Housing and Social Vulnerability
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CITY OF ROCKPORT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 2020-2040 INTRODUCTION The City of Rockport is a resilient community dedicated to sustainable growth and attracting businesses to the area. Rockport is a charming town that offers a close-knit community feel and is a popular tourist destination for marine recreation, fairs, and exhibitions throughout the year. Founded in 1871, the City of Rockport aims to continue growing economically and sustainably. The Comprehensive Plan 2020-2040 is designed to guide the city of Rockport for its future growth. THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING Planning for the future is essential for responsible growth. The city should be a safe and pleasant place for people to reside in. We want to mold our cities into a place that provides economic opportunities and treats all its citizens fairly. The Rockport Comprehensive Plan provides a vision of growth for the City of Rockport and identifies strategies to accomplish them. THE FISCAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS FOR PLANNING There are many decisions to consider when designing a responsible plan for future growth. There must be a plan for fiscal sustainability as well as a plan for community involvement and a vision that is well articulated. The Comprehensive Plan for the City of Rockport serves this purpose by: • Encouraging fiscally sound decisions; • Seek input from the residents of Rockport; • To provide consideration for the preservation of the character of the City of Rockport and what decisions best fit its needs. PLANNING PROCESS Rockport Comprehensive Plan 2020-2040 provides a guide for the future growth of the city. This document was developed and prepared by Texas Target Communities(TxTC) at Texas A&M University in partnership with the City of Rockport, Texas Sea Grant, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Texas A&M University - School of Law and Texas Tech University,. AGREEMENT BETWEEN CITY AND TxTC In the summer of 2018, one year after Hurricane Harvey, the City of Rockport and Texas Target Communities partnered to create a task force to represent the community. The task force played an integral role in the planning process, contributing to the thoughts, desires, and opinions of community members - as well as their enthusiasm about Rockport’s future. This 15 month planning process ended in September 2019. The result of this collaboration is the City of Rockport Comprehensive Plan 2020- 2040 which is the official policy guide for the community’s growth over the next twenty years. FOREWORD | iii BACKGROUND OF TxTC The Texas Target Communities program was initiated in 1993 by the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. This program selects small communities from the state of Texas and provide residents with valuable assistance in planning. At the same time, it serves as a “real world” learning laboratory for graduate students. Students can gain valuable planning experience while the targeted community receives the assistance it needs to can make a positive difference in the quality of urban life for its residents. Communities are chosen for participation in the program based on demonstrated need and their commitment to the planning process. HOW TO USE THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Rockport Comprehensive Plan 2020-2040 is a fully-developed planning document that can provide guidance for a variety of urban development activities. As such, it may be used to: • Communicate the overarching vision; • Guide development approvals by representatives such as elected officials and the planning board; • Serve as a basis for land-use regulations such as zoning, subdivision regulations, building codes, etc.; • Inform and support capital improvement plans. THE STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLAN The guiding principles for this planning process were Rockport’s vision statement and its corresponding goals, which were crafted by the task force. The goals focus on factors of growth and development including public participation, development considerations, transportation, community facilities, economic development, parks, and housing and social vulnerability. Next, three alternative scenarios were developed as possible strategies Rockport could adapt to meet its goals. The task force expressed strong support for some of the key characteristics from two scenarios, which were then combined to form the preferred Future Land Use Plan. Chapter 1 presents the background and history of Rockport and its residents and Chapter 2 tells the story of its vision. Chapters 3 through 8 of this document outline the goals, objectives, and policies of the preferred Plan. Each chapter explores the issues and opportunities of each plan component that will serve as the building blocks for it to be implemented. All the issues and threats are addressed with recommendations and proposed solutions, which are supported by maps and other analytical tools. Finally, Chapter 9 outlines the policies, timeline of actions, funding sources, and responsible parties. Additionally, this chapter includes funding programs and resources for implementing the recommendations of this plan. iv | FOREWORD Special thanks to the team for their contribution and time to work on this project: City Council Planning & Zoning Commission Patrick Rios, Mayor Ruth Davis, Chair J.D. Villa, Mayor Pro Tem Maynard Green, Vice Chair Rusty Day/Michael Saski, Ward 1 Diana Severino-Saxon, Secretary Warren Hassinger/Bob Cunningham, Ward 3 Kent Howard Barbara Gurtner, Ward 4 Kim Hesley Dudley McDaniel City Staff Warren Hassinger Kevin Carruth, City Manager Mike Donoho, Director of Building & Comprehensive Plan Advisory Development Committee Amanda Torres, Community Planner Patty Albin Mary Bellinger, Building Department Nancy Bolting Administration Elizabeth Brundrett Monica Cowen, Planning Technician Monica Burdette Vicki Pitluk, Community Relations Sylvia Combs Art Smith, Assistant Director of Public Works Christine Hale Ryan Picarazzi, Street Department Supervisor Michelle Simmons Beverly Trifonidis Other Stakeholders Suzanne Villa Keith Barrett, Aransas County Navigation Barbara Gurtner, City Council Liaison District Harbor Master Vicki Pitluk, City Public Relations Kim Foutz, Long Term Recovery Team/ Dudley McDaniel/Kim Hesley, Planning & Economic & Housing Development Zoning Commission Liaison David Reid, County Stormwater Management Ginger Easton-Smith, AgriLife Extension Engineer Agent John Storthman , Project Manager and Long Term Recovery Team FOREWORD | v PLANNING TEAM John Cooper, Ashley Bennis, Director, Texas Target Communities Planning Specialist, Texas Sea Grant Jaimie Masterson, Kate de Gennaro, Associate Director, Texas Target Communities Planning Specialist, Texas Sea Grant Jeewasmi Thapa, Matthew Malecha, Program Coordinator, Texas Target Communities Postdoctoral Research Associate, Institute for Sustainable Communities Craig Rotter, Executive Director, Texas Rural Leadership Siyu Yu, Program Lecturer and Postdoctoral Researcher Texas Target Communities Interns Madeline Patton Sanju Maharjan Smruti Parab Emily Tedford Samina Limkhedawala Applied Planning I and Plan Implementation: Master of Urban Planning, TAMU Faculty: Students: Shannon Van Zandt Forrest Williams Maria Martinez Tara Goddard MJ Biazar Soheil Sameti Phil Lasley Michael Gerke Paige Strunk Chenyu Haung Nan Wang Applied Transportation Studio: Master of Urban Planning, TAMU Faculty: Students: Bill Eisele Xiaoqiang Kong Soheil Sameti Bhavya Sontineni vi | FOREWORD Landscape Design IV Studio: Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, TAMU Faculty: Students: Ken Hurst Alberto Arenas Paige Kolupski Ryun Jung Lee Kathryn Baczewski Leo Lopez Lexi Brandt Clint McClellen Andrew Calabrese Cameron Monsavaiz Angelica Chaparro Allison Parks Chris Davila Sara Prybutok Nathan Dedear Milton Rico DB Douglas Augustine Salazar Blair Ferrel Lauren Schulze Michael Finley Andrew Sikes Megan Fletcher Emma Simpson Adriana Hernandez Jorge Toriz Elizabeth Hornick Nancy Valenzuela Malinali Jimenez Madison Wavra Alex Juarez Rachel Wooten Capstone: Master of Public Administration, TAMU-CORPUS CHRISTI Faculty: Students: Beth Rauhaus Jenna-Kaya Charles Cynthia Ramos Katherine Comeaux Liz Romo Gabriel Cuellar Marina Saenz Shida Dusman Richard Schreiber Justin Guajardo Claire Snyder Natural Resources System Capstone : TAMU School of Law Faculty: Students: Gabriel Eckstein Philip Bedford Erin Milliken Alexis Long Lauren Thomas Thomas Long Alexis Yelvington FOREWORD | vii Regional Planning Studio: Landscape Architecture, TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY Faculty: Students: Melissa Currie Mario Carranza Tyler Smith Brandon Berend Alec Sawtelle Elizabeth Lane Matthew Walls Grant Huber Cuauhtemoc Zaragoza Grayson Borchardt Grayson Borchardt Jake Owen Temo Cuauhtemoc Connor Jones Christopher Perez Oscar Flores Arturo Villalba Jimmy Rosenkranz Samantha Stec Chris Rhinehart Andrew Castilleja Cody McCord Matthew Hoffman American Planning Association Community Planning Assistance Team (CPAT) Carol Barrett, FAICP, Team Leader Eugene Aleci, AICP, AIA, RA Richard Amore, AICP Eugene Henry, AICP, CFM Kerrie Tyndall Ryan Scherzinger, AICP viii | FOREWORD TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Overview 2 1.2. Hurricane Harvey Impact 3 1.3. History 3 1.4. Population Density 5 1.5. Population Growth 5 1.6. Gender & Age Distribution 5 1.7. Race Distribution 5 1.8. Projections 7 1.9. Education 8 1.10. Poverty 9 2. PLAN PROCESS 2.1. Getting Started 12 2.2. Envisioning the Future 16 2.3. Meeting Schedule 17 2.4. Goals & Objectives 29 3. DEVELOPMENT 3.1. Overview 32 3.2. Existing Land Use 33 3.3.