2008 To Be a Year of Change
The year 2008 is shaping up to be even busier than 2007 was—I didn’t think that would be possible. Items you can count on receiving reports on throughout the year include stormwater plans (Temple & Belton), comprehensive planning (Temple), masonry ordinance (Temple), local fire department initiatives (Temple), bandit signs/kiosks, and general design measures that are to be considered (Temple and Belton).
Rest assured, TABA leadership will monitor and be as active in providing input to all of these measures as we can. No doubt we can use as much help and input as we can get, so please don’t hesitate to provide your ‘two cents’ on any issue that moves you to comment.
TABA is committed to being a strong advocate for our community of builders and developers. We as much as anyone want our communities to be inviting and safe. However, we more than anyone, want the quality of life measures our local leaders consider to be cost sensitive so as not to keep our residents from being able to afford to own the roof that is over their head.
The following are some items that incoming TABA Government Affairs Chairman Mike Pilkington and I wanted you to be aware of as we gear up for the new year:
***Patsy Luna, Temple Council District 2, is the new Mayor Pro Tem of Temple, Texas. Join us in congratulating Patsy on this honor.
***Temple leaders recently were in the office at 12 North 5th to unveil Click 2 Gov. This new online permitting program will enable anyone who pulls a permit of any type in the City of Temple to access information about their permits online. This system was created, at least partially, at the request of TABA members. Richard Therriault, Director of Construction Safety; Amy Whitsell and Alan Deloera of the Temple IT Department are all to be commended for this program. It should become even more useful for our industry as it is tweaked to eventually include permit application and status.
***Sam Listi, Belton City Manager, has recently been by the TABA office. He informed me that Byron Sinclair is Belton’s new Assistant Director of Public Works. Many of us know Mr. Sinclair and will look forward to working with him in Belton.
***Both Temple and Belton have completed drafts of their municipal storm water plans. I’ll send out a bulletin as soon as we can get them up on our website for your review. These plans will be delivered to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality no later than February 11th. The State has mandated that municipalities implement no fewer than six minimum control measures, two of which (construction and post construction) relate directly to our industry. A seventh control measure would authorize cities to monitor development activities. Over a five year period, the second year of which begins on August 12th, we’ll be working with our municipalities to create a program. Our goal is for the program to meet state requirements, to be reasonable for our area, and to be similarly crafted for all of the cities in our jurisdiction since so many of our members build homes in more than one municipality in the area.
***The City of Temple is working to create a non-residential masonry ordinance that will address building façade issues on strategic corridors throughout the city. Standards will likely apply to new development and redevelopment. Stakeholders will be included in the process used to develop this ordinance. These groups include TABA, TEDC, the Chamber, KTB, and possibly others. Please don’t hesitate to call me if you have comments or questions you’d like me to present to City staff during the process.
