Houston City Council voted Aug. 21 to approve the city’s annual update to its Capital Improvement Element and transmit the document to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for review, officials said.
The CIE is the portion of the city’s comprehensive plan that documents projected infrastructure needs, lists specific capital projects and identifies anticipated funding sources, including the local use of impact fees to offset infrastructure costs from new development.
Philip Jones of the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission presented the update during a public hearing, saying the change is largely administrative: "This is the public hearing for the final public hearing before we send it off to the Department of Community Affairs for their review," Jones said.
Key changes in the annual update include rolling the five‑year schedule forward (from the prior 2025–2029 window to a new 2026–2030 cycle) and increasing the city’s estimated cost to purchase an acre of parkland from $75,000 to $125,000. Jones said that the parkland price update is an estimate for planning and does not change the amount of impact fees the city collects.
The update also noted that the city no longer collects impact fees for fire and rescue but still retains a balance in a dedicated account; the presentation said the fire department plans to purchase a new fire engine this year and that the city must continue reporting those funds to the Department of Community Affairs until the program is formally suspended.
Council members voted to approve the resolution transmitting the annual CIE update to state review and to adopt the update at a forthcoming meeting; the council indicated formal adoption would occur in either September or October, after the Department of Community Affairs completes its review (the agency has up to 30 days for that review).
The council’s action transmits the annual fiscal report and the updated five‑year schedule of improvements to the state and keeps the city on schedule to meet statutory reporting requirements for capital planning and impact‑fee administration.