City Commissioners presented with comprehensive plan draft

City Commissioners presented with comprehensive plan draft News Staff Tue, 06/25/2024 - 4:45 pm Ken Coignet, vice president of Public Management Inc., presented the housing and population portions of a draft comprehensive plan Tuesday, June 4. Photo/Mike Williams By Mike Williams news@breckenridgeamerican.com The city of Breckenridge is nearing completion on its updated comprehensive plan.With approval from the planning and zoning commission expected to take place this week, the city will vote to adopt next month. City commissioners were presented with a draft version of the plan during their Tuesday, June 4 meeting. The Wednesday, June 19 edition of the Breckenridge American covered the utilities portion of the plan as presented by Sage Diller, vice president of Enprotec/Hibbs & Todd. This edition will cover the population and housing portions which were covered during the meeting by Ken Coignet, vice president of Public Management Inc.  HousingIn 2023, PMI conducted a survey of every residential and commercial structure in the city. The survey classified residential structures by their type, condition, and occupancy status. Housing was defined by standard structure, deteriorated structure and dilapidated structure.Standard structures are defined to have deteriorated less than 10% of its highest value. Deteriorated structures have declined from 10–50% of its highest value. Dilapidated structures cover all remaining structures. “(The) deteriorated (structures category is) important because without proper maintenance or letting it go farther it’s going to get into (dilapidated),” Coignet said. “You all have been dealing with a lot of this. … Cynthia and her team have been removing a lot of substandard and vacant units. So it’s important to continue that work.” PMI counted 1,824 single family structures. Of these, 1,119 were considered to be standard, 421 were considered deteriorated and 97 were considered dilapidated. A total of 236 manufactured homes were counted in the city. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Code defines a manufactured home as a structure constructed on or after June 15, 1976, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. Of the 236 manufactured homes, HUD considered 103 to be in standard condition, 74 to be in deteriorated condition and 24 in dilapidated condition. PMI counted 113 multi-family housing structures, with a total of 406 units. These units make up 16.5% of the city’s existing housing. According to the survey, deteriorated and dilapidated units constitute approximately 30.1% of the city’s total housing stock and 79% of the housing stock was built before 1980. “This is a concern because 27.3% of the city’s households include individuals that are over the age of 65,” the plan states. “Older homes and manufactured homes typically have smaller doorways and restrooms that make mobility difficult for individuals in wheelchairs.” This includes four goals: improve the quality of living for Breckenridge residents by upgrading the quality of housing stock, increase code enforcement, increase the city’s stock of quality, affordable, single-family units and increase building code enforcement. PopulationThe city had a younger population compared to that of Stephens County and had the same median age as the state of Texas. The median age for Breckenridge matches the state of Texas at 35.5, compared 40.6 for Stephens County, according to the 2021 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census. The percentage of low to moderate income persons is 54.3% and the percentage of individuals below the poverty level is 17.4%. The state average is 14.2%. The city presently has 2,324 occupied dwelling units. The 2021 Census states that there were 1,963 occupied housing units.  According to census data, the population fell by 433 persons from 2000 to 2020. “It is likely that the city will continue to see population increases during the planning period, due to growth in the state and the increased mobility of the population in general,” the plan states. The plan predicts the population of the city to be between 7,500–9,500 by 2040. This is based on a combination of the Texas Water Development Board Population Projections for Stephens County and a linear progression of the population growth rate from 2020 to 2023. The prediction does not include anomalies such as major development. These are expected but could not be used in the projections because the intensity of the anomalies are not known. The plan states the city’s need to develop infrastructure to keep up with growth. The Breckenridge Comprehensive Development Plan is expected to be presented to the Breckenridge City Commission next month for approval. News