December 2019 Monthly Planner
Welcome to the City of Houston Planning & Development Department's Monthly Planner News
Where will you be living on April 1, 2020? This is one of the most important questions you will answer this spring when the 2020 Census questionnaire arrives in your mailbox.
The importance of an accurate count cannot be overstated. It means significant money to our community. Over the next ten years, more than $5 billion in federal funding will be provided to state and local governments based on population. This is money that funds everything from the National School Lunch Program to highway planning grants. From low-income home energy assistance to Medicare Part B supplemental support. From Section 8 housing assistance payments to the Child Care and Development Fund.
The decennial census is also America’s way of determining representation – how many federal and state elected officials will represent us.
Completing the Census form is easy. You will be able to respond to the 2020 Census online, over the phone, or through a paper questionnaire. The 2020 Census is also safe. Your responses to the 2020 Census are secure and protected by federal law. They cannot be shared with any other federal agency. It’s also important. Completing the census is one of the most important civic duties you will have in 2020.
When the 2020 Census questionnaire arrives in your mailbox this spring, make sure you answer the questions and send it back. Our community is counting on you to be counted!
Sincerely,
Margaret Wallace Brown
Planning Director
Jacqueline Brown is a Planner in the Site Plan Review group of Development Services.
1. What is the favorite part about working for the City of Houston Planning & Development Department?
My favorite part about working for the Planning & Development Department is the everyday interaction with the public and my coworkers. I think I am fortunate to be a part of a team that gets along and works together as well as we do.
2. What is your favorite quote?
“Luck favors the prepared mind” – Louis Pasteur
3. What’s the best vacation you’ve been on?
The best vacation I have been on was to Peru last year. I think the best trips have 3 things: good food, good people, and good surprises. My trip to Peru had great people, amazing food, and fantastic surprises. I began in the mountains at Machu Picchu, went sandboarding in the desert in Huacachina, and ended the trip watching sunsets on the beach in Lima. It is the one place I think about returning to the most often.
The Planning & Development Department is being recognized with Preservation Houston’s 2020 Good Brick Award for Excellence in historic preservation. The award will be presented at a dinner on February 21, 2020 that will also honor former Mayor Annise Parker with Preservation Houston’s 2020 President’s Award. The Good Brick Award recognizes outstanding local contributions to keep the preservation, rehabilitation and enhancement of Houston’s architectural and cultural heritage.
This is map depicts the ten neighborhoods in the Complete Communities program. Complete Communities is about improving neighborhoods so that all of Houston’s residents and business owners can have access to quality services and amenities.
Acres Homes, Near Northside, Second Ward, Third Ward and Gulfton comprised the first round of neighborhoods in the pilot program. This past summer, the program added five new neighborhoods: Alief - Westwood, Kashmere Gardens, Fort Bend Houston, Magnolia Park - Manchester, and Sunnyside. Planning efforts are underway in these neighborhoods and several meetings have taken place. For more details about this engagement process, visit Complete Communities. Please click here to review the full map.
The new Gray Street Bikeway just got a little bit easier to use! City staff spent Friday afternoon lining the street with custom signs that depict how to use the new street, with helpful information and graphics for those riding, walking and driving. Be on the lookout for them next time you roll, stroll or drive down Gray Street between Live Oak and Bagby streets.
The Planning & Development Department held six community meetings to introduce two proposed programs - Walkable Places and Transit-Oriented Development.
A presentation on the programs will be made at the January 9, 2020 Planning Commission meeting and a public hearing will be held the following month.
Presentation
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, 2:30 PM
City Hall Annex Council Chamber
900 Bagby St., Houston, TX 77002
Public Hearing
Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020, 2:30 PM
City Hall Annex Council Chamber
900 Bagby St., Houston, TX 77002
You are welcome to attend the Planning Commission meetings to hear the project discussion and share your thoughts. For project details, click here.
