Consultant outlines preferred future land-use map, says Converse is 'growing' and has limited developable land

Caitlin Admire, a planner with Freese Nichols, told the City Council on April 15 that the firm is roughly halfway through the comprehensive-plan process and expects final recommendations by the end of the year.

The consultant said the outreach phase included advisory-committee meetings, four public events, intercept surveys at two local Walmart stores, and an online survey and interactive pin map. She said recurring priorities from that engagement were parks and trails, expanded local retail and entertainment, and support for small, local businesses.

"We started this in August ... so we're about halfway through our process. We plan to have it finished by the end of the year," Admire said. She summarized key data in the community snapshot: Converse’s vacancy rate is under 2 percent (compared with a roughly 10 percent state average), there are only about three square miles of vacant/undeveloped land within the city limits and ETJ, and a large share of the population is young (about 30 percent under 18). She also cited the Texas Water Development Board population projection used in analysis: roughly 5,000 new residents by 2040 and a medium-growth scenario of about 9,500 additional residents by 2050.

Admire described three draft land-use concepts distilled from community workshops and a preferred map that emphasizes a mixed‑use corridor along Loop 1604, a regional mixed‑use node near Kitty Hawk (north), smaller local mixed‑use nodes and retail corridors along Topperwine and Old Seguin, and pedestrian/bicycle connections across the southern floodway to knit southern mixed‑use areas together. She told council members that almost 60 percent of the current land use is low‑density residential and that the plan does not propose adding more low‑density residential acreage; instead it identifies targeted mid‑ and higher‑density housing forms within mixed‑use areas.

Council members pressed for participation counts and outreach to older residents. Admire said participation numbers and appendices are available and that the team mailed postcards to residential owners and included notices in utility bills; she and staff also agreed to consider an additional one‑page mailer or newsletter survey aimed at older residents and others who do not use online tools.

Assistant City Manager Nina (first name only in the record) introduced the presentation and said stakeholder focus groups will follow the land‑use draft; planned stakeholder groups include business/brokers, technical agencies (TxDOT, VIA, MPO), city department heads, and churches and schools. Admire said the draft land‑use chapter and supporting recommendations will be released for additional public review and CPAC (Planning & Zoning) discussion this summer.

Why it matters: the map and recommendations will guide future zoning, capital projects and grant applications; the consultant said having an adopted Vision Zero plan would also position Converse for additional federal infrastructure funding to address pedestrian and traffic safety hot spots.

Next steps: the consultant will schedule targeted stakeholder sessions, finalize the draft land‑use chapter, and return with recommended implementation actions later in the year. Council members asked staff to ensure printed outreach reaches seniors and residents without internet access.