Primary Department: County Engineer
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Milton Rahman, PhD, P.E., PMP, CFM, ENV SP, County Engineer
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: N/A
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Policy
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval of an update to the Commissioners Court on the implementation of the adoption of the Harris County Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) Guidelines.
end
Background and Discussion:
The Harris County Office of the County Engineer (OCE) developed the TIA Guidelines to assist in the development of TIAs. TIAs are tools that have historically been utilized to evaluate the interaction between existing transportation infrastructures and proposed land development projects. TIAs provide a large amount of information that can be used for several purposes, including documenting the growth of an area, assisting with planning activities, assessing immediate and long-term needs relative to infrastructure improvements, etcetera.
The TIA Guidelines were adopted by Commissioners Court on May 8, 2025, with a motion to direct Harris County Engineering Department to implement the revised TIA guidelines, effective immediately, ensure their enforcement is built into the department’s internal processes, and consult Precinct staff as relevant during implementation, and direct OCE to report back to Court on implementation at the August 7, 2025, Court.
On May 20, 2025, OCE held a TIA Guidelines Precinct Workshop, with attendees from all Precincts, to receive and address any Precinct feedback. This was followed up on June 9, 2025, with an Industry Workshop attended by over 70 members. The invitees included members of American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) and Houston and Greater Houston Builders Association (GHBA). Based on the received feedback, OCE has refined the following implementation process:
1. TIAs will start with scoping meetings between the developer and OCE for sites with peak hour trips (PHT) less than 300. For sites with 300 ≤ PHT, the Precinct will be invited to attend the scoping meeting.
2. An applicant will initiate the application process in ePermits by selecting whether the 300 ≤ PHT threshold is met. The answer to this question will send the application to one of two workflows, termed “Non-Segmental” and “Segmental”.
3. Upon an applicant submitting, OCE and the applicable Precinct will receive an email notification of the application.
4. OCE will perform a review against the adopted TIA Guidelines within 25 days. Should mitigation or a segmental capacity analysis be required, the application will be routed to the Precinct for review, with an email notification sent.
5. The Precinct will be allocated 5 days to review the proposed mitigation measures and/or segmental capacity analysis. Should a review not be performed, an automated Interpose No Objections will be issued on behalf of the Precinct.
6. Upon completion of the reviews and all comments being addressed, the applicant will either receive a TIA approval, if no mitigation is required, or will be required to submit a commitment letter to either install the required mitigation or work in good faith with Harris County on a Participation Contract.
7. In cases requiring a commitment letter, an administrative hold, termed a Be On the Lookout (BOLO), will be placed in ePermits, preventing the issuance of further permits.
8. Once the terms of the commitment have been honored, or the Precinct provides written notification forgoing the right to negotiate a Participation Contract, the BOLO will be removed, and the applicant may continue through the permitting process.
9. Should a Participation Contract be required, the Developer and Precinct will negotiate directly, with assistance from the County Attorney’s Office, the terms per Section 232.105 of the Texas Local Government Code and submit it to Commissioners Court for approval.
Expected Impact:
The proposed implementation process will enable feedback and transparency from all the affected parties (developer, OCE, and Precinct) while ensuring an efficient and trackable permitting approval process.
Alternative Options:
Harris County can decline to adopt the proposed implementation process, which will not offer the outlined benefits. Lack of a consistent implementation process may cause delays in processing and confusion and added cost to applicants.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 2. Connect our community with safe, reliable, equitably distributed, and well-maintained infrastructure.
County Strategic Plan Objective: F: Ensure safety and security for all using the county’s transportation network in alignment with the County’s Vision Zero plan.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): F1: Strengthen the County’s commitment to Vision Zero principles and goals.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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05/08/25 |
166 |
To direct Harris County Engineering Department to implement the revised TIA guidelines, effective immediately, ensure their enforcement is built into the department’s internal processes, and consult Precinct staff as relevant during implementation, and direct HCED to report back to Court on implementation at the August 7, 2025, Court. |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
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Anticipated Court Date: 7/10/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): N/A
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Patrick Mandapaka, PhD, AICP, Director of Community Planning and
Transportation, OCE
Attachments (if applicable): TIA Implementation Workflow.pdf