, the community will once again be asked to give input through a Town Hall format later this fall. We hope to have adoption of the final plan sometime in early spring 2022.
The last such effort, that took place more than 30 years ago, resulted from one of the most extensive community planning processes ever undertaken. More than 400 residents, as well as City staff, technical consultants, SMU faculty and staff, and other subject matter experts were involved in the development of that plan. The 1989 Master Plan helped shape the allocation of resources for operational and capital needs, with nearly 200 objectives to accomplish. Of those, a substantial number are ongoing programs that are still in practice today. One example is the City’s mile-per-year replacement of water and sewer mains, which has resulted in the complete replacement of nearly a third of the City’s aging water and sewer mains. The 1989 Master Plan was formulated with considerable input from residents through use of a steering committee, community surveys, and public listening sessions. An outside consultant supported staff, and the entire process took approximately 18 months to complete. To replicate this success, a similar public engagement process will be used for our Centennial Master Plan. The 1989 Master Plan keyed on six overall principles: