Department: County Engineer
Department Head/Elected Official: Milton Rahman, PhD, P.E., PMP, CFM, ENV SP, County Engineer
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Policy
Project ID (if applicable): NA
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval of the Interim-Major Thoroughfare and Freeway Plan (Interim-MTFP) for the unincorporated areas of Harris County and authorization to submit the plan to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to negotiate and execute an agreement concerning future transportation corridors affecting roadways and transportation projects in Harris County.
end
Background and Discussion:
House Bill 3697 enacted through the 88th Texas Legislative Session, made amendments to the Local Government Code effective September 1, 2023. Section 232.0033 of the Local Government Code states that “the commissioners court of a county or the court’s designee may not refuse to review a plat application or refuse to approve a plat for recordation for failure to identify a corridor, as defined by Section 201.619, Transportation Code, unless the corridor is part of an agreement between the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the county under that section”. Senate Bill 2038 provided provision for the release of area by petition of landowner from Extraterritorial Jurisdiction of a city and this Bill was approved on September 1, 2023. The City of Houston is receiving de-annexation requests.
Harris County Commissioners Court approved the Thoroughfare Amendment Study for Unincorporated and Non‐ETJ Areas of Harris County, effective May 1, 2015. The Commissioners Court provided authorization to County Engineer to review, discuss, and work with the TxDOT and other entities for negotiation and execution agreements concerning future transportation corridors affecting roadways and transportation projects located in Harris County on August 29, 2023. The Office of County Engineer (OCE) submitted, and TxDOT approved the Thoroughfare Amendment Study for Unincorporated and Non‐ETJ Areas of Harris County. The TxDOT provided Corridor agreement for the County’s execution in April 2024 and was included on the agenda for the Commissioners Court for approval on May 7, 2024. This agreement with TxDOT will provide authority to County to enforce its non-ETJ Thoroughfare Plan.
Harris County Commissioners Court directed the OCE on May 7, 2024, to return to the July 15th meeting of Commissioners Court with an Interim-MTFP, accounting for all unincorporated areas and aligning with existing municipal MTFPs, to be considered by Commissioners Court for further direction as required by statute.
In response to the above recent amendments to the Local Government Code and the direction from May 7th Commissioners Court, OCE staff developed the Interim-MTFP. Major Thoroughfare Plans were collected from municipalities within Harris County and those were combined with the County’s Non-ETJ Thoroughfare Plan, and the attached Interim-MTFP was prepared.
The attached Interim-MTFP includes two map options. Map 1 shows Harris County Interim-MTFP including ETJ’s of ten Cities and the non-ETJ area in unincorporated Harris County. Only ten out of 34 cities in the county have ETJ in the county’s unincorporated area and have a Major Thoroughfare Plan for that area. Map 2 shows Harris County Interim-MTFP including the City of Houston’s ETJ (covers 91% of unincorporated area) and the non-ETJ area in the unincorporated area of Harris County. OCE is seeking approval from the Commissioners Court on the Interim-MTFP (to include one of the map options above) and authorize County Engineer to submit the plan to the TxDOT to negotiate and execute an agreement concerning future transportation corridors affecting roadways and transportation projects located in Harris County.
Expected Impact:
Harris County can require preservation of land for future thoroughfares included in the Interim MTFP upon Harris County and TxDOT’s approval.
Alternative Options:
If the Interim-MTFP is not approved, Harris County Commissioners Court can execute the TxDOT’s agreement approving the Thoroughfare Amendment Study for Unincorporated and Non‐ETJ Areas of Harris County included in the attachment.
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
X Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
X Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
5/7/2024 |
37 |
Commissioners Court directed OCE to return to the July 15th meeting of Commissioners Court with an interim Major Thoroughfare and Freeway Plan (MTFP), accounting for all unincorporated areas and aligning with existing municipal MTFPs, to be considered by Commissioners Court for further direction as required by statute. |
|
8/29/2023 |
99 |
Commissioners Court authorized County Engineer to work with the Texas Department of Transportation and other entities to review, negotiate, and execute agreements concerning future transportation corridors covering roadways and transportation projects located in Harris County. |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
|
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
Other |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: July 15th, 2024
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date):
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Patrick Mandapaka, PhD, AICP, Director of Community Planning and Transportation
Attachments (if applicable): Interim-MTFP and TxDOT Agreement for the MTFP for the Non-ETJ Unincorporates area