October 2024 Newsletter

Oct 08, 2024

President’s Message

Greetings PCC members! Here we are in the last quarter of the year and it still feels like summer, and all eyes are on November 5th. You are encouraged to MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD by voting in the General Election beginning with early voting that begins October 21 through November 1 and concludes on Election Day, November 5th. The Elections Department of Collin County is making sure there are plenty of voting sites available for your convenience. Some of them are new, and other usual places are not being used due to construction or other issues. Check the Elections website for a polling location nearest you and VOTE.

Speaking of voting, the PISD Board of Trustees recently voted to close several local schools: Armstrong Middle School, and Forman Elementary, on the East side of Plano and Davis Elementary on the west side. According to various reports, the schools will be demolished and only the land is to be sold to the City of Plano. Appraised value of the 3 properties exceeds $48.5 million; however, the sales price of the land to the buyer is $13 million. Apparently, the market value approach to a sale is being shoved aside at the expense of the taxpayer for some unknown reason, and this has a negative impact on we the taxpayer.

The facilities are older for sure; however, PISD has chosen to renovate schools in the past like Bowman Middle School, Williams High School, etc. that are older and there could be buyers for the buildings including the land, but that might include competitors to the public schools, right? Many questions for a school district operating at a loss but not great transparency in our judgment.

Questions should be revisited with the Board of Trustees to explain this disparity.

DART Board Meeting
by Pat Greer

While the City of Plano pays a significant portion of its sales tax revenue to fund the DART service, the ridership from our fair city is significantly low. Councilman Shelby Williams represented the City of Excellence Friday, October 4th in leading a meeting of the member cities to evaluate the performance of the mass transit system and the continuing commitment from the participating cities of Addison, Carrollton, Cockrell Hill, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Garland, Glenn Heights, Highland Park, Irving, Richardson, Rowlett, Plano, and University Park. Not all cities were in attendance, but the operational performance and efficiency of DART was the highlight of the meeting in light of any future financial commitments. Williams has pointed out that while our city’s ridership is low, the cost of our city’s ridership is significantly excessive. The city could provide UBER rides to all Plano riders for far less than the annual cost of Plano’s participation. The conclusion reached by watching the meeting was that DART has multiple problems of operating inefficiencies they need to cure, and our city should continue to study our ongoing participation.

You can watch the DART Member Cities & DART Board Meeting here.

Zoning Update
by Pat Greer

There are numerous zoning issues upcoming for both P&Z and City Council, and one stands out, #2024-003 Parks @ Legacy, the former JC Penney campus. The developer is intent on constructing two high rise apartment buildings, 20 and 22 stories, with 1400 apartments, to the north of the original JC Penney building. Said developer has made several prior requests that have so far been denied by City staff, but there is continued pressure to seek approval. It is scheduled for October 21 for P&Z hearing. This request does not conform to the Comprehensive Plan and needs to be denied and also needs citizens to speak out against it.

It is possible that the final request may have some changes submitted in the next week, but if you are not in favor of the density this would create, please go to the zoning cases section of the City website and read the write up by staff at the above plan. You can leave written comments there - details below - expressing your opinion and if it goes to P&Z, make your voice heard by contacting city leaders, including P&Z Commissioners and Council members.

Comment with one of these options:

Register to speak (in-person of via video conference) using the online registration form. Online registration opens at 5 pm on the Friday prior to the meeting. Due to limited seating at Davis Library, all speakers must register online by 4 pm on the day of the meeting. No onsite registration is available.
- Public meetings hosted on a virtual platform are subject to rules enacted by the Texas Legislature. For detailed guidelines, technology requirements and other information on speaking at a Planning & Zoning meeting, read the Hybrid Meeting Guidelines (PDF).
Comments regarding zoning cases should be submitted via Share.Plano.gov/ZoningResponse.

Plano City Council Recap - September 23, 2024

Click here for full recap of the City Council meeting by Councilman Shelby Williams.

Plano City Council meetings are live streamed on PlanoTV.org and City of Plano Facebook page. Next meeting: October 14, 2024.

Plano City Council meetings are temporarily being held at Davis Library (7501 Independence Pkwy.) as of April 8, 2024, during renovation of the council chambers.

Here are a few ways to be more engaged - fun, enlightening, and interesting.

The Plano Citizen’s Police Academy began accepting applications via the registration link for the Fall 2024 term on Monday, July 8, 2024. Classes will begin on August 29, 2024, through November 21, 2024. Begin here to register for the Fall 2024 Citizen's Police Academy. Classes are held every Thursday evening from 7:00p to 10:00p at the Plano-Richardson Training Center (4912 14th St, Plano, TX 75074).
For information on the Fire Department citizen academy, call 972-941-7497.
Greg Willis also has a Prosecutor’s Academy 972-548-4478
Here is information on the Citizens Sheriff Academy.

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

October 2024 Newsletter

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