by WES FERGUSON
In meetings and surveys, townsfolk identified their three biggest priorities as tax rates, water and sewer service quality, and traffic congestion. Following closely behind are managing the city’s growth, preserving Buda’s small-town character and enhancing public safety.
“This is not a ‘growth at all costs’ mentality,” said Jim Carrillo, a civil engineering consultant who along with city staff has organized the surveys and meetings.
The input from Buda residents is being used to shape the city’s first comprehensive plan since 2002. The aim of the plan is to guide future growth as Buda continues its transformation from a historical rail stop into a suburban bedroom community.
Over the past decade, the city has swelled from a population of 2,404 to 7,295, and it shows no signs of slowing.
“Buda’s in a pretty enviable position,” Carrillo said. “The I-35 corridor is one of the fastest-growing places in the entire country.”
However, he added, the growth has not been so rapid that it can’t be influenced by city priorities.
Carrillo, who works for the consulting firm Halff Associates Inc., and city staff are putting together a final draft of the comprehensive plan. They expect to send the document to the City Council as early as next month.
“Growth is not going to slow down,” said Chance Sparks, Buda’s director of planning. “That’s why it’s especially important that we plan for it now.”
City Councilman Ron Fletcher was involved in the creation of the 2002 plan. Buda is a completely different place today than it was in 2002, he said, and it was time for a significant update.
The old plan has served the city well, he added.
“A lot of the stuff that has happened in the last 10 years was based on recommendations in that plan,” Fletcher said. “Not just the land use, but economic development and lots of different aspects of what Buda is 10 years later.”
Some priorities haven’t changed since the previous plan. Just as they did in 2001, residents still wish to maintain Buda’s small-town feel, and they continue to support old-town Buda.
“I think probably if anything changed significantly between now and then,” Fletcher said, “there’s a lot more emphasis on and desire to have not just a nice place to live but a nice place to live and work and shop. So finding some places for folks who live here to work here” is also a priority.
The biggest difference between the plans, he said, is the new document’s closer look at transportation needs. In recent surveys, nearly a quarter of Buda residents said they would likely support an increase in taxes or fees to improve roads and streets.
With that in mind, Fletcher said discussions for a new road bond might be in the council’s future. For information about the comprehensive plan, see budatxplan.wordpress.com.
