Blueprint Houston Resolution

Whereas Blueprint Houston is a civic initiative organized in 2002 with the mission of building community support for a planning process to improve the quality of life and place in the City of Houston,

Whereas Blueprint Houston is an open and democratic organization providing a venue for all Houstonians to become more informed about critical decisions to be made affecting the city’s future development and helping citizens to more fully understand the future impact of those decisions,

Whereas Blueprint Houston seeks to reflect the abundant diversity of the city in terms of age, race, gender, ethnic background, geography, income, and education,

Whereas Blueprint Houston, one of the largest citizens’ initiatives in the history of the City, includes participation by the Citizens’ Congress, which gave rise to a statement of objectives titled the Citizens’ Agenda for Houston’s Future, and

Whereas Blueprint Houston represents a unique opportunity to promote a closer collaboration between city government and the citizens it serves by creating a vehicle for all citizens to engage the decision-makers during and outside of the electoral process to share their ideas for the city’s future and to participate in the planning process in a meaningful, timely, and on-going manner; and

Whereas Blueprint Houston endorses certain fundamental tenets of city planning established in the Code of Ordinances -- specifically:

a. That “the continued growth and development of the city will require the establishment of a comprehensive planning process to guide future development and redevelopment of the city,”

b. That the “planning process will establish a system for all the city’s diverse ethnic and cultural communities to participate in the identification of the city’s needs” and “will eliminate exclusion” based upon race, national origin, and other unfair or unlawful reasons for discriminatory or exclusionary treatment,

c. That the planning process will require the “establishment of goals and policies to promote quality growth, protection of the environment, community livability, revitalization and economic development,”

d. That the planning process should “encourage private growth and development coordinated with public investment and services,” and

e. That the planning process requires the implementation of appropriate performance measures to “increase the efficiency of government.”

Therefore, be it resolved,

That the Mayor and City Council congratulate the Citizens of Houston who have participated in Blueprint Houston and the Citizens’ Congress in demonstrating civic awareness and exercising civic responsibility evidenced by the many hours of volunteerism that resulted in the Citizens’ Agenda for Houston’s Future.

That the Mayor and City Council urge the continuation of active civic involvement by the citizens of Houston as modeled by Blueprint Houston.

That the Mayor and City Council recognize the vision, values, and goals of the Citizens’ Agenda for Houston’s Future and intend to consider the Blueprint Houston work product in future planning efforts.

That the City applauds Blueprint Houston’s efforts to support development of a coordinated plan for the city’s future with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life and place for all Houstonians.