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Staff urges council to consider updating the 2018 downtown master plan after staged progress and changing costs
Summary
City staff gave an update on the 2018 downtown master plan and related projects, noting successes (streetscape, vacant property registry, downtown grants) and obstacles (inflation increasing construction costs and slower TIF increment growth); staff recommended council consider whether to determine the need to update the plan.
Wichita Falls — City planning staff on May 20 briefed the City Council on accomplishments and remaining work from the 2018 downtown master plan and recommended the council decide whether to pursue an update given changed economic and budget conditions.
Staff summarized achievements tied to the 2018 plan: adoption of higher property-maintenance expectations downtown, a vacant property registry, streetscape and lighting work in the core, expanded downtown improvement grants (4B program), and steps to address parking and public-space management. The presentation noted one large capital element in the 2018 plan — streetscape work tied to a 2018 bond — would cost substantially more today due to inflation and that some funding mechanisms, such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District revenues, have not grown as quickly as projected.
"When we circled back on that very plan a couple years ago due to inflation and everything it was probably twice that much to complete that," a staff presenter said, summarizing the funding pressures. Staff reported TIF 4 currently holds roughly $1.5 million with annual increments in the roughly $15,000–$75,000 range, a level staff characterized as too small to support large-scale infrastructure without a specific plan for spending or additional revenue sources.
Staff suggested the council might first refine the city’s downtown economic development approach before launching a comprehensive master-plan update, and flagged policy tools that had been discussed previously — a public improvement district, targeted public investment, and focused zoning and permitting changes — as levers for future progress.
Council members praised accomplishments and urged a renewed, targeted effort. One councilor said the city should treat the plan as a work in progress and urged a focused downtown economic-development effort adapted to current financial realities. Staff said they will return with more specific options and possible next steps for council consideration.
