City schedules comprehensive plan kickoff after grant award; consultant timeline expected

City staff told the Navasota Planning and Zoning Commission on May 22 that the city has received a comprehensive plan grant and is scheduling a kickoff meeting with the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission for Monday, June 23 at 4:30 p.m.

Luke (city staff) said the kickoff will bring elected officials and commissioners "up to speed on where we're at and where we're going to go moving forward." He also told commissioners the consultant will provide a more detailed schedule at that meeting and said the consultant estimated a roughly 12‑ to 16‑month timeline for the overall process. "For the whole process," Luke said when asked about duration.

Commissioners discussed interest in starting ordinance and code review sooner but Luke and staff emphasized the comprehensive plan must be completed first because it sets goals and objectives that guide later code and zoning changes. Staff suggested the consultant will coordinate the comprehensive plan and subsequent code updates and will provide timelines and milestones at the kickoff. No formal action was taken; the item was an informational announcement and scheduling coordination.

City staff asked commissioners to "pencil in" the June 23 kickoff and noted the meeting is expected to take place at the same location as regular meetings. The consultant will present additional timelines and next steps at the kickoff, and staff indicated a workshop or additional meetings may be scheduled for ordinance review after the comprehensive plan work provides direction.