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Council signals intent to adopt Rogers master plan, seek developer with prospectus for Stewart Beach
Summary
After hearing consultants and community advisors, council directed staff to pursue option B: adopt an existing master plan (Rogers Partners) and ask city consultants to prepare a development prospectus for a public‑private partnership; staff will return with an action item at the next regular meeting.
Galveston City Council members at their March 27 workshop told staff to proceed toward adopting a previously produced master plan for Stewart Beach and to prepare a development prospectus aimed at attracting a master developer for a public‑private partnership.
Dudley Anderson briefed the council on three options staff had developed after gathering council input: (A) hire a master developer to produce a plan and deliver the project, (B) adopt an existing master plan and commission a city‑sponsored development prospectus, or (C) fund a new master‑plan study. After presentations from consultant Joshua Owens and engineering/planning staff, council members favored option B: adopt the Rogers Partners plan (with amendments where needed) and hire consultants to produce a prospectus and procurement package for developers.
Joshua Owens, who advised council on market and procurement issues, told the council developers need clear objectives and scoring criteria in a request for proposals. "We need clear objectives in the RFP and from the developers coming from city council as to what you want to see on that beach," Owens said. He urged council to decide whether the priority is public amenities, job and capital investment, sales‑tax generation, or a mix; that choice will shape the procurement documents.
Council discussion focused on speed and practicality. Several council members said adopting an existing plan would shorten the timeline compared with commissioning a new master plan; others said the city should insist the prospectus require market‑based solutions and include measurable performance metrics (jobs, capital investment, sales‑tax or bed‑tax targets). Dudley Anderson summarized a tentative schedule staff had prepared for the RFP/prospectus path and said he would return with a formal action item and recommended text.
Council consensus at the workshop: direct staff to bring back a formal agenda item next month to adopt the Rogers Partners master plan as the basis for a city‑led development prospectus and procurement package, then to seek proposals from qualified development teams.
Staff and consultants said next steps would include preparing procurement documents with explicit scoring criteria, a public‑engagement phase tied to the adopted plan, and a schedule for selecting and negotiating with a master developer.
