David Crossley

Parker calls for citizen input

President, Houston Tomorrow, Jan 11, 10.

Tagged with government, city of houston, citizens, mayor parker, comprehensive plan

“The people are the city.” These words inscribed inside the Houston City Council Chambers dominate one of the photos chosen by the City to commemorate Mayor Annise Parker’s first Council meeting.

Earlier that morning, in her inaugural speech, she expanded on that theme:

“I firmly believe that our city’s future will be shaped by our citizens, not our politicians. I welcome your suggestions. I seek your ideas for the future. A city’s success can be measured by the involvement and satisfaction of its citizens. How they view the quality of life in their city and what our citizens want the city to be for their children. We are in this together and you are part of the process.”

Now, we could dismiss that as just political rhetoric. But there’s no getting around that it’s an invitation and a challenge to all of us to take the new Mayor at her word and get to work.

This idea is what drives the organization Blueprint Houston, whose mission is “to assure the creation of a General Plan for the City of Houston based on citizens’ vision, values, and goals.” Sounds like exactly what the Mayor is asking for, doesn’t it?
This is new. The previous Mayor did not support this idea and the general plan process was halted during his tenure. (Toward the end, he did allow the creation a Houston General Plan website, But the “vision” and priorities were set by the Mayor and a small committee of officials, and there is no actual plan). Mayor Parker, before she was elected, told Blueprint Houston she would support the creation of a general plan and that she would welcome citizen goals and vision for it.

Blueprint Houston spent nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in a long set of inclusive, open public processes that cities usually conduct, and came up with a “Citizens’ Vision for Houston’s Future.” At Houston Tomorrow, which created Blueprint Houston, we take these citizen goals very seriously and they guide all our work.

The basic vision is this:

• A diverse city of opportunity where we live in harmony in a healthy environment.
• Choices for home, work, and play in healthy and beautiful neighborhoods with self-determination.
• Sustainable prosperity and development that balances economy, community, and environment.
• Coordinated land use and transportation plans to create and maintain a high level of access for all.
• A government that is wise, efficient, accountable, and creative.
• An educated and skilled workforce, with lifelong educational opportunities.
• A vibrant, internationally recognized center of artistic and cultural excellence.

The vision statements are followed by more detailed principles and goals. All of it is available here (pdf) and more on Blueprint Houston is also available. 

This work is a huge gift to the City, if it should choose to accept it. It was paid for largely by Houston Endowment and the time and energy of thousands of Houstonians.

This vision could be adopted by the Mayor and City Council immediately as the basis for a general plan for the future, and a process to create that plan could be adopted at the same time. Fortunately, Chapter 33 of the City’s Code of Ordinances requires such a plan and spells out in some detail how to achieve it. That ordinance is very good in its requirements for public input, supporting the Mayor’s vision of citizen participation.

Mayor Parker has also made it clear she’s going to focus on the budget and on living within our means. As it happens, a study by the American Institute of Architects in the early 90s found that the City of Houston pays about 11% extra for everything it does because it doesn’t have a general plan. Creating one, it seems, would be fiscally responsible.

So send the Mayor a letter and tell her you’ll be happy to be involved in the process. Let’s get going on a plan, and start saving money!

Photo credit: City of Houston

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