The City of Houston Major Thoroughfare and Freeway Plan (MTFP) identifies transportation corridor alignments and establishes the required rights-of-way for major roadways in the City and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Chapter 33 (Section 33-37) of the Code of Ordinances requires that the Planning Commission prepare and submit the MTFP annually to the City Council. In developing the annual amendments to the MTFP, the Commission may consider deleting, realigning, or reclassifying streets designated on the Plan or adding one or more streets to the Plan. An amendment approved by the Commission is not effective until the MTFP is approved by City Council.
The MTFP was initially adopted in 1942 as a way to plan for and preserve a long-term transportation network that would support the rapidly growing city. In 1966, the Plan was expanded to include the ETJ. Today, the MTFP uses street classifications identifying the preferred right-of-way width, and has regulatory impacts governing adjacent development. Classifications include freeways/tollways, major thoroughfares, transit corridor streets, collector streets (major collectors and minor collectors), and local streets.
The MTFP is important for several reasons:
- It identifies long-term roadway needs for Houston and the ETJ;
- It ensures that development and re-development activities dedicate adequate roadway right-of-way to maintain a well-connected street network;
- It helps ensure development supports neighborhoods through setbacks and other regulatory requirements;
- It provides a coordinated plan that is used by public agencies when making decisions related to transportation within the City of Houston and its ETJ;
- Its roadway classifications are used within PWE’s Infrastructure Design Manual (IDM) to define how roads will be designed and constructed; and
- It provides officials and the general public useful information when making land acquisition decisions.
The Planning & Development Department (P&D) is responsible for administering the annual nine-month public review process for MTFP amendments. The annual process includes multiple opportunities for soliciting and incorporating public comments on proposed amendments.
The timeline for the 2017 MTFP amendment review process was as follows:
- A pre-application meeting with applicants, a thorough review of all applications by P&D staff, and coordination with agency stakeholders, including City of Houston Public Works and Engineering Department and Harris County Engineering Department (January 3, 2017 – March 3, 2017)
- A workshop with the Planning Commission for preliminary review and discussion about the applications (May 11, 2017)
- A public open house at which the public is encouraged to view and comment on the applications and staff and applicants are available to answer questions (June 14, 2017)
- A public hearing before City of Houston Planning Commission (July 20, 2017)
- A Planning Commission discussion and vote on each amendment, and recommendation on the 2017 MTFP (August 17, 2017)
P&D recommends that City Council approve the list of amendments to the 2016 Major Thoroughfare and Freeway Plan and authorize publication of the 2017 MTFP map.
_______________________________
Patrick Walsh, P.E.
Director
Planning and Development Department
cc: Ronald C. Lewis, City Attorney
Carol Haddock, Interim Director, Public Works and Engineering
Andy Icken, Chief Development Officer