The City of Cleburne earned an award from the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) for the work done to update the Cleburne Zoning Ordinance.
The zoning update was adopted by City Council in April 2022 in an effort to modernize and simplify the ordinance and update regulations through a strategic and community-based process. Prior to 2022, the zoning ordinance had not been updated since 1996.
Cleburne's planning division of the City's community development department received the public outreach award for the measures taken to include the community in the process. Several meetings, public hearings and open houses were held for the public to give feedback before the proposed updates were approved. As an added measure, there were dedicated staff members available before and after each of the meetings to answer questions from citizens and explain how the zoning changes would specifically affect them.
Thousands of personalized letters and postcards were also mailed to property owners to ensure transparency and public awareness. Each correspondence included a link to the dedicated webpage created for the project.
A look at the updated zoning ordinance is available here.
The APA Texas Planning Awards Program recognizes individuals, organizations and communities for outstanding contributions to planning in Texas. Staff members of the Community Development Department will receive their trophy at a convention on Oct. 22 in El Paso.