Morgan's Point Resort Comprehensive Plan
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Welcome
Welcome - Morgan's Point Resort Comprehensive Plan Story Map
I am Dennis Green, Mayor of the City of Morgan’s Point Resort and on behalf of the City Council, the Administration, and staff, it is my honor to welcome you to our Comprehensive Plan StoryMap.
The City’s Comprehensive Plan will provide a long-range vison and roadmap for future growth and development.
Take time to review this StoryMap for more information about the plan, our City’s historic beginnings, and where we are as a community today.
Be sure to complete the survey and take part in the community workshops during the development of the plan. We invite you to share your historic images of the City by uploading your photos on the StoryMap or by leaving copies of images at City Hall.
It is important that all Morgan’s Point Resort residents, business leaders, youth, and community partners join in this discussion as we develop the City’s Comprehensive Plan. We hope everyone will get involved, share ideas, and help shape the future of the City.
With the involvement of our entire community, the Comprehensive Plan that is developed will reflect our shared vision and direct us toward a great future in the community we call home.
How to use the StoryMap
There are several tips for using the StoryMap Features. You can scroll through the StoryMap or you can jump between sections using the tabs directly above.
When you get to an interactive map, you will see the following symbols on it:
Click this icon in the bottom left corner to view the legend of the map.
Click the home button to return to the original extent of the map.
Click this icon in the top right corner make the map full screen. Click it again to go back to the original view.
Click these icons for zooming in (+) and out (-)
You can also click and drag to pan around the map, and you can also click on the data to view information about it.
Get Involved!
Residents have actively participated in developing the Comprehensive Plan through the Steering Committee meetings, workshops, and a survey that have occurred since September 2022. Residents will have additional opportunities to be involved in meetings and public hearings later in 2023.
“The Planning and Zoning Commission members look forward to seeing the feedback from our residents and community partners. The comments received on priorities and preferences on future development, community values, and needs will be incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan.” - Becky Cooley, Commission Chair
Public Survey
The City solicited input from the community members about their values and opinions regarding the future of Morgan's Point Resort through a community survey. Surveys were provided in English and Spanish and available between December 12, 2022 - January 23, 2023. Paper surveys and a computer in the library were made available to residents to take the survey at City Hall. The survey results are currently being incorporated into the Morgan’s Point Resort Comprehensive Plan.
Morgan’s Point Resort residents, business owners, and property owners actively participated in the survey with a total of 543 respondents. Of those who responded to the survey, 458 were City residents resulting in a 10% participation rate of residents. To view the survey results and key takeaways, click on the link below:
Community Events
Approximately seventy people participated in the October Community Workshops held October 27th at the Garrett & Mic Hill Event Center between 4:30 – 7:30 PM and Saturday, October 29th at the Fellowship Baptist Church, 9:30 AM to Noon. Thursday’s event was a Drop-In Open House and stakeholders shared likes and dislikes through Visual Preference Boards and maps and provided ideas on hopes for the future of the City. On Saturday morning, residents participated in group discussions on future visions for the City, mapped future land use locations, and shared ideas and vision maps at the close of the event.
Thursday, October 27 2022 Drop-In Open House
Saturday, October 29 2022 Community Workshop
Introduction
Planning History
Preparation of the City’s first municipal plan began in April 1987 and the plan was approved six years later in 1994. The 1994 City of Morgan’s Point Resort Master Plan includes elements related to land use, transportation, public facilities, and the economy, all of which support actions to encourage the long-term growth and development of the City. The 2014 Infrastructure Master Plan further promotes strengthening City infrastructure in support of such future growth, and the 2016 Parks Master Plan aims to protect and enhance the City’s parks and recreational spaces. While some assumptions changed from the conception of the 1994 plan to subsequent plans, the objectives of growing and strengthening the young City remained relevant.
To view the plans listed above, please use the links below:
Recent Local Planning Efforts
More recent strategic planning includes the City of Morgan’s Point Resort Strategic Work Plan 2023-2024 and the Morgan’s Point Resort Economic Development Corporation (EDC) 2020-2023 Strategic Plan. The City of Morgan’s Point Resort Strategic Work Plan’s mission statement is as follows: “To provide charming lakeside living that embodies our blend of nature and opportunity with commitment to community, service, and integrity.” Goals, strategies, and performance measures are included in these strategic plans to monitor progress and success.
To view the plans listed above, please use the links below:
Regional Planning Efforts
Regional plans include the Killeen-Temple Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) 2018 Regional Multimodal Plan (RMP) and Mobility 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plans (MTP). In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has adopted the Belton Lake Master Plan 2018 as an update to the original 1967, and then 1970 Belton Lake Master Plans. The Belton Lake Master Plan is intended to serve as a guide toward appropriate stewardship of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers administered resources at Belton Lake with a 25-year outlook with a focus on land use and outdoor recreation.
What is a Comprehensive Plan?
The Comprehensive Plan, authorized by the Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 213 in 1997, reflects local community values and balances the interrelationships of economic, environmental, and social quality of life. The Texas Local Government Code includes minimum requirements for plan elements, procedures for plan adoption and amendment, and a statement distinguishing between plans and regulations. The elements of the new City of Morgan’s Point Resort Comprehensive Plan will include a background analysis, a City vision, and the following plan elements: land use, transportation, community facilities, housing, economic development, parks, recreation, and open space, utilities and stormwater, and sustainability.
Snapshot of Morgan's Point Resort
Vital statistics and demographic data are useful tools to help us understand a community, not only at the present but over time. And, with that information, it is possible to predict what a community might look like in the future, allowing us the opportunity to prepare for that future, or, when needed, to make changes to redirect the course for a more desirable future.
The sense of place in any community is created by both the people who live there and the built environment – the natural features and assets and what has been built as permitted through zoning, subdivision and land development regulations.
The content below is a “snapshot” of existing conditions in Morgan’s Point Resort and is a baseline that residents, businesses, local officials, and other key stakeholders can use for context in order to help identify priorities for future action.
Geographic Reference
Morgan’s Point Resort is located in Bell County in Central Texas. Incorporated in 1970, it occupies just over 7.1 square miles on the shores of Belton Lake. Neighboring cities include Belton to the south and Temple to the east. Fort Cavazos is located directly across Belton Lake.
Major highways leading to Morgan’s Point Resort are State Highways 317 and 36, with Interstates 14 and 35 located to the south and southeast. Public transit is not widely used in the area. However, less than 4 miles east of Morgan’s Point Resort is the Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport, hosting an average of 132 flights a day, 85% of which are general aviation and 15% military.
To interact with the map, use the + / - buttons in the bottom right corner to zoom in and out. Click the home button to return to the original map extent. The button in the top right corner allows you to see the map in full screen mode.
History
The City of Morgan’s Point Resort was named after the Morgan Family, who owned the large share of land on which the city was developed. In the early 1960s, most of the Morgan family estate was sold to the Great Western Investment Corporation (later the Terramar Corporation) and the Lakeshore Development Company, who divided holdings of approximately 1,277 acres into 24 sections to carry out a uniform and orderly plan of development. In 1970, the city was incorporated and the first mayor and other city officials were elected.
To watch a video on the history of Morgan's Point Resort, click the link below:
Population Growth
While by remaining small by any measure, Morgan’s Point Resort has experienced continued growth since its incorporation in 1970. The first decade saw a boom of over 400 percent growth (868 new residents) between 1970 and 1980. The City has continued to grow since then, albeit at a slowing pace. From 2000-2010, the population grew by 39.5%.
From 2020-2022, it is estimated that the population has grown by nine percent. This pace of growth greatly outpaces that of the average annual population growth of the State (1.0% +) and the Nation (0.5%+) over the past five years.
Age Cohorts
The median age of residents in Morgan’s Point Resort climbed significantly between 2010 and 2020, up over ten years from 34.9 to 45.2. As shown in the chart to the right, while there has been some growth in school-aged children, those between 25 and 45 are moving out of town, while the numbers of those age 55 through 84 are rising, both through aging in place and older people moving in. Of the total residents of Morgan’s Point Resort, approximately 81% are age 16 years and over and therefore considered by the US Census to be eligible for the workforce. Of those, 67% are actually in the workforce.
Employment
According to the ACS 5-year estimates for 2020, the unemployment rate in Morgan’s Point Resort was 3 percent. This is the lowest since a peak of 12 percent in 2013. The largest share of city and county residents are employed in management and professional occupations, followed by those in sales and office, and service occupations. In 2000, these three occupations made up 77 percent of Morgan’s Point Resort’s total workforce.
Household Income
At these jobs, the median household income in 2020 in the City of Morgan’s Point Resort was $74,423. This, as well as median family income and per capita income, are above the state and county medians, and poverty is significantly lower than that of the state and county.
Housing
Knowing that Morgan’s Point Resort was incorporated in 1970, it is no surprise that few housing units (103 in total) existed prior to that point. The 1970s through 2009 represented a boom in construction, with an average of nearly 300 built in each decade, and then an explosion of 710 units in the first decade of 2000. Growth has all but stopped since that point. Over 87 percent of the housing units in Morgan’s Point Resort are single family detached homes (1,547 units). There are 137 manufactured homes and two multi-family dwellings with approximately 90 units combined. The proportion of occupied units has stayed stable, an overall occupancy rate over the course of the past twenty years of around 90 percent.
Nearly 93 percent of housing units in the City are owner-occupied, which is up slightly from 90 percent owner-occupied units in 2020. Seventy five percent of Morgan’s Point Resort’s residents are in family households. Nonfamily households make up one quarter of households, with 23.1 percent being a single householder living alone, lower than the national average of 28 percent.
Commuting Patterns
For residents, the vast majority, over 85 percent, commute to work by driving alone. When carpooling is included, the total percentage of the working population that uses an automobile for their commute is estimated at over 90 percent. As of 2019 (the most recent mapping dataset available on the Census’s On the Map analyzer) only 14 Morgan’s Point Resort residents also worked in Morgan’s Point. The most popular employment destination was Temple (38.9 percent of residents) followed by Belton (15.8 percent of residents). All other destinations were scattered widely throughout the region and state, with less than 5 percent at any given employment location. For those who work, but do not live, in Morgan’s Point Resort, most commute in from Temple (27.2 percent) and the rest are from scattered points of origin.
The majority of City residents spend 15 to 25 minutes on their commute to work. However, as the chart below demonstrates, there is a wide range from less than 5 minutes (1.2 percent) to over 90 minutes (4 percent). This data demonstrates that there is limited employment in the immediate vicinity of Morgan’s Point Resort, and residents are willing to travel some amount of distance to work.
Plan Elements
Stay tuned to find the Comprehensive Plan's elements displayed here as the planning process moves forward!
