WhitehouseTexas.com

Whitehouse will begin it�s 15-year master plan, called �Vision 2020�. This will be a living document representing major changes to the rules that govern development in the city. It has been 10-years since the last master plan had been updated.
Vision 2020 will fundamentally sum to a rewrite of the codes that govern where houses can be built and how homes and businesses may be built. Also define where parks will go and how roads will be extended.
There�s already a debate about proposed regulations coming out of the planning and zoning commission that could enforce major new restrictions on the exterior appearance of commercial buildings and houses. The City Council on Tuesday tabled changes to city codes that would require homes to use masonry on 75 percent of exterior surfaces. This is pretty much normal. Some cities require 80%.
Sweeney, the planning and zoning chairman, said the city has to make some updates to its codes now, even though they will be revamped by the master plan, because some builders may be eager to tap the Whitehouse market before the rewritten codes are adopted next year.
“There are good developers and bad developers,” Sweeney said. “There are a lot of developers who say, ‘Let’s go in and make our money, and let’s leave town.’ … Until we get this new zoning ordinance in place, we need to create specific changes to our current zoning ordinances that will keep us protected.”
A representative from Conaway Homes said �the masonry requirements overstep the power that a planning and zoning commission should have�.

We all know better restrictions will increase the cost of new construction, but that�s okay. We want our city to look nice and keeps its value. We don�t want a 2,000 sq ft brick home next to mobile home or a mobile home next to an unattended empty lot. �Planning must be kept in order to keep things in categorize�, one concerned citizen said.
“By 2010 this city could be a completely different city than it has ever been before,” Sweeney said. “I think that scares some people. Some of the old-timers are resistant to change, but the truth of the matter is you can’t stand still. Either it improves or it gets worse, and I don’t want to see things decline in the city.”