On June 21^st this year, Houston City Council passed an amendment to the budget that called for the Planning Commission to "come back to City Council with a budget, work plan and set of priorities so they could proceed to develop a Houston-style [general] plan that can be adopted by the body at the earliest reasonable time." The City has not had a comprehensive, general plan since 1928.

The Gulf Coast Institute originated the current initiative toward a general plan on September 1, 2001, and in 2002 created Blueprint Houston to carry forward the advocacy project. Blueprint conducted a massive canvass of City of Houston residents to discover and prioritize their vision, values, and goals as the first step toward a General Plan for Houston's Future, thanks largely to a $750,000 gift from Houston Endowment, but also to the contributions and hard work of thousands of people who participated in Blueprint Houston over the last five years.

It's possible all that work and money will now begin to come to fruition. The Planning Commission has created a General Plan Committee under the leadership of Commissioner Jeff Ross, who last year led the Long Range Plan Committee. The Planning Commission is to report back to City Council¬Ý by the end of December with a plan to plan.

As the Commission prepares the scope and budget for the planning process, citizen input is required to ensure:
(1) the creation of the plan moves forward; and
(2) the plan truly reflects citizen values and vision.

To help make this plan to create a better quality of life for Houston, write about your support for this process to:

Dr. Carol Lewis, Chair, City of Houston Planning Commission
Texas Southern University
3100 Cleburne Avenue
Houston, TX 77004

Jeff E. Ross, PE, Chair, General Plan Committee
Pate Engineers, Inc.
13333 Northwest Freeway, Suite 300
Houston, TX 77040

Mayor Bill White
City of Houston
P.O. Box 1562
Houston, TX 77251