Tax Revenue vs. Infrastructure Maintenance The budget for fiscal year 2022 shows that property tax makes up 31% of the General Fund revenue. This number has increased from 26% in 2018, even as property tax rates decreased in 2021 and 2022. 1 Property tax rates are the highest revenue sources for the City, followed by sales tax at 25% of the General Fund revenue. The General Fund provides money for the City to operate. This includes maintenance and operation of the City’s parks, streets, community services, public safety, etc. For Pearland to continue providing a high quality of life to its residents, property taxes will remain important. As remaining developable land continues to decrease, infill and net new development will be critical to keeping the General Fund balanced. It is imperative that future housing choices continue to provide a sustainable contribution to the General Fund and align with the community’s vision while protecting and revitalizing past choices. Although Pearland’s most transformational growth will occur within the larger catalyst sites, future opportunities will also include infill options throughout the city. Successful communities evolve with time and prove resilience through economic cycles; to do this, they need to meet the current and future needs of their residents as well as future prospective residents. To remain competitive with surrounding cities, Pearland should implement housing types other than the traditional single-family homes and large apartment complexes. As housing prices continue to rise and housing availability continues to fall, non-traditional housing types can help to provide infill development at a lower cost to builders and prospective residents. To meet the changing housing stock demand and make the best use of its remaining developable land, Pearland should: Î Cater to a broad audience to create greater resiliency and capture a greater share of total demand Î Implement policies that encourage more housing choices and minimize social inequity to ensure the long-term viability of the community Î Incorporate residential products and planned developments that will attract and retain choice residents Building less single-family housing and more middle market housing will reduce maintenance costs and maximize taxable value of the land through more compact living. This will enable the City of Pearland to continue providing its residents with a high quality of life as the remaining underutilized area is developed. It will also provide a variety of housing choices at varying price points to make Pearland an attainable place to live for current and future employees and residents. Recommended Policies Î H-1: The City should encourage housing diversity to increase resiliency, attract a broad range of housing options for a diverse population, and therefore capture a greater share of total demand. Î H-2: The City should work to maintain the integrity and quality of existing neighborhoods through effective code compliance and other means in order to protect and maintain housing stock and values. Î H-3: The City should explore and incorporate innovative programs, design, planning, and construction methods that lower development costs while maintaining or increasing present standards.
Î H-4: The City should maintain effective and efficient development regulations and administrative procedures to minimize delays in the development review process and in the issuance of development application approvals. Î H-5: The City should revise its development code to allow for more affordable housing construction in currently and undeveloped areas. Î H-6: The City should work to avoid potential blighting influences within residential areas through proactive land use planning. Where unavoidable, the adverse impacts of conflicting land uses should be minimized through performance criteria requiring adequate screening, landscaping and other design features that promote land use compatibility and appropriate land use transitions. Actions Items in green indicate a recommendation that is also included in the existing Pearland Prosperity (PP) framework. Î 6.1 Encourage Middle Market Housing: Implement cluster development to provide additional density, with incentives for providing middle market housing types and additional neighborhood amenities to combat the lack of housing choices for younger people in Pearland. Î 6.2 Update UDC: Update the UDC to allow a more diverse housing stock. This should include a combination of allowing smaller lot sizes and related development standards, allowing certain types by right in specific zoning districts (mixed-use and multifamily development in retail and office zones and ADUs within certain zoning districts), and providing applicants with tools for more efficient implementation. Î 6.3 Ongoing Evaluation: Establish a database to evaluate if middle market housing units that are being developed are accomplishing the City's goal. Î 6.4 Establish Pattern Zoning: Establish pre-approved patterns for ADU and/or additional building types where appropriate, using the City of Bryan’s Midtown Pattern Zoning as a reference; add to the OpenCounter or ZoningCheck tools and inform applicants in pre-development meetings. Î 6.5 Neighborhood Parks: Continue to improve neighborhood parks to ensure that they serve as focal points and gathering places for neighborhoods. Î 6.6 Identify Accepted Locations: Expand the City’s Zoning Portal with an online interactive map that contains a database that allows the users to see if a specific parcel of land can develop middle market housing. Î 6.7 Utility Impact Fees: Continue to regularly update the City's water and wastewater impact fees, specifically when new capacity is brought on to areas that were not a part of a previous fee adjustment or in alignment with future annexation policies. Î 6.8 Focus Group: Create a focus group as the City is developing new regulations for middle market housing; City Council appointed focus group with each Councilmember appointing one appointee to develop recommendations for Middle Market housing. Middle Market housing consists of a range housing options that is not a single-family home or a large apartment complex, examples include multiplexes, carriage houses, townhouses, and courtyard apartments. Î 6.9 Housing Redevelopment: PP C-4: Encourage multifamily and compact residential uses on infill and redevelopment sites.
1 Although tax rates have decreased, assessed values have generally increased. The net result is the property tax payments for individual residences have mostly increased.
PEARLAND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 2040
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