On Tuesday night, April 11, 2023, Boerne City Council voted unanimously to approve minor updates to the City’s Major Thoroughfare Plan.
State law allows cities to create these plans per Local Government Code, Title 7, Chapter 213. The City of Boerne created its first Major Thoroughfare Plan (MTP) in 1974 and it has been updated several times since then. The plan, which works in conjunction with the City’s Future Land Use Plan, helps provide alternatives for future connectivity between existing roadways and recommends and preserves right-of-way widths. As for those who do not utilize a vehicle to get around, the plan gives opportunities for bicycles and pedestrians to share the right-of-way.
The changes update and clarify what was adopted in the last update in 2019:
- Incorporates additional environmental features
- Includes the Kendall County Boerne Fair Oaks Transportation Committee recommendations and the Kendall County Thoroughfare Plan
- Trims the alignment at the City’s extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ)
- Makes alignments along common property lines
- Increases sidewalk width as requested by residents in Master Plans and the 2023 Citizen Survey
The MTP is a formal planning document to provide for an efficient and appropriate thoroughfare system if an undeveloped piece of land is proposed for development. Cities and counites across the state utilize this tool, including Kendall County, Kerrville, Marble Falls, and New Braunfels.
The intended use of the Thoroughfare Plan is to provide for future connectivity if development occurs. On the map, potential future roadways and trails are shown as dashed lines. These are intended to provide the ultimate function of roadways as arterials or collectors in the City's transportation network. Final alignments may differ, but the connections are intended to remain between roadway or trail facilities.
City Council also approved updates to the Unified Development Code (UDC) during Tuesday’s meeting. These updates include specific standards for when a Kendall County resident, whose property is within the Boerne ETJ, is exempt from platting and setting aside future right-of-way if their property is along the MTP.
Comments from Council, Mayor, City Manager
Below are direct quotes or statements from the Mayor, Mayor Pro-Tem, and City Manager.
“I think having a plan if things do sell, if things get developed, it makes sense that we think through that inter-connectivity. That has been what this has been about since Day 1.” – Mayor Tim Handren
“This is planning for the future if something happens. It is smart planning; we have talked about smart growth strategies – Texas is one of the fastest growing states in the country … because we are setting forward a planning process - that helps our community long-term.” – District 1 Councilman/Mayor Pro-Tem Ty Wolosin
“Over the past 18 months, I believe we have crafted an appropriate update to our Thoroughfare Plan. I am proud of how city staff has worked with the community thoughtfully and deliberatively on important topics, while ensuring we have the appropriate tools available to address future growth in the area, if it should occur.” – City Manager Ben Thatcher
Public Meetings
From March 2022 to April 2023, the City hosted several public meetings and open houses on both the Mobility Master Plan and the proposed update to the Major Thoroughfare Plan to discuss the proposed changes and solicit community feedback. Below is a list of meetings: