The meeting was scheduled to begin at 2:30p.m and was officially opened by one of the commissioners who cordially invited the public and commissioners and thanked them for attending the meeting. The opening speech was done by the director of planning and development, Marlene Gafrick.The director started by saying, “I acknowledge the presence of the commissioners and members of public who are present in this meeting.” She talked about the recent meeting that was conducted by the commission and how it was well attended by both the commissioners and the members of the public. She continued by stating that, “I would like to inform the commission and the public of the upcoming special commission’s meetings that will be held on 18th July 2013 at 2:30 p.m in the City Council Chambers, City Hall Annex. The aim of this meeting will be to discuss the planning report on the amendments of the major freeways.”
The agenda of the public hearing will be heard on Monday and the information will be made available at www.hustonplanning.com. For more information, click under major freeway amendments. Staff members will be making recommendations on the said topics on august 1st 2013. Her request was, “I would like to urge the members of the commission to be punctual and wear colorful attire as the commission will be taking group photos to commemorate this special occasion.”
According to her, the main purpose of this meetings and the public hearing is to allow the government commissioners and members of public to discuss. It is also important for the implementation of a variety of ordinances, policies, contracts, programs, and studies that are in line with the government’s policies. It also provides a public forum upon which members of the public can raise their concerns over property and building planning issues. The special meetings give commissioners and the members of the public the chance of gaining credible information in regards to how their planning projects may affect the city’s developments.
The commissioners are often provided with information that is categorized in items and sections of planning, they listen to public and staff recommendations on the planning projects, and they vote in accordance with the laws provided. The City of Huston’s planning and development commission is designed to “provide quality customer service to residents, businesses, organizations, neighborhoods and decision-makers through research, data, mapping and analysis.” The platting issue caused a lot of concerns by the public members present at the meeting. They posed to the commission the number of issues affecting their livelihoods. The commissioners were able to address these concerns over the “Platting Activity D: Subdivision Plats.” Various platting issues were raised by Dipti Mathur, Kimberly Bowie, Mikalla Hodges, and Suvidha Bandi. Their concerns stemmed from the constructions which affected their living conditions in their residential areas. This helped in ensuring the public understood the role of the planning commission in regards to the issues.
These meetings and hearings provide a proactive platform upon which citizens can raise their concerns over city development planning proposals and how they directly affect their livelihoods. The commissioners have better understanding of how effective their planning projects are and how the public responds to their city’s planning and developments. This administration attribute remains a key element of public administration and the reason America remains the most developed nation in the whole world.