CASE STUDY 21 — First Church of Pearland Worship Center Expansion & Parking | Civil Engineering Design

PROJECT OVERVIEW
JRH Engineering provided complete civil engineering design for a building expansion and new parking lot for a growing worship center in Pearland, Texas. The project required coordination with the City of Pearland, TxDOT, and BDD4 — three agencies with different review timelines and requirements. JRH purchased regional detention credits from BDD4, eliminating the need to design and build an on-site pond entirely, and added an exit driveway that satisfied both city and TxDOT traffic concerns before they became review comments.

AT A GLANCE

Site Civil Design

● Full civil design for building expansion and new parking lot including grading, paving, and access design

● Exit driveway added to improve traffic flow for congregation arrivals and departures — satisfied city and TxDOT traffic concerns proactively before review

● Regional detention credits purchased from BDD4 — on-site pond design, engineering, and construction eliminated entirely

● Site layout maximized parking capacity while accommodating the new exit drive configuration

Utility Infrastructure

● Water and sanitary tied into City of Pearland and TxDOT infrastructure

● Utility connections coordinated concurrently with site plan and drainage district review

Stormwater & Drainage

● BDD4 regional detention credits purchased — the single largest time and cost saving on the project

● No on-site pond designed, permitted, or constructed

● Drainage district approval secured through credit purchase — straightforward process replacing a full detention design and review cycle

Permitting & Agency Coordination

● City of Pearland, TxDOT, and BDD4 approvals pursued simultaneously

● Exit driveway resolved traffic concerns before they appeared as city or TxDOT review comments

● BDD4 credit purchase eliminated detention design from the permit package — simpler, faster submittal

THE CHALLENGE
Worship centers generate significant traffic during services — and a growing congregation on a TxDOT corridor without a dedicated exit creates exactly the kind of traffic backup that draws city and TxDOT attention during plan review. On top of the traffic question, the project needed a drainage solution that didn't consume parking land that the congregation needed.

JRH's Approach
JRH addressed the traffic issue proactively by adding an exit driveway to the design before the first submittal — anticipating the city and TxDOT concern and resolving it in the plans rather than in a review comment. BDD4 regional detention credits were purchased to eliminate the on-site pond entirely, preserving the full site area for parking and the building expansion. Three agencies were submitted to simultaneously.

The Result
A fully permitted worship center expansion with maximum parking — no on-site pond, no traffic concerns in review, and three-agency approval pursued in parallel.

RESULTS

● On-site detention pond eliminated through BDD4 regional credit purchase — full site area preserved for parking and building expansion

● Traffic concerns resolved proactively — exit driveway added before city and TxDOT review comments

● Three-agency approval (City of Pearland, TxDOT, BDD4) pursued simultaneously — no sequential review delays