Wimberley Community Segment

Recommended addition to this plan.

1. Recognition of the Arts as a Community Asset
Include language in this plan acknowledging that Wimberley’s artists, musicians, galleries, theater, and cultural events contribute to the town’s identity, quality of life, and visitor experience.
2. Support for Cultural Placemaking
Encourage the integration of public art and cultural elements in parks, trails, gateways, and downtown improvements as part of placemaking and tourism development.
3. Partnerships with Cultural Organizations
Recognize the role of local organizations—including Wimberley Arts, the Wimberley Players, EmilyAnn Theatre, the Wimberley Institute of Cultures, and others—in sustaining cultural programming and community engagement.
4. Exploration of Cultural Infrastructure
Encourage partnerships to explore long-term opportunities for shared cultural facilities such as a community arts center or multipurpose cultural venue.
5. Implementation Strategy
Include a simple action to inventory cultural assets and collaborate with local arts organizations to identify opportunities for arts programming, public art, and cultural tourism initiatives.
These additions would not require immediate funding commitments. Rather, they would ensure that Wimberley’s cultural assets are recognized as part of the town’s long-term planning framework—alongside environmental stewardship, economic vitality, and community resilience.
Wimberley has long been known as a place where creativity and natural beauty intersect. By incorporating arts and cultural initiatives into the Comprehensive Plan, the City can help preserve that legacy while strengthening tourism, economic vitality, and community identity for future generations.
I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this important planning effort and look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the City and community stakeholders. Thank you!

The arts are not something new we’re asking the city to create — they are something Wimberley has always been known for. Recognizing arts and culture in the Comprehensive Plan simply protects one of the town’s most important cultural and tourism assets as we grow.

It seems this plan is lacking in continued support for the Arts in Wimberley that helped define its character (as mentioned in this section). Because artists, writers and musicians helped shape Wimberley's identity, future planning should support creative placemaking, cultural programming, educational opportunities about the arts and partnerships. For example, Wimberley is a designated Cultural Arts District by Texas Commission on the Arts and there are only 57 cities in Texas with this designation. Let's promote that so we can continue to preserve Wimberley's creative identity. I don't believe that is even mentioned in this document although we have brought it to several the attention of the consultants . It seems we are losing that as we are lacking in art galleries, book stores and other infrastructure to visibly support the arts. We are tending more to bars, restaurants and retail shops and I believe with more art-focused businesses (think Sante Fe or Taos) we could bring in more people during the week that might stay longer and spend more money here and not use as much water as bars and restaurants. We don't want to lose what drew most people to Wimberley - the beautiful natural environment, the warm community and the artistic profile Wimberley has always had.

Is there another section that addresses land development and building codes related to water concerns and drought?

Just a note: This page of text is a repeat from the page above.

I agree with the first commentor that the Arts and community of craftsman has always been a strong part of Wimberley's culture. I would also include the growth and support of music.

Is home ownership 67.4% or 85.5% as stated in the yellow graph in the Economic Development Profile above?

I suggest including something in the vision about nurturing the Arts and building on our achievement of Wimberley being a Cultural District, recognized by the Texas Commission on the Arts (one of only about 50 in the State). It's a big deal!