Planners propose special study to capture economic opportunity from Highway 69 work

Tim Jenkins, the planning lead on the Resilient Communities effort, proposed a focused special study to identify economic and infrastructure opportunities tied to the Highway 69 project. Jenkins described a four‑part approach that would target light industrial/flex space, commercial development to capture highway traffic, infrastructure coordination with the highway realignment, and a phased implementation plan that identifies funding and public‑private partnerships.

"The approach would be 4 focus areas," Jenkins said, listing business park space, commercial nodes, infrastructure integration and a funded implementation roadmap. He emphasized the need to coordinate with TxDOT so city investments in roads and utilities align with the state's engineering decisions, and suggested annexation or property acquisition across Highway 69 as an option to keep development inside city limits.

Council members asked staff to add maps and diagrams to the portal and to prepare a special‑study summary for review; planners said those materials would be posted in early December.