Norman-Zarate Police & Municipal Court Building

The dedication ceremony for our new Police and Municipal Court building was as much a celebration of our fallen heroes as of the building itself, now named after them.  It was the perfect opportunity to honor and remember Sergeant Jimmie DeVeril Norman (End of Watch 12/24/12) and Officer Marco Antonio Zarate (7/12/16), and to reflect on their selfless service and sacrifice, and that of all officers, in the protection and defense of others.  Making the moment all the more meaningful was having their families there, accompanied by the Bellaire Police Department Honor Guard, to unveil the signage and reveal the special tribute.

Drainage Project Paves Way for Comp Plan Downtown

That Bellaire is a city in transition is not exactly breaking news.  It’s been happening for decades.  Just take a look out your own front window (any residential street will do) to witness the ongoing turnover of our housing stock.  Our traditional residential character hasn’t changed, nor who we are as a community, but the substantial extent of new investment has brought about an obvious transformation.

While that’s been happening on the residential side, we’ve not seen as much of it in our commercial areas.  For years residents have been telling us they’d like to see downtown Bellaire revitalized, in keeping up with other premier neighborhoods throughout the Houston area.  That we should attract new, upscale development commensurate with our own residential investment, with restaurants, conveniences and shopping opportunities that contribute to our quality of life and allow us to spend more of our money here in Bellaire.  We also recognize a revitalized downtown will help in closing the wide gap between residential and commercial appraised values that’s reflected in the property taxes we pay.

Our Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2009 and updated in 2015, thus places primary emphasis on our commercial areas in laying out a consensus vision for the future redevelopment of the City.  We’ve seen the Plan starting to take hold in recent years with several exciting new projects, which further validate that vision and our efforts to implement it.  Good things are happening!  The Spruce & Fifth Reconstruction Project, approved by the City Council last night, gives the Comprehensive Plan another big boost.

Sidewalks Charter Election Will Have to Wait

The City Clerk, having diligently completed her review and verification of signatures, has now certified resident petitions for three charter amendments to be submitted to the voters concerning sidewalks.  That means the City Council will formally accept the petitions and call a special election at the next available opportunity.  Under Texas law, that won’t be until May of next year.

Bellaire Master Drainage Concept Plan

It’s perhaps the most exciting flood control development for Bellaire in the nearly year and a half since Harvey, and it’s actually something we’ve been working toward since before Harvey.  It picks up where our last drainage study left off, transitioning from our local drainage system to the surrounding regional issues that affect it.  What makes it so exciting is the enthusiastic response and participation of our regional partners.

The Bellaire Master Drainage Concept Plan is the next step in the evolution of our approach to solving our flooding problem.  We first began improving our local drainage infrastructure around the year 2000, with the Bellaire Millennium Renewal bond program, followed by Rebuild Bellaire from 2005 through 2016.  Based on what we’d learned in those programs, and with the benefit of new data and our experiences in major storms along the way, we set out to further study and refine our thinking about the problem and possible solutions.