Killeen provides update on Killeen 2040 Moving Forward Plan

KILLEEN, Texas (Oct. 23, 2024) - The City of Killeen is making monumental strides in implementing several aspects of the Killeen 2040 'Moving Forward' Plan and has already completed or executed several citizen requests and recommendations in the 20-year plan.

The Killeen 2040 Plan outlines the vision for the city for the next two decades. The Killeen 2040 motto is Moving Forward and focuses on six 'Big Ideas:' fiscally-responsible growth, positive community culture and environment, downtown revitalization, safe, affordable, & efficient transportation, vibrant neighborhoods and local businesses.

Accomplishments within just the first two years include adding 25 new businesses and 75 new jobs in downtown Killeen, adopting an outdoor lighting ordinance to help prevent outdoor lighting nuisances/preserve the integrity of the sky, streamlining the subdivision plat approval process to make it easier and less costly for applicants to gain plat approval, increasing the value of the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ2) from $37 million in fiscal year 2022 to $194 million in fiscal year 2025, adding more than half a dozen free, public events downtown throughout the year attended by thousands, rebuilding and designing several major roadways including Bunny Trail, Watercrest Road, Gilmer, Rancier Avenue and Stagecoach Road in a $25 million+ investment, implementing an online permit portal for applications, adopting a short-term rental ordinance, updating the City's screening device regulations for non-residential uses, leveraging more than $25 of private investment for every $1 of City investment in downtown Killeen, achieving a status of a Texas Brew City designation, etc.

There are nearly 200 projects and there is a dashboard at www.Killeen2040.com that shows what projects have been completed, are in progress or have been completed.

In 2023, there were 21% of projects completed, 34% that were in progress and 45% of projects that had not yet began. In 2024, there are currently 16% of projects that have been completed, 31% that are in progress and ongoing and 34% that have not yet started.

The City has several goals and priorities and will continue to incrementally update development standards to address housing, zoning, etc.; complete a Citywide Strategic Housing Plan, achieve a Texas Main Street designation, adopt a water and wastewater master plan, create an economic development strategic plan, work to attract a grocery story to North Killeen, begin construction of a reunification Campus to provide centralized housing and supportive services to the unsheltered population, etc.

The Killeen City Council approved the City of Killeen's 2022 Comprehensive Plan in August 2022 and it was created through a consultant, based off community feedback on priorities for the city and will be used to shape our growth and evolution over the next 20+ years.

The Killeen 2040 Plan can be viewed at www.KilleenTexas.gov/Killeen2040. A video explaining the plan can be viewed there or on the City of Killeen's YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/heysxJ8dY4s.