March 2025 Newsletter

And Upcoming Events

Mar 05, 2025

To view newsletters on the website, go to https://planocitizenscoalition.org/news.

In this newsletter:
- Positive Accomplishments (President’s Message)
- PCC General Meeting March 27, 2025 (Bond Referendum Q&A)
- Scott Turner, HUD Secretary terminated Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH)
- Candidate Forum April 10, 2025
- 2025 STATE LEGISLATIVE ALERT-Sign the petition opposing any bill that ends single-family zoning in residential neighborhoods.
- Elections May 3
- City Council Meeting March 17
- Join Plano Citizens’ Coalition

President’s Message

Greetings PCC readers!

Well, just leave it to a Texan to go to Washington D.C. to bring welcome change to Plano and other municipalities in our state. Scott Turner was appointed by President Trump to lead HUD, Housing & Urban Development, and one of his first actions was to eliminate the AFFH. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing was implemented in the Obama years. The AFFH has threatened local determination of zoning matters for years ever since except in President Trump’s first term in office. See below for more information.

Another great win was accomplished at Plano City Council at the March 4th meeting as a proposal to restore the timeframe for public comments at Council meetings to the beginning of the meeting as opposed to the end of the meeting. By a vote of 5-3 Council members restored public commentary to a timeframe more convenient to the public wishing to address their elected representatives.

Pat Greer, President

Scott Turner, HUD Secretary terminated Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH)

Housing & Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner has done what Trump 45’s HUD secretary did (Dr. Ben Carson) and the Biden Regime reversed. Are you dizzy, yet? Turner has killed the local zoning killing, property tax stealing, homeownership killing AFFH.
HUD said it will terminate Biden’s 2021 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, “cutting costly red tape imposed on localities and returning decision-making power to local and state governments,” in a February 26th statement. “The Biden-era AFFH rule was, in effect, a ‘zoning tax,’ which fueled an increase in the cost and a decrease in the supply of affordable housing due to restrictions on local land,” the HUD stated.
With the AFFH rule terminated again, localities will “no longer be required to complete onerous paperwork and drain their budgets to comply with the extreme and restrictive demands made up by the federal government,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said. “This action also returns decisions on zoning, home building, transportation, and more to local leaders,” he said.
“Local and state governments understand the needs of their communities much better than bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. Terminating this rule restores trust in local communities and property owners, while protecting America’s suburbs and neighborhood integrity,” Turner said.
“[The AFFH rule was] designed to give unelected, anonymous bureaucrats in Washington the power to pick and choose who your new next-door neighbor will be,” Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote in a 2016 op-ed.

(Source: Diane Gruber Substack)

March 27, 2025, Plano Citizens’ Coalition meeting

Q&A for Bond Referendum

The meeting March 27th is a roundtable discussion of the proposed Bond Referendum proposals. It will be hosted by Plano Citizens’ Coalition and discussion will be led by members of the Plano City Council.
Lord of Life Lutheran Church
3601 W 15th St.
Plano, TX 75075-7741

See you there!

You can find information on the Bond Referendum at www.plano.gov. Look under “Elections” and “2025 Bond Referendum Citizen Advisory Committee,” where the city outlines the proposed $647.9 million to $700.7 million bond package. Check the “City News & Announcements” section for updates, as project lists are still being finalized, and look for the specific bond propositions, which will be detailed closer to the vote.

You can also find some details in the President’s Message of our February Newsletter.

Candidate Forum

April 10, 2025

PCC will also host a candidate forum April 10th, also at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, for voters to vet the municipal candidates running in the May 3rd elections.

More to come.

From Our Friends at Texas Neighborhood Coalition:

2025 STATE LEGISLATIVE ALERT

Sign the TNC petition opposing any bill that ends single-family zoning in residential neighborhoods

Sign the petition

TNC Plano is back in action. The 2025 Texas state legislature is now in session and our Plano neighborhoods are once again under attack.

The Mini-lot Bill: HB 878 would force high-density housing onto existing single-family neighborhoods by allowing dwellings to be built on a minimum lot size of 2,500 sqft. Three houses could be built on a typically sized Plano lot where one house exists today.

The ADU Anywhere Bill: SB 673 would allow an ADU (granny flat) to be built on every lot in every single-family neighborhood with nearly no restrictions except for size. An ADU could be anywhere on a lot including the front yard.

Either bill would destroy your existing residential neighborhood. We need your help to stop these bills now.

Sign the petition

The leadership of TNC has created a statewide petition to be submitted to all Texas legislators urging them to REJECT any "preemption" bill that will negatively impact residential neighborhoods, including any bill forcing neighborhoods to accept short-term rentals, ADUs or mini-lots.

What you need to do:

1) Sign the petition now and get others in your family and neighborhood to sign too. Go here to sign the petition.

2) Forward this email to anyone you know in Texas who wants to maintain existing single-family neighborhoods. These bills affect all residential neighborhoods in Texas by pre-empting or overriding local ordinances.

Thank you for your help to save our residential neighborhoods!

Bill France, TNC Plano

May 3, 2025 General and Special Election

Election workers are needed. You can learn more by contacting the Collin County Elections Office.

You can reach the Elections Office by phone at:
McKinney: (972) 547-1990
Metro: (972) 424-1460 ext. 1990
Toll Free: (800) 687-8546

Details are available for City of Plano elections here.
Candidate information is here.

Plano ISD elections information is here.

Plano City Council

Next City Council Meeting is March 17, 2025.

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