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MPO staff seeks informed-consent approach for Small Area Task Force charter
Summary
Staff proposed a Small Area Task Force charter to assist with small-area forecasting, recommending an "informed consent" decision approach (rather than strict consensus) to keep diverse stakeholders engaged; the board discussed timing relative to census-derived control totals and supported moving forward.
MPO staff presented a proposed Small Area Task Force charter designed to bring community stakeholders into allocating control totals from the Texas Demographic Center into transportation analysis zones.
Staff said the task force would include representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, Military Affairs, Home Builders Association and several large homebuilders and described the proposal to use an "informed consent" approach rather than requiring consensus, explaining that informed consent allows participants to accept the legitimacy of the process even if they do not prefer the outcome. The director noted the Texas Demographic Center has produced corrected base-year estimates after recognized issues with the 2020 census and recommended using those control totals as the base for the small area forecast.
Board members asked whether the exercise occurs after the census and how often the process happens; staff said small area forecasts are typically performed when the travel demand model is updated, roughly every 10 years, and that the task force approach had been used successfully elsewhere. The item was presented as a report with staff soliciting board concurrence.
