City of College Station shares 10-year Wellborn District Plan

WELLBORN, Texas (KBTX) – The City of College Station on Wednesday released a copy of its Wellborn District Plan, and the public is invited to provide any final feedback through an online survey before it is adopted by the city council.

The 2023-2033 plan can be viewed here.

Proposed changes over the next decade include more sidewalks and shared-use paths for pedestrians, a focus on community development along Live Oak Street, and landscaping improvements to Wellborn Road. The report also acknowledges the desires of residents to preserve Wellborn’s rural, natural, and historical features while also opposing TxDOT’s plan to widen Wellborn Road.

LIVE OAK STREET DEVELOPMENT

One of the more significant changes that could come to fruition over the coming decade is the development of Live Oak Street as a main street for the community and extending it to connect to McCullough Road. According to the plan, there is a focus on creating a more pedestrian-friendly, village-type environment with small-scale businesses located along Live Oak Street. “Of note was the desire to have existing and new businesses still generally front toward FM 2154 (Wellborn Road) and the railroad, but to incorporate side streets, front, and rear building access, and to avoid having continuous backs of buildings along the primary thoroughfare of the community.”

WELLBORN ROAD CONCERNS

The plan highlights the fact that Wellborn Road serves as the primary “image corridor” for the community and should include “landscaping, streetscaping, decorative markers, and themed wayfinding signs should be uniformly utilized within this corridor to further enhance the character of the district.” While it is a separate project, the report says TxDOT’s widening project for Wellborn Road (FM 2154) was a topic of interest and concern to many.

The plan states, “As a response to these concerns, city staff communicated resident concerns regarding the widening of the corridor to TxDOT and collaborated with them to have TxDOT representatives at several public meetings, empowering meeting participants to speak directly with TxDOT. The design of the corridor, at the time of this plan, has not been completed and TxDOT is continuing to evaluate the design and interact with area property owners and stakeholders to determine what revisions to the design may be needed.”

GATEWAY INTO COLLEGE STATION

The Wellborn district acts as the southwestern gateway into the city where visitors have a first glimpse of College Station and the district’s identity. Participants in public meetings and plans said they would like elements, such as street sign toppers and wayfinding signs, to establish a unified feel and sense of place within the district.

“Identifying features for gateway elements should incorporate items that reflect the rural and railroad history of Wellborn such as railroad ties, fences, and hitching posts,” the report says. During the public engagement for this plan, participants expressed a desire to maintain larger residential lots to preserve the natural open space within the community as well as commercial buildings that have a unified design representative of the original ranch and homestead-style architecture seen within the area.

The plan states, “After hearing concerns from participants regarding certain aspects of the current zoning districts, this planning effort identified that the Wellborn zoning districts should become a design district within the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), which could further require certain design elements for buildings within the planning boundary. Plan participants also made several comments about property owners not following municipal codes. A design district helps with community place-making and builds cohesion. Combining the design district with additional educational efforts increases the likelihood of compliance with the city’s standards.”

The plan also suggests the creation of a Wellborn District Association comprised of local residents and business owners.

PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE-FRIENDLY PATHS

Modifications to the bicycle, pedestrian, and greenways master plan were shared in the plan, including proposed shared-use paths being added to the following streets:

· I&GN Road from Rock Prairie Road West to Greens Prairie Road;

· South Dowling Road from I&GN Road realigned to the future Royder Road extension;

· Barron Cut-off Road from FM 2154 to WS Phillips Parkway;

· Victoria Avenue from FM 2154 to Woodlake Drive;

· Woodlake Drive from Victoria Avenue to Greens Prairie Road;

· Royder Road from Dymple Lane to FM 2154;

· Greens Prairie Road from I&GN Road to FM 2154.

RAILROAD CROSSINGS AND QUIET ZONES

Two additional strategic actions proposed include changes to two railroad crossings:

· Relocate the existing railroad crossing at South Dowling Road to align with the Royder Road intersection with FM 2154 to increase safety and connectivity.

· Evaluate an alternative entrance into the Shiloh Subdivision to potentially close the railroad crossing at Butte Drive. The construction of an alternative entrance will help facilitate the implementation of a continuous railroad quiet zone corridor.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The city says the next steps in the process include public hearings before various boards that will make recommendations on the plan. It will then go to the city council for possible adoption of the plan.

Those board meetings include:

Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Greenways Advisory Board

Monday, September 18

3:30 p.m.

City Hall Bush 4141 Community Room

Planning and Zoning Commission

Thursday, October 5

6:00 p.m.

City Hall Council Chambers

City Council Adoption

Thursday, October 12

6:00 p.m.

City Hall Council Chambers

The existing 10-year Wellborn Community Plan was adopted by the College Station City Council on April 25, 2013, and established a vision and plan for the community to the present day. The city says the new plan “provides goals and actions on a broad range of topics and provides strategic direction to maintain the rural character of Wellborn while managing small-scale growth and maintaining a high quality of life.”

You can read the entire plan below

Wellborn District Plan by KBTX on Scribd