CITY & COUNTY
News from Katy, Fort Bend County & Harris County
HIGHLIGHTS FORT BEND COUNTY At a Jan. 24 meeting, Fort Bend County commissioners approved an application to the Texas Veterans Commission to provide $300,000 in financial assistance to veterans within the county. The court also authorized an application to vie for a $135,000 veterans mental health grant. The funds would apply to the 2023-24 fiscal year, which begins July 1. The Social Services department maintains county aid for veterans. Funds from the mental health grant will go to counseling and peer-support services. HARRIS COUNTY On Jan. 31, Harris County commissioners unanimously opted to divide $1.1 billion of the $1.2 billion bond, approved in November, for road and parks projects. Commissioners voted unanimously to allocate $175 million of propositions B and C to each county precinct. Proposition B— totaling $900 million—funds roads, drainage and multimodal transportation, while Proposition C— totaling $200 million—funds parks and trails. The remaining funds from these propositions will be divided among the four precincts based on the federal government’s Social Vulnerability Index metric. Katy City Council meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 6:30 p.m. The next meeting is Feb. 27 at 910 Ave. C, Katy. 281-391-4800. www.cityofkaty.com Harris County Commissioners Court usually meets on Tuesday mornings twice a month. The next meeting is March 14 at 1001 Preston Ave., Ste. 934, Houston. 713-755-5000. www.harriscountytx.gov Fort Bend County Commissioners Court meets at 1 p.m. on the first, second and fourth Tuesdays each month. The next meeting is Feb. 28 at 401 Jackson St., Richmond. 281-342- 3411. www.fortbendcountytx.gov MEETINGS WE COVER
Katy evaluates future land use to consider development options
FUTURE OF KATY The city of Katy will release its future land use and comprehensive plan this year. The plan highlights several strategic action areas.
BY ASIA ARMOUR
Public safety improvements
land use, transportation, investments, economic development and recreation. Additionally, Mitchell presented a future land use map drafted Jan. 17, developments. Mitchell said there is a distinction between zoning—a legal ordinance—and the map, which is a guiding document. An unrealized entertainment which highlights the potential for incoming business and new district was also of interest to the planning team, Mitchell said, and could be located near the rice dryers along Hwy. 90. The area is zoned for industrial but could transform
KATY The city of Katy is in the final stages of creating a guideline for the next 20 years with its 2040 compre- hensive plan. At a Jan. 24 special meeting, Gary Mitchell—president of the planning firm Kendig Keast—presented 19 action items, a thoroughfare plan and future land use plan. The comprehensive plan is set to be finalized in March, but Mitchell said his team would take about 150 action items to the Katy Planning and Zoning Commission in late February. These items will address the city’s growth,
Increasing connection from Bartlett Road to Cane Island, Crossover Road to Gaston Road, and on Kingsland Boulevard and Nelson Way Unrealized entertainment district near the Katy rice dryers
SOURCE: KENDIG KEAST/COMMUNITY IMPACT
if new owners came in to renovate agricultural structures for mixed-use entertainment, he said.
Harris County authorizes 10% toll rate cut, free EZ Tags HARRIS COUNTY A Harris County Toll Road Authority program that will reduce the cost of tolls by 10% was EASING THE BURDEN The 10% toll rate discount—which will go into effect by Sept. 4—will apply to motorists driving two-axle vehicles on toll roads managed by the Harris County Toll Road Authority. BY EMILY LINCKE
approved by Harris County commissioners Jan. 31. The discount will represent $894 million in discounts over the course of 10 years, or about $90 million in savings per year, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey said Jan. 31. “This gives us confidence in what the [Harris County] Toll Road Authority’s doing,” Ramsey said. The 10% rate reduction will go into effect by Sept. 4. HCTRA will also provide up to eight free EZ Tags per household as part of the program. As part of the transition to all-electronic tollways, the county will also be phasing in several options for residents to obtain EZ Tags at retail stores, open cash- backed accounts and pay at EZ Tag retail stores, Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said during a Jan. 24 news conference presenting the proposal. Rachel Carlton contributed to this report.
HCTRA toll roads
45
249
99 TOLL
59
290
1960
90
610
10
10
6
90
45
59
288
N
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY TOLL ROAD AUTHORITY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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Conceptual Rendering
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KATY EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023
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