Mont Belvieu - a City of character and distinction

As the new City Planner for Mont Belvieu, I want to take a chance periodically to write about some of the things that are going on in the City, my own efforts, and help create a forum for people in the City to learn about what I do and have a chance to talk about it. I have no idea how well this will go, but here goes...

First off, a little about myself. I have recently moved to the area from Utah. I have lived in Utah off and on for most of my life (I spent a few years in Korea and Michigan). The first time I came to Texas was for the job interview. It's interesting - I wasn't really looking for a job. Of course, I was dissatisfied with my current situation (the job was great, but the compensation was lacking). I have seen in the course of my life communities bow to the pressures of development and become diminished - they turn into looking like everywhere else. Much of that speaks to the nature of living in a capitalist society: developers want our money, so they give us what we think we want. But I don't think that it has to be that way. Coming to Mont Belvieu is like a dream come true. Here we have a community unsullied by the developer's greed. Here, we have a chance to do it right, creating a model community.

The City is an interesting juxtaposition of heavy industry and rural agricultural uses. The seeds of becoming just another suburb of Houston are being sown, and creative and innovative steps must be taken in order to prevent this. It seems inevitable that the area will become suburban in nature, but it need not be that way. Why are Sugarland and the Woodlands held up as the local models for what a community should be? Well, there are a lot of reasons for that, not the least of which is the over-arching plan that was implemented in these communities that governs every aspect of the place, from how trees are handled to where the commercial/retail buildings go.

Mont Belvieu has a lot of great things going for it. I am excited to be a part of it all.

In the next few months, this is what I am planning to accomplish:

1. complete a review of the existing ordinances to strengthen the weaker parts, eliminate the dead parts, and initiate a workable system that is easy for everyone to understand and follow. This will include everything from the permitting process (I want to streamline that) to the actual zoning map of the City (we should get the zoning map to look more like the general plan map).

2. begin a review of the comprehensive plan. The current plan was completed several years ago and needs to be updated. There are several aspects that need addressing including libraries, pedestrian walkways, and a real town center.

3. the envirornment. Do we care? This area has long been associated with the petroleum industry, which has the reputation for not being the most environmentally friendly of industries... Is this a necessary evil? What if we made our City so green that it becomes a model for small town green growth? Is environmental awareness only for big cities? Or is there something we can do?

4. transportation. It is only a matter of time before the word gets out about Mont Belvieu. Do we want to burden our roads with big SUV's making many trips on our roads? Or can we implement a system of busses and mass transit hubs that will connect our City with Houston and points beyond? There are many steps that can and should be taken...

5. community involvement. None of us is as smart as all of us. This blog is one of the first steps along these lines, so please comment. Otherwise, how can I know what you all are thinking?

George Bernard Shaw put it this way: Some people look at things as they are and ask why. I dream of things as they never were and wonder why not?