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Granbury council reviews 2025 comprehensive plan draft, presses consultants for local updates
Summary
City council and staff spent more than three hours reviewing the Fries & Nichols draft 2025 comprehensive plan, raising questions about water supply language, downtown parking, historic preservation references and economic development data and asking the consultant to revise sections to reflect recent local projects.
Granbury City Council on Tuesday spent extensive time reviewing the draft 2025 Comprehensive Plan prepared by Fries & Nichols, focusing council and staff attention on water supply language, downtown parking and historic-preservation details and asking the consultant to return with revisions that reflect more recent local projects.
Council members said the draft contains useful structure but also carries forward material from the previous plan that they said does not match current local conditions. Mayor Jim Jarrett and others flagged passages on water availability and recharge, downtown "underutilized" parking lots, and references to an economic development corporation that no longer exists. Council requested that the consulting team incorporate recent local developments and clarify recommendations before the plan is finalized.
Why it matters: The comprehensive plan will guide capital investments, zoning and infrastructure priorities for years. Council members said inaccuracies or dated examples could lead to recommendations the city does not intend to pursue, or to perceived "marching orders" for staff that do not reflect the council's policy preferences.
Most substantive comments were directed at the environmental and downtown chapters. Council members asked the consultants to verify statements that Granbury "overlies the outcrop where pumpage has historically exceeded recharge" and to explain the practical implications for city water planning rather than leaving a high-level summary. The consultant said the chapter is a high-level overview and that a follow-up, more detailed water-supply analysis would be appropriate.
On downtown parking, council members objected to a map and language describing paved lots as "underutilized," saying those lots are heavily used during events and on weekdays. Councilmember Rodriguez said, "Those spots are not underutilized," and urged that the map be repurposed as a downtown parking inventory rather than a redevelopment map. Staff and the consultant discussed using the map to show existing parking and to plan possible future structured parking, but council members asked that the draft reflect the need to replace surface spaces if they are redeveloped.
Several council members requested the plan explicitly recognize awards and designations Granbury has received since 2016 (for example, scenic-city and cultural recognitions) and to update timelines that list city accomplishments. Economic development director Shay asked that the economic chapter prioritize capital investment, job creation and higher wages; council and staff also asked that references to an Economic Development Corporation be clarified, because no EDC currently exists and some language predates recent local actions.
Council and staff discussed housing, noting recent preliminary plats that would add thousands of units and concerns about price points and infrastructure. Staff and council said market-driven construction has outpaced prior projections and emphasized the importance of aligning the plan's strategies with the city's capital improvement plan.
Councilmembers asked Fries & Nichols to revise language throughout the draft to be more locally specific and positive in tone where appropriate, to remove or reword carryover text that mischaracterizes current city programs, and to prepare a new draft incorporating the council's written comments. The consultant said the implementation chapter will include prioritization and sequencing so the city can align infrastructure work and avoid redoing streets slated for utility work.
The council did not take formal action on the draft at the meeting; members asked staff and the consultant to return with revisions for another review.
Ending: Councilmembers signaled interest in a focused downtown plan as a subsequent project and asked staff to deliver additional data (including the city's Capital Improvement Plan and more current demographic and income figures) to the consultant before the next presentation.
