Kerrville has adopted the final draft of the city’s modified 2050 Comprehensive Plan, updating the original 2018 document with several changes emphasizing resilience planning and economic development.
The plan serves as a guide for the city’s growth over the next 25 years, steering development around action items acting as catalysts for expansion and implementation. The original plan’s vision outlines key action items and guiding principles needed to meet the city’s evolving needs.
The plan includes projects that address land use, economic development, housing, community planning, mobility, public facilities and services, as well as parks and open space, downtown revitalization, implementation and water, wastewater and drainage.
Major changes listed in the updated plan include:
- Emphasis on resilience for all city infrastructure and development.
- Refined land use policies.
- Updated strategic catalyst areas.
- Upgraded demographics, housing and market data.
- Updated implementation framework.
Some of the most notable inclusions in the update include area plans for the downtown core expansion and Nimitz Lake development.
Over the next 25 years, Kerrville will work toward implementing major development and redevelopment work to transform and expand its downtown core areas. The core – which currently covers a five-and-a-half block section of the city – is projected to grow to cover an eight-block area. This expanded core will encompass existing commercial businesses and cultural assets.
As part of the expansion plan, the city will target specific areas to invest in rather than make sweeping changes to downtown’s core. These choices are designed to cultivate unique districts and experiences for residents and visitors while incorporating more parks, plazas and river access opportunities. Critically, the city will focus on enhancing overall safety, mobility and connectivity within the downtown area and adjacent city spaces.
The comprehensive plan’s vision for Nimitz Lake will predominantly center around activating the riverfront sites through development or recreation. Efforts will also involve integrating balanced mixed-use and local commercial uses along both sides of the lake while providing ample trails and bike and pedestrian access points throughout the area.
While development will take a spotlight in the city’s approach to revitalizing the lake area, the plan includes measures to protect natural features and riparian areas, safeguarding the lake’s ecosystem while supporting the flood-prone south side. Officials note in the plan that utility infrastructure in the area will be a limiting factor during development.
Aside from the new area plans, Kerrville has updated the housing metrics to reflect demand. Compared to the 2018 version, the new plan determined that the demand for new housing units is now in the range of 2,000 to 2,500. While there are currently up to 900 single-family home lots in development, the city has a demand for approximately 1,405 new for-sale units and 725 new rental units.
Major updates to the city’s mobility and transportation focus included making adjustments to the Master Thoroughfare Plan. Implementation of the plan will include preservation of future roadway corridors and protection and acquisition of the rights-of-way needed to improve the local transportation system. The city has also reclassified select critical roadways and incorporated a risk map into the plan’s designs.
Additionally, Kerrville has updated its land use chapter, establishing the framework for future land use policies. The plan has been changed to better refine and expand place types to be more inclusive and defined compared to previous iterations. The city has also assigned place types to all areas on the Future Land Use Map and reworked strategic catalyst areas by removing and reallocating them to other sections.
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