July 2025 Newsletter
JULY 10TH, SOCIAL INCLUDING PIZZA AND SPECIAL CELEBRATION. PLEASE RSVP.
To view newsletters on the website, go to https://planocitizenscoalition.org/news.
In this newsletter:
- July 10 Social with pizza; Zoning (President’s Message)
- Update on Collin Creek Mall Redevelopment
- Constitutional amendments on the November ballot
- Join Plano Citizens’ Coalition
NOTE: July 10 Social with pizza from Little Rome.
Please reply with how many are coming, so we can have enough pizza.
President’s Message
Greetings PCC Readers!
Happy Fourth of July to all, and isn’t it great for family gatherings and celebration that Independence Day lands on a Friday, creating a long weekend for most of us to gather and revel in the celebration activities?
Please note that the City of Plano has celebratory happenings through the first week of the month, including the annual fireworks event that are definitely worth family gatherings HERE.
Our next general meeting is Thursday, July 10th where we will have a special celebration and purely social gathering to say thank you to three special men who have served the city of Plano for many years. Please make plans now and highlight your calendar to come to our gathering to honor Anthony Ricciardelli, Rick Smith, and Shelby Williams and their families for their many years of service to Plano.
The meeting is in the Fellowship Hall of the Lord of Life Lutheran Church at 3601 W. 15th Street (at the intersection with Woodburn Corners) and doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Bring an appetite as Little Rome pizza will be served. Please let us know you will be attending by replying to this email and advising of how many in your group will come hungry.
Look forward to seeing you there!
Pat Greer, President
There are several new zoning and rezoning requests in the process of review before the city staff currently with differing dates for public comment.
PCC is creating a team to perform our own assessment of the projects with the input the developers present.
If you are interested in joining this team, please let Pat Greer know.
You can sign up to receive notifications from the city in order to simply read about these new plans. Notifications sent by the City also include things like trash and recycle pick up, city sponsored events, meetings, etc. and you can enroll for those notifications HERE.
If you stick around awhile some of these zoning requests circle back around and you see them again. Such is the case currently on a 9.8 tract of land in East Plano that stirred up a neighborhood at Jupiter and Los Rios.
The neighbors objected to a development that wanted to include subsidized housing and they made themselves heard with city leaders and the developer ultimately sold the land to the city. The city is now discussing their options with regard to the land.
Pat Greer, President
Update on Collin Creek Mall Redevelopment
You can find this in your issue of Community Impact or online here.
Update on DART
DART schedules public hearings in Plano, Richardson on service changes. Meetings: DART is hosting 15 public hearings in total through July 1, including a telephone townhall meeting in late June and a virtual meeting in July. A complete list of hearing times and locations can be found on DART’s website.
The board of directors will host a formal public hearing during a meeting scheduled at 6 p.m. July 8. Final decisions will be made by the board in August, and any changes will take effect January 2026.
Hall Park Master Plan
Constitutional amendments on the November ballot.
AUSTIN — Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson today drew the ballot order for the 17 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. Texans will vote on these amendments as a part of the November 4 Election.
“Texas lawmakers have proposed 17 amendments to the state constitution, and now Texans will have the opportunity to weigh in on each amendment,” said Secretary Nelson. “This is an opportunity to make your voice heard about the governing document of our state.”
In order to be placed on the ballot, a proposed amendment must be a joint resolution approved by at least two-thirds of the Texas House and Senate.
Below is the ballot order as drawn.
Proposition 1 (SJR 59) "The constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the permanent technical institution infrastructure fund and the available workforce education fund to support the capital needs of educational programs offered by the Texas State Technical College System."
Proposition 2 (SJR 18) "The constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of a tax on the realized or unrealized capital gains of an individual, family, estate, or trust."
Proposition 3 (SJR 5) "The constitutional amendment requiring the denial of bail under certain circumstances to persons accused of certain offenses punishable as a felony."
Proposition 4 (HJR 7) "The constitutional amendment to dedicate a portion of the revenue derived from state sales and use taxes to the Texas water fund and to provide for the allocation and use of that revenue."
Proposition 5 (HJR 99) "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation tangible personal property consisting of animal feed held by the owner of the property for sale at retail."
Proposition 6 (HJR 4) "The constitutional amendment prohibiting the legislature from enacting a law imposing an occupation tax on certain entities that enter into transactions conveying securities or imposing a tax on certain securities transactions."
Proposition 7 (HJR 133) "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a result of a condition or disease that is presumed under federal law to have been service-connected."
Proposition 8 (HJR 2) "The constitutional amendment to prohibit the legislature from imposing death taxes applicable to a decedent's property or the transfer of an estate, inheritance, legacy, succession, or gift."
Proposition 9 (HJR 1) "The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation a portion of the market value of tangible personal property a person owns that is held or used for the production of income."
Proposition 10 (SJR 84) "The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for a temporary exemption from ad valorem taxation of the appraised value of an improvement to a residence homestead that is completely destroyed by a fire."
Proposition 11 (SJR 85) "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to increase the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district of the market value of the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled."
Proposition 12 (SJR 27) "The constitutional amendment regarding the membership of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the membership of the tribunal to review the commission's recommendations, and the authority of the commission, the tribunal, and the Texas Supreme Court to more effectively sanction judges and justices for judicial misconduct."
Proposition 13 (SJR 2) "The constitutional amendment to increase the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district from $100,000 to $140,000."
Proposition 14 (SJR 3) "The constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Fund to provide money for research on and prevention and treatment of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and related disorders in this state, and transferring to that fund $3 billion from state general revenue."
Proposition 15 (SJR 34) "The constitutional amendment affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children."
Proposition 16 (SJR 37) "The constitutional amendment clarifying that a voter must be a United States citizen."
Proposition 17 (HJR 34) "The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the amount of the market value of real property located in a county that borders the United Mexican States that arises from the installation or construction on the property of border security infrastructure and related improvements."
The last day to register for the November 4 Election is October 6. Early voting in person will be October 20-31. You can find information about the amendments and voting in Texas at VoteTexas.gov.
What’s on the Ballot: 17 Proposed Amendments Head to Voters in November
From property taxes to bail reform, 17 proposed constitutional amendments will be on the ballot.
Collin College Report
by Cathie Alexander, Collin College Board of Trustees
June is a great month for Collin College...GRADUATIONS! and Awards!
Three Surgical Tech students won the Association of Surgical Technology National Scrub Bowl! This was a first for Collin College Surgical Tech program.
100% of our students in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program passed their qualifying exam, (FYI - the current global pass rate for this exam is 64%.)
The Diagnostic Medical Sonography Cardiac Track graduates followed the Cougar tradition and 100% passed their registry exam as well.
Our students competed in the National Cyber League. 510 colleges and universities put forward 9,216 competitors. Collin College placed 86th in the competition. What an accomplishment!
Several campuses held camps for local students interested in furthering their education closer to home. Wylie campus hosted 72 students interested in anatomy, animation and rock bands. The McKinney campus had 138 students concentrating on Health and Nursing Sciences.
The remodeling of the Plano campuses continues with a projected completion date on time and within budget. This brings much-needed improvements to some of Collin Colleges oldest campuses.
Can't wait to see what July brings. When it does, I'll let you know. Until then...
Upcoming Events
September 11th
Senator Bob Hall, District 2
Topic: Legislative Update
November 13th
Chris Hill, Collin County Judge, Commissioners Court
Topic: State of Collin County Address
Location - always at:
Lord of Life Lutheran Church
3601 West 15th-Plano
Time - 6:30-9 PM
When - odd numbered months (May, July, September…).
See you then!
Next Plano City Council Meeting is July 14, 2025.
Plano City Council meetings are live streamed on PlanoTV.org and City of Plano Facebook page.
Find City Council meeting agendas here.
Get Involved
Serve on a Committee
Policy Committees
These committees are responsible for overseeing policy research and position formulation for our organization for both City of Plano issues as well as PISD.
Leadership Development Committee
This committee seeks to identify, train, and support future City of Plano and PISD leaders.
If you would like to serve on either of these, please contact Plano Citizens’ Coalition.
Submit an Opinion Article
PCC is open to guest writers. Send an article to PCC and the appropriate Committee at Plano Citizens’ Coalition for review. Your work could be featured in our next newsletter.
Our mailing address is:
Plano Citizens' Coalition
2701 W. 15th Street #249
Plano, TX 75075
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Thank you so much - very informative