Missouri City staff urges update to parkland dedication fee, proposes fewer park zones and trail-credit incentive

City staff on Monday urged the Missouri City Council to direct updates to the city's parkland dedication ordinance, proposing a higher fee per dwelling unit, consolidation of the city's 13 park zones into fewer, larger zones and a credit to encourage developer-built trail connections.

Danielle Stewart, assistant director of parks and recreation, told the council the current parkland dedication fee of $1,400 per dwelling unit was set in 2015 and was based on a 2014 market analysis. "We would recommend an update to our fee based on current development costs," Stewart said, noting that staff now estimates development costs at about $470,000 per acre.

The recommendation to the council included four core changes: accept for dedication only land identified in the city's Parks Master Plan; raise the fee to reflect current park development costs (Stewart described an updated calculation that would result in roughly $4,700 per dwelling unit when excluding the land acquisition component); adopt an annual Consumer Price Index adjustment to keep the fee current; and consolidate park zones (staff recommended moving from 13 small zones to four zones aligned with major thoroughfares).

Why it matters: Stewart said the current mix of a low fee and many small zones means the city is accumulating funds but is unable to assemble developable parcels to build parks. Stewart told the council that since the ordinance was adopted, 89% of developers have chosen cash in lieu of land dedication, leaving many intended park funds undeveloped and scattered.

Council members asked for legal and procedural clarifications. Council Member Boney asked whether the city can require developers to dedicate land rather than accept cash; Stewart said the city would need to "work with legal" to determine what state law allows. Stewart also told the council the parks board and planning-and-zoning referrals are part of the process: staff will take any ordinance changes through the parks board and planning-and-zoning before returning to council.

Other details: under the current ordinance the land option is 1 acre per 100 dwelling units; private parkland provided by developers can be credited up to 0.5 of the requirement; staff proposed a $10,000 threshold for council review of donations to reduce administrative burden for small dedications; and staff proposed a trail-connectivity credit patterned after the private parkland credit to encourage walkable connections rather than isolated parks.

Stewart said the Parks Master Plan (last revised 2021; five-year review due in 2026) already highlights gaps in park access and that some undeveloped city-owned acreage (she cited about 376.79 acres in a proposed consolidated Park Zone 3) could be developed for trails and riverfront overlooks, depending on funding and council direction.

Council responses ranged from support for raising the fee to concern about competing priorities. Council Member Emery said developers routinely choose cash and supported a higher fee so dedication is less of a "no-brainer" for developers. Council Member Oterkirk emphasized that development cost per acre depends on the type of park improvements proposed and noted lower-cost natural-area improvements may require far less per-acre investment than intensive built parks. City Manager Angel Jones and Stewart said the revised fee proposal focuses on development costs rather than land acquisition to avoid producing an outsized per-unit fee.

What's next: Staff asked for council direction to proceed with ordinance revisions; Stewart said staff will work with the city attorney and send draft changes to the parks board and planning-and-zoning commission for their review before returning to council.

Ending: No ordinance vote was taken at the April 21 meeting; the council provided direction to staff and asked for additional legal and fiscal details before formal action.