City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

I now declare that the Plano City Council is convened into open session, that all council members are present. The council will now recess into executive session in training room A to hold a closed executive meeting pursuant to the provisions of Vernon's Texas Code's annotated Government Code, Chapter 551, the Open Meetings Act, in accordance with the authority contained in Section 551-071, to consult with the attorney to receive legal advice and discuss litigation, Section 551-087, to discuss economic development matters, and Section 551-074, to discuss personal matters. Thank you.

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I now declare that the Plano City Council preliminary open meeting is reconvened into open session, that all council members are present. Our first item on the preliminary agenda is consideration and action resulting from the executive session. Our next item is discussion and direction regarding the Willoughby District Citizen Committee Council.

Mayor and Council, staff provided some names of HOA folks that volunteered We're within a certain distance of the project area over at Willow Bend. This was something that we discussed with council at our last meeting to have an ad hoc citizens committee to help advise on economic impact studies as well as traffic studies. So with that, we've distributed the names and we welcome council direction on how you would like to fill the seats on the committee. And last, I would share that the staff liaison for this committee is going to be Curtis Howard from All right.

So we've had some submittals, and we're wanting to make sure that we cover all the neighborhoods as much as possible, north, south, east, and west of the shops of Willow Bend. So I'm These are submittals that came to us and I'm making sure that these neighborhoods are included. So I have Jill Little from Villas of Glen Meadows. I have Jeff Paschal from Glen Meadows. I have Rhett Broussard from Willabin Polo. TJ Plichta from Stone Lake slash Steeplechase. Bill Warren from Old Shepherd Place. Carson Underwood from Willabin Lakes. Chris Finetto from Wyndham Hill. Javier Murphy from Windhaven Farms. Jenny Truex Tota from Hills at Prestonwood South. And Mary Agnes Clock from the Hills of Indian Creek. I wanted to make sure I covered most all of the residents that are adjacent to Willow Bend. Is there any other name that a council member would like to submit? We do have a speaker on this, okay. Go ahead.

Our speaker is David Romick.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I'm David Romick from the Stone Lake Estates area of West Plano. Thank you for putting the Willow Bend District Citizen Committee together to address the STARS development. I think the committee with the citizens is a good direction. Since council keeps stating that STARS development is not a done deal, I would like to request that the committee look at whether bringing the STARS to the Willow Bend Mall property is the highest and best use of the property. The Willow Bend District Citizens Committee should look at alternatives like an arts or cultural district, bringing in a company headquarters or a mixed-use development that is in keeping with the Plano Comprehensive Plan, and more specifically, the Bend Plan that was previously proposed by Centennial for a mixed-use open-air development. We need a development that is in keeping with the surrounding suburban neighborhoods that will generate tax revenue to support all of Plano. Thank you for your time and your work for helping keep Plano a city of excellence.

Thank you. Councilman Kerr.

Mr. Mayor, I just wanted to mention that as you were reading the names through there, that you actually named several of the ones, the people I would like to have on there. I feel like they represent their neighborhoods quite well and they're in that vicinity. And I'm in favor with these names.

Lisa is a hand vote sufficient. Sure.

So I, I will second that. Um, so I, I hope everybody heard it. We'll make sure everybody has, uh, and if, and if we do, uh, have someone that said they would like to serve and for some reason can't, we'll, we'll, uh, make sure that we fill that with, with, uh, someone in that same neighborhood.

Okay. All in favor? Motion carries eight to nothing.

Okay. Next item is the discussion regarding e-bikes, electric scooters that have been more noticeable, Chief, throughout our entire city. And I think our biggest concern is the ages of some of these people that are riding them. And so I think we're all trying to absorb what's the law and then is there something that's being, is there something more that we could do to protect some of these folks from riding on our sidewalks and streets when we know they're too young for a driver's license. So we'd love to... to get a report from you and find out some solutions. Okay.

Thank you. Mr. Mayor, the city manager asked several departments to take a look at e-bikes several weeks ago. Dr. Ron Smith of Parks and Recs agreed to coordinate those meetings. I signed Assistant Chief Matt Eatler to that committee. Matt Eatler was probably the smartest guy in the police department on e-bikes. So we're going to break this presentation up to talk about the law and the e-bikes and the ages, as you mentioned.

and then dr smith and his team will talk about the parks situation so matt if you want to come up thanks chief good evening so i'm going to provide some information on some of the rules and regulations with e-bikes and e-motorcycles and what all that means So to start off, we're going to talk about e-bikes. There's three different classifications, and I can talk about what those classifications mean here in just a minute. But the big thing about e-bikes, first and foremost, they have to have pedals. So any motorized device that you see that doesn't have pedals does not qualify as an e-bike. And as far as the rules for... Am I a little low? Thank you, sir. And as far as the rules and laws and ordinances on e-bikes, they mirror regular bicycles. So if they can be ridden on a roadway or the park trail, these e-bikes can as well. The only difference is that Class III e-bikes have to be ridden by 15 years or older. That's the one difference between e-bikes and bicycles. So as far as the classifications are concerned, The Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes, they have a maximum speed of 20 miles an hour before the motor has to shut off. They obviously can go much faster than that if you pedal, but the motor goes off at 20. Or Class 3 e-bikes, they can get up to 28 miles an hour before the motor is required to be shut off. If it goes more than 28 miles an hour, once again, it's not classified as an e-bike, and it changes the laws and the rules on them. So the next classification is electric mopeds or electric motorcycles. So these have to follow all the rules and requirements as a regular gas-powered motorcycle. They have to have all the equipment standards, Class M driver's license, insurance, registration, and then they can be driven on the roadway. They cannot be driven on our parks, but they have to meet these to get on the road. And there's a classification of electric dirt bikes and pit bikes. And pretty much what that boils down to is they don't meet all the equipment and registration requirements of a motorcycle. They're under this classification. And these can't be on roadways. They can't be in our parks. They can only be ridden on private property. So the city created this. infographic for our website it's going to be on parks website as well or social media shared with our neighborhood police officers and school resource officers it's kind of an educational campaign because some of these laws are kind of complicated we try to make it as simple as possible so they can reference it And these are the laws right now or the ordinances, I should say, as far as what can be written on our park trails, because I know that's a major concern. So electric motorcycles cannot be on our park trails. And however, the electric bikes, even one through three, they can be on our park trails as our ordinance stands now. So that's my point.

Good evening, council. This is just a review now of the parks trail system. Most of the questions are perhaps going to be about what's happening on our roadways and in our neighborhoods, but we wanted to talk about park trails as well. Our system has over 150 miles of designated bike routes on our streets. We have over 100 miles of paved hike and bike trails throughout the city and 12 miles of soft surface trails. When it comes to e-bikes, e-bikes are great. We in the Parks and Recreation Department love them because they expand our user group, people that maybe shied away from getting out on our trails or outdoors because of maybe some health or age restrictions. With these e-assist bikes, they're able to use our trails and benefit from those, so they're a real positive development as far as we're concerned. And they're also an important part of our alternate transportation plan or those initiatives because they do allow people to get out and pedal with some assist that is a real positive development. These, the trends that we are seeing out there, there are a variety of devices as the classifications tell us. And those classifications are set by the Texas Transportation Code. That provides the classifications and also user parameters. So we follow the Texas law when it comes to those things. Again, more users out there, a variety of devices means more opportunities to engage with our park system and for our staff to engage with the public. We have had few concentrated complaints on our parks trails. This is, I think, more broadly a neighborhood issue. We haven't had lots of recurring problems in our trail system. Our role in Parks and Recreation is to educate and engage the public so that they're informed and can use our trail system safely. We have done a lot of outreach as far as Parks and Recreation is concerned. We have a website that talks all about trail etiquette, how to use the trail safely. We have videos that are posted when you go to that website to learn all that you want to learn about our trail system. We also have signs posted everywhere. For example, this slide right here shows the yellow dots are where we have posted signs that say no motorized vehicles on our trails. The green dots are park rule signs, and two of the rules on that sign, one says don't go faster than 15 miles an hour on a trail, and the other one says don't come on the trail if you're on a motorized vehicle. And then the red are all of our speed limit maximum 15 miles per hour. Our trail system is designed with a 15 mile maximum speed limit. So turns and curves and banks and all those things are designed for 15 miles maximum speed. So if you're going over 15, you're going too fast for our trail system. And again, what we strive to do is engage the public, inform the public, instruct the public. But when it comes to enforcement, we rely on our partners in the police department. This graphic was shown a little bit earlier. This is a new graphic that we've developed in conjunction with the police department and community engagement and our communications department. It just is a real easy way to see if what you own where you can use it. And those electric dirt bikes, those are on private property. We have lots of different ways that we engage with the public. We think it's very successful. This is another graphic that I saw on Facebook. This is for the real informed owner that wants to know exactly where I can go and what I can do and how I can use it. So if someone wants to spend the time and use this flow chart, it's very informative, and in many cases, very helpful. That's the presentation that we have. I know the constraint of time.

We've got just a few minutes we'd be happy to answer any questions or Engage the council in the discussion All right, thank you mayor Pro Tem Yeah, thank you a great presentation on both parts here for defining this one of the questions I do have is the e scooter. I noticed that we can't ride it on the trails We can't ride it on the streets Where can... These stand-up electric scooters, where can they be used? Because you have the Limes and you have the others that you could rent. Where can you use those?

Yeah, the scooter can be on our trails, yes. As long as you're going under 15 miles an hour, you can see where can I ride it, that little stand-up electric scooter. Park trails, as long as you're obeying that 15-mile-an-hour maximum speed limit, you can be on our trails. And that's fine with us. We see kids on their scooters on our trail system. It's not a problem.

Okay, so they're able to take it from home and go to school if they... Sure, absolutely, yeah.

They shouldn't be in the roads with that, no way. Okay, all right, thanks.

I'll leave this up here for your... Yeah, leave that up there.

Councilman Levine.

Thank you, Mayor. Ron, this where can I ride in Plano graphic, I saw that at Molenbeek this weekend and it caught my attention.

This one right here, the more comprehensive one? No, the other one.

The simple version? Yeah. And I'm wondering if a version of that could be posted, if not permanently posted, on some kind of temporary basis along the trails at the trailheads. It seems like we need to really let people know what's permissible and what's not, and I promise you that the people who are violating this are not looking at our website.

Right. Spoken like a true former member of the Parks and Recreation Planning Board, that's a great idea. I think that we'll do that.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem, sorry.

Thank you, Mayor. You mentioned that you've gotten a few complaints. Can you give us some examples of those types of complaints?

Most of the complaints will be someone will email me or they'll contact us through Fix-It or something like that, and they'll say, while I was on the trail last Wednesday, someone went by me really fast. Well, where was it? Well, I'm not sure. It was over at Oak Point Park. Well, what time of day was it? Well, it was in the afternoon. And so by the time we can take any action, it's usually, if not hours, it's days in the past. But if we were to get a consistent flow of, hey, we're seeing something at this location around this same time, we would partner with PD and they would take some corrective action. And nobody's been injured so far? Uh, I'm not aware of someone being injured because of these devices, but people unfortunately, you know, uh, wipe out on our trails. That happens. That's what I'm getting at. Yeah, that happens. Okay.

And nobody's okay. All right. And then how do we know what a one and a three is of that justification? Yeah.

How do you recognize a one, two and three?

And I only asked because I drive by daycare pickup and I see like a nine year old driving on the street. So I'm being very cautious, but then he, sharp turns, and I was like, I don't know if it's a 103, but it has pedals.

That is a great question, and that's one thing that's very complicated for us. Without getting on that bike and pedaling and hitting 20 miles an hour and seeing if the motor stops or keeps going, we wouldn't know. That's the only way to figure that out. That makes this whole thing very complicated. It's not like we can put a radar gun to see if they're going over 20. But if it's a Class 3, they can get to 28, right? So then we've got to know that they're under 15 and the motor didn't kick off until we hit 28 miles an hour. So it's a whole investigation that complicates things very much because they're very hard to recognize which is which, except the pedals. You see something without a pedal on a park trail, we know immediately that shouldn't be there. And I don't have an issue with any of this.

My main concern is the safety of our children, and it's a little alarming when they're turning pretty quickly and that's like, be careful. Absolutely. Yes, sir. It's our concern as well. Yes, sir.

Council Member Thomas.

Yes. It's noted on the slide there that you have education and outreach. How are you collaborating with Plano ISD to educate our young ones about bike safety?

So we are providing this information, these infographics to our school resource officers. That's kind of how we get our in into the school system. So that's that's our current plan right there as well. But I believe there probably be some other avenues that we could go as well to broaden this outreach.

Are there any incentives for following the expectations for them?

So mostly what we've been doing is kind of education as far as parents or children. A lot of people just don't, they just don't know this information. And quite frankly, even if you were to look up the Texas statutes of where you can and can't ride these, it's, it's very complicated. So I think the education campaign is really important right now. And then of course, people who just aren't complying with that, then we have to start stepping into that kind of enforcement.

Thank you for your time.

Yes, ma'am. So no, I mean, this is good information for all of us. Um, Is there any other enforcement that you guys aren't already doing, which I'm sure there's not, but other than the education aspect of it, are you seeing an increase or is it just hypothetical that we're thinking that we're seeing more of this in the neighborhoods? And Ron, you're right. I'm seeing it in neighborhoods, not on the trails.

So I've been talking to a lot of officers and our watch commanders who are always on duty, listening to that radio and asking them, are we seeing an uptick in calls for service like this? People just, quite frankly, aren't calling the police on these. But when I start talking to the community about e-bikes, they have the same complaints, but they're just not calling us when a kid is on an electric motorcycle in their neighborhood. We're just not getting those phone calls. But we're talking to parks. And when they start getting those complaints in the same areas, then we'll send our neighborhood police officers out on their bikes, getting out in those parks, in those areas, and having them do that education and enforcement campaigns.

Sounds good. Sounds good. Well, thank you guys so much for the information.

Thank you.

Appreciate it. Okay. Moving on to item four, consent and regular agendas. Is there an item a council member would like to remove? Council items for future agendas. Okay. We'll take a recess and start the meeting in one minute.

Um... Um... you Thank you.

I now declare the Plano City Council has reconvened into open session, that all members are present. We'll begin tonight's regular meeting with the invocation led by Pastor Kelvin Foley with the North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship and the pledge and the Texas pledge following the invocation. Would you please rise?

Let's go before the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we just honor you. We praise you, dear God and Lord. We're just so thankful for the privilege of being able to gather this evening for the city of Plano, for its people, for the families, the leaders, Lord God. We just have the audacity to believe your word. James 1.5 says that if we lack wisdom, to just ask you and you give it to us generously and without reproach. So Lord, that's our prayer tonight. We're just asking that you give our leaders wisdom to lead, discernment to decide, and the courage to do what is right. Help us to listen with humility and lead with integrity and labor for the good of all. When there's difficult decisions, give us clarity. When there's differing opinions, give us patience. Lord, we're just asking that you just bless our families, the futures, and the fellowship of this incredible community. Lord, we're asking that you strengthen the community and protect our children, care for our seniors, Lord God, and help us just to continue to build a city marked by unity and opportunity and also compassion. Lord, ultimately, we just pray that you get the glory out of everything that we do. We love you and we praise you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

Appreciate it. So September is Hunger Action Month. And we'll join with many of our community partners to eradicate hunger in our city by hosting the annual Peanut Butter Drive during the month of September. Please join us in this effort. Details can be found in the North Texas Food Bank website. So I'd like to read the proclamation. It's Hunger Action Month, September 2026, whereas Hunger Action Month was established in 2008 by Feeding America and works to promote ways for individuals, organizations, and communities everywhere to get involved and help fight the hunger crisis. Whereas in an effort to raise awareness and curb this trend, we launched a community initiative in 2013 and have received an outpouring of love from our citizens. Last year, the North Texas Food Bank distributed 30,343 backpacks filled with nutritious, kit-friendly snacks and 33,350 meal boxes to Plano ISD elementary students. which is equal to 235,598 meals. And whereas the Plano City Council will not relent in its efforts to care for our own, And we challenge all of Collin County to get involved. During the month of September, we will come together to help solve the hunger crisis in North Texas by partnering with all of North Texas to promote and participate in the annual Peanut Butter Drive. This will be both virtual and in-person options for participating people. The more we collect, the more impact we make. Now, therefore, I, John Munns, mayor of the city of Plano, Texas, do hereby proclaim September 2026 as Hunger Action Month in Plano, and I do thereby encourage all citizens to join me and the Plano City Council and the North Texas Food Bank in working together to eradicate hunger in our city, county, state, and nation. Thank you. Our next item is a presentation for the city of Plano Public Works and engineering departments that have received reaccreditation from the American Public Works Association. So I want to call down Abby Owens, director of public works, Caleb Thornhill, director of engineering, and all other public works and engineering staff present. I was wondering where the award was, so I'm glad you had it. Yeah, well, congratulations. Abby, you want to say a few words about the award?

Yeah, sure. This is our sixth reaccreditation. We've been recredited over 25 years now, and it's a joint effort with Public Works and Engineering and also other departments. We had two model practices recognized this year, actually because of the efforts from planning and engineering and then also our HR department, so we're very excited.

Well, congrats. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Thanks, Caleb. Okay, moving on to the consent agenda.

The consent agenda. The consent agenda will be acted upon in one motion and contains items which are routine and typically non-controversial. Items may be removed from this agenda for individual discussion by a council member, the city manager, or any citizen. The presiding officer will establish time limits based upon the number of speaker requests.

Mr. Mayor, I move that we accept the consent agenda as presented.

Mayor, I'll second.

Thank you. So I have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda. Please vote. Thank you. Motion passes eight to zero. Next item.

Items for individual consideration. Public hearing items. Applicants are limited to 15 minutes presentation time with a five minute rebuttal if needed. Remaining speakers are limited to 30 total minutes of testimony time with three minutes assigned per speaker. The presiding officer will amend these times as deemed necessary. Non-public hearing items. The presiding officer will permit public comment for items on the agenda not posted for a public hearing. The presiding officer will establish time limits based upon the number of speaker requests, length of the agenda, and to ensure meeting efficiency, and may include a cumulative time limit. Speakers will be called in the order the requests are received until the cumulative time is exhausted. Item number one, public hearing on the fiscal year 2026-27 recommended budget proposed community investment program and proposed ad valorem tax rate.

Yes, good evening. This is the public hearing. This is the third one we've had. We have the operating budget, the city manager recommended operating budget totals $842 million. The community investment program totals $290 million. Right now, the tax rate is proposed at 43.76 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation. The city council is scheduled to approve and adopt the budget, the CIP, and the tax rate Monday, September 14th. So this is a public hearing.

Thank you, Karen. Any questions for Karen? I'll open the public hearing.

We have two speakers on the item. The first one is Karen Dubrow.

Hi. The Community Investment Program is focused on all the right stuff, infrastructure maintenance, updating technologies constantly, renovations and innovations, while having, quote, prudent financial management, ensuring our property tax rates remain constant. Yay. We are all concerned about Plano's future. Our city manager told us revenues are flattening and that's because Plano is almost built out. As with the CIP, the city should always have a solid business plan for new development, showing all the finances and increasing revenues. We don't have a solid business plan, the finances involved, nor the proof of revenues for the arena proposal. We need you to do what the CIP does, good business. Show me the money, thanks.

Connor Boykin.

So good evening. My name is Connor Boykin. I'm a member of Revolutionary Front DFW and ESA North Texas. So I'm here once again to bring attention to the Douglas community, this time as it pertains to the proposed 26-27 Community Investment Program. On several occasions, Douglas residents have spoken to me about the streetlights in particular. The issue mainly is visibility. And I've taken a look myself. Several lights flickering are going out, some of which I did put tickets in with Encore to address, which is great. But of course, it's not enough. for the illumination they do provide are also very far apart. Some are blocked by trees, and many others are just old. A lot of people in the community sit outside at night to relax or socialize. Kids play after dark sometimes. Some people take walks around the neighborhood late in the evening. These activities should not carry the added risks that come with inadequate traffic and pedestrian lighting. The lights that currently exist should be updated to newer bulbs, like LEDs. They cost more upfront, but save more money in the long run compared to fluorescent or incandescent bulbs. They have longer lifespans, they're not sensitive to strenuous weather conditions, they have lower energy consumption, and of course, they're better for the environment. Proper design and installation can mitigate glare for drivers and pedestrians, and there are plenty of options that maintain the warm lighting that people often prefer outdoors. From what I could tell, the two or three LED light bulbs in the neighborhood are a good point of reference. Please use more of those. One or two of them are located on H Place, if anyone is curious. Last I checked. So a street light replacement project for Douglas would be a relatively small but meaningful step in the right direction. Last time a project to bury the electrical lines came up at the last meeting, last month I mean, so perhaps that time frame would be a good opportunity to do some additional work on the lighting. Of course, more lighting is also needed in Douglas. The distance between street lights is not that different from what you would see in other neighbourhoods, but the neighbourhood itself is unique. There are no sidewalks, at least right now, and the streets are much narrower for drivers. When an oncoming vehicle can't easily swerve, to potentially avoid someone walking out from behind a parked car, it's key that they can at least see said pedestrian in the first place. Douglas has been underserved for a long time, and its people have built an amazing community in spite of that. With budget surplus landing in the millions each year, I know it's a realistic ask. Similar projects are planned or are taking place elsewhere in the city, so let's bring that to Douglas. Thank you. Thank you.

There are no other speakers.

I'll close the public hearing. Thank you. I don't think we have a vote until the 14th. Next item.

Item number two, public hearing and consideration of an ordinance related to the downtown Plano Public Improvement District approving the 2026 O&M annual service plan update, levying assessments against the assessed property and establishing a lien on such property. providing for the collection of assessments, creating a charge and lien against the assessed property, providing for penalties for delinquent assessments, resolving matters incident and related to, providing for severability, and providing an effective date.

Good evening. I'm Michelle Hawkins. I'm the downtown Plano manager. I'm sorry. Let me start again. Good evening, mayor and council. I'm Michelle Hawkins. I'm the downtown Plano manager tonight. We would like you to consider approving the downtown Plano public improvement districts, 2026 annual service and assessment plan as laid out in the plan. This is something we do every year. It's a rolling five-year plan for a 10 year term. And so the only changes in the plan reflect that in the budget in addition You'll be approving the annual levy that supports the pids work in downtown.

So I'm happy to answer any questions Okay, Thank You Michelle any questions for Michelle All right, thank you I'll open the public hearing there are no speakers on this item I'll close the public hearing confine the comments to the council

Mr. Mayor, I move that we approve agenda item number two. Second.

So I have a motion and a second to approve item number two. Please vote. Motion passes eight to zero. Thank you. Next item.

Item number three, public hearing and consideration of an ordinance to amend the boundary of the tax increment financing reinvestment zone number five of the city of Plano, Texas, approving a final project and finance plan for the tax increment financing reinvestment zone number five of the city of Plano, Texas, pursuant to chapter 311 of the Texas tax code, making certain findings, providing that this ordinance shall be cumulative of all ordinances, providing a severability clause, and providing an effective date.

Good evening. Peter Brosser, Director of Special Projects. As you know, Special Projects handles all of our special districts. Tonight before you is a consideration of not forming the TERS as it already exists. This is just expanding its boundaries. As you can see on the screen, the existing boundary is really just around the old EDS campus. That's surrounded by green. We're now recommending, and the TERS board voted to recommend, the amendment to enlarge the district. The purpose behind this amendment is really about shifting the focus just away from EDS to the larger legacy business area. As we know, we're getting lots of inquiries and redevelopment on the larger campuses. And as such, we're finding that we have some capacity issues with our infrastructure that we need to expand including things like sidewalks and trails and that to service that. Also it would generate some money for economic development to support some more big campus relocations hopefully. So with that then I did also include some comparisons between the size of the district from the 24 plan, which is the smaller district, and the 26 plan, which is now the larger one. As you can see, there is slight increases over the amount of money that would go into the TERS, but nothing really has changed as far as the term or the percentage. And you'll see at the bottom there the retainage, that is the money that still flows into the general fund. I believe that's my last slide. Okay, the recommendation then, again, is to vote for this. You'll have a public hearing, but a vote for the amended boundary. Happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Peter. Any questions for Peter? Council Member Levine.

Thank you. Peter, can you explain in somewhat layman's terms how expanding the TERS and using the incremental revenue would be different from how we would handle some of these expenses if we didn't do this?

Sure. So a TERS establishes a fund within the city's accounts. Then it is dedicated to those improvements within the zone, as opposed to sort of competing for funds across the city. So it's a very dedicated fund. We have one, the longest fund that we have, a tourist zone, is tourist number two, which is here in downtown, and it's been very successful. Most of the money that we've collected in tourist number two has gone back into city-owned properties and infrastructure. So it just gives us a dedicated fund to help reinvest and make that zone better. And so it doesn't compete with other needs across the city. But it still provides for those needs by diverting only a portion of the funding. In this case, 65%.

Thank you.

I hope that answered your question.

Deputy Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. So, Peter, my question is more of how often do these type of amendments of boundaries take place? Because this says 2024, 2026. It's covering a large area, but would this happen again in 2028? No. I mean, you take a lot of land anyway.

This is kind of the biggest area we have. As you can see, we also excluded some of the single families. So it's just really the business district. It generally is the legacy business area, minus Legacy West and the Granite Park.

Okay. I was just curious how often amendments took place.

This is the only second amendment we've had in a history of our tours. Tours number two in downtown was expanded at one point.

Perfect. That helps me. Thank you.

You're welcome. All right.

Any other questions? Thank you, Peter. I'll open the public hearing.

There are no speakers on this item.

I'll close the public hearing, confine the comments to the council. Sorry, Bob.

Go ahead. Mr. Mayor, I think this just makes a lot of sense. I think the development that's happening there will require some upgrades. We need to be able to take care of that, and at the same time, we have opportunities to actually do more development in this area. This could be a very high impact on our community in terms of redevelopment, in terms of infrastructure, and as well as economic development. So I'm very much in favor of this, and I move to approve.

Mayor, I'll second the motion.

All right, so I have a motion and a second to approve item number three. Please vote. Motion passes eight to zero. Item four.

Item number four, public hearing and consideration of an ordinance as requested in zoning case 2026-2 to amend the comprehensive zoning ordinance of the city Ordinance number 2015-5-2 is herefore amended, granting individual heritage landmark designation number 38 on .6 acre of land located on the east side of Westwood Drive, 255 feet north of Westbrook Drive in the city of Plano, Collin County, Texas. Presently zoned single family residence, directing a change accordingly in the official zoning map of the city, providing a penalty clause, a repealer clause, a savings clause, a severability clause, a publication clause, and an effective date.

Good evening, Mayor, Council, and Executives. I'm Christina Day, the Director of Planning, here to present a couple of zoning cases to you this evening. First up, we have case 2026002, and this is a request for a heritage landmark designation. This is a residential property that is a little more than half an acre, 0.6 acres, in the Dallas North Estates neighborhood. It is zoned single family seven, and you can see the notice buffer around that property. So we don't get these very often. So I'm just going to spend a couple of minutes talking about what is a heritage landmark in the city of Plano so this is a local designation distinct from other heritage designations that you might see or historic designations at the state or national level so it will it can designate anything from a house a commercial structure a site we have cemeteries that are designated it also when you designate a site it includes things the surrounding Accessory buildings, fences, other type of amenities on the site. So it's protecting those things as well. It needs to be a place that's recognized for either historical, cultural, archaeological, or architectural significance, and that comes out of state law. So we're very specific to those things. And then again, you are the designating body, although we get recommendations through the Heritage Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission because this is a zoning action. And then these are independent designations, excuse me, which are separate from the designation of a district, although they may be also located within a heritage district. So what are the benefits of a designation? It draws attention to these unique properties within the city. As you may know, Plano started as a small rural farming community and so we have limited heritage resources from a long time ago and then grew very quickly. So some of these older homes that you see are are kind of few and far between. So preserving the past has been a benefit to educating people about Plano. It allows us to protect those resources of the past and tell the story of Plano. It provides regulatory flexibility through the zoning tool to, again, protect the property and some flexibility within zoning. You'll see that tonight. You may have noticed in your packet that we're looking to amend some setbacks in the zoning, and we can do that through this heritage designation. And then it provides also funding potential through the grants or heritage tax exemptions for these properties. And that allows people to maintain these properties that are unique or notable. And then they also kind of have a higher standard by maintaining the architectural integrity of the property and having to go through the certificate of appropriateness process through the Heritage Commission when they make changes to the exterior of the property. So you'll see we have 35 heritage landmarks in the city. Two of those are cemeteries, and one site is the Texas Pool. So the last designation was in the same neighborhood as the two properties this evening, and that is the Texas Pool. So the process, I think I mentioned earlier, starts at the Heritage Commission, then moves to the Planning and Zoning Commission, and finally to Council. So you'll see the dates that have gone through the current process for these designations. And this is a fairly unique situation because we're talking about two properties that were within a family and It is the Harrington family that built these two buildings so they could coexist as neighbors. And so that presents sort of a unique situation here in Dallas North Estates. The first house to talk about is the Donna Bell Boggess Harrington House at 1012 Westwood Drive. And it meets three criteria within the heritage ordinance. One is that it's associated with something unique regarding the history. And this is the first master plan subdivision, Dallas North Estates, founded by the Hunt family and really expanding the city west of US 75. So a significant expansion in the city of Plano. It also represents a significant architect, Jim Scoggins. His work is recognized in the state of Texas. It also is identified with a significant individual, Donna Harrington and her son, Mayor Rob Harrington Jr., who you'll hear more about in the next session. zoning case, but their leadership and public service contributed significantly to the city through their civic and community involvement. So this request conforms to the comprehensive plan. It meets the priorities of the neighborhood's future land use category and the heritage preservation policy and heritage preservation plan. As part of this request, we are requesting an amendment to the side yards. This property does not comply with the current zoning. It requires a 10-foot side yard, and it was built just off of the side yard requirements. We've done a lot of research trying to figure out why that is and really cannot figure that out. It just was not built to the specs. So it is built with a 9-foot side yard. to the north and 9.3 to the south, maybe just in precise measurement, but this would allow it to come into conformance with the zoning. So we have a letter from the owner in support. One letter within 200 feet in support that's immediately adjacent and one in opposition does not meet the 20% opposition threshold. and overall citywide we have two letters in support, five in opposition for a total of seven letters, one additional letter in email. The Heritage Commission recommended approval by a vote of five to zero and the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval eight to zero and I am here for any questions you might have on this proposal.

Thank you, Christina. Any questions for Christina? Councilman Kerr.

Christina, I have a question for you. What are the implications to the neighbor, the neighbors in that neighborhood if this designation goes through?

I can't really think of any specific. I mean, the property will be maintained. It won't. be allowed to be demolished. I think there's some protections for the property. I can't think of any implications. I'll defer to the Heritage Preservation Officer. Can you think of anything, Bhavesh? I can't think of anything.

Thank you.

Deputy Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. Quick question, and maybe I missed it somewhere, but whose responsibility is it to maintain the property? Finances, I mean.

It is the property owner's.

Property owner's?

Okay.

Thank you.

Okay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. I'll open the public hearing.

We have one speaker on this item, the applicant, Michelle Giltner.

Good evening. That felt like a little bit of a long walk. Good evening, everybody. My name is Michelle Giltner and I live at 1012 Westwood and I'm very excited to be in front of you. I want to thank you all for your time. I also want to thank city staff who's been a huge help through this process of applying for a heritage designation. I'm going to try to be brief. I've been very impressed with how efficient your meetings are running, but I just wanted to take a moment and share a little bit of the story of how we found this house, why we think it's important to preserve for the city, and how we hope it helps other homeowners to do something similar in the future. Let me switch to the next slide. What's amazing about our house is that it's right in between the Texas Pool and the Heritage Farmstead Museum in this really tree-covered neighborhood that we were so lucky to find. My husband, Kevin, and I moved to Plano with our four-year-old daughter in 2014. and we came to Plano for schools. We wanted good schools for our kiddo. And we looked at lots of houses and when we settled in this neighborhood, when we saw it for the first time, we knew that that was the place, we just hadn't found the home yet. And maybe a month or so later, We saw a coming soon sign in the yard and we called immediately and our realtor set up a viewing and we came to see the house. And I had no idea what was happening at the time, but the nice woman who showed us the home was Ann Harrington. So we walk up to this house. In 2014, we walked through these gates. And I knew it was unique. It has big windows, not at the front. There's hardly any windows at the front at all. But there's a window. You get into the courtyard, you see more windows. You see these kind of low slung roof lines. I was very interested. We get through the front door. And then it happens. I get into the house. We see huge windows that overlook a creek, trees. I was just out of words. I grabbed Kevin and I said, this is our house. And he said, well, you haven't seen it yet. And I said, I don't need to. I just felt it. And I was so excited. And then we get to this back porch. So it's almost 500 square feet of this beautiful screened-in porch. And it's about half an acre of land. creek view, very wild down there, but just so beautiful and peaceful. And we were just super lucky, so of course we put in an offer and our offer was accepted. And the day that we signed on the house, Ann Harrington brought us over a big old tub of bird seed for all the birds we'd need to feed, And then this package of, it was kind of a manila folder of letters, architectural drawings, and I just could not believe what we had landed on. So this is an example of one of the letters that I found. This is... to Mr. Harrington, Rob Harrington Jr., who was mayor for the city of Plano from the architect, Jim Scoggins. And you can just see the kind of cordial relationship that they have. You know, hope everything goes well with your folks' home. So here's the story in a nutshell. So Rob Harrington was mayor in the 1960s for the city of Plano. He's responsible for the Plano Parks Department. He's responsible for the Master Plan. He was the youngest mayor in the state of Texas at the time, 31 years old when he was elected. He built the house that we live in for his family. So he had already built the house for his wife and his four children. But about six or eight, let me do math, six years later, he built the house for his brother and his two parents to live right next door. And his mom was Donna Harrington. So you can see a picture of her as a child. She was born in 1900, passed away in 2006. And she was salutatorian of Plano High School in 1917. So she witnessed the complete transformation of Plano. She married Rob Harrington, and they had two children. So they had Rob Jr. and then Don Harrington over here on the right. Very tragically, he was injured in a car wreck when he was a student at Texas Tech at 18. and was a quadriplegic his entire life after that. So I think he passed away around 74 years old. He lived a long life, was completely coherent from what I've heard from the family. He was a jokester. He had a lot of personality. Rob wanted a house built specifically for him. And that's what our house is. So he got in touch with a really well-known architect named Jim Scoggins. He's responsible for lots of civic architecture. So our house is kind of neat because it's an example of his residential architecture. Jim Scoggins was very involved with the deaf community, so he worked a lot, had a big heart for people with disabilities. And you can see it throughout our house. It has huge hallways, open spaces. It was very accommodating to Don's needs. There's even a little stain on our back porch where you can see the marks of a barber chair. And I can just imagine that Don spent lots and lots of hours and on that back porch enjoying the backyard. So Jim Scoggins is responsible for some schools in Plano, for example, Houston Elementary. And then in Irving, he developed the city municipal complex. So that's Irving City Hall. So it's just really neat to have such a well-known architect do such a great work on our house. And his archives are currently housed at the University of Texas. So just to conclude, I want to share that our house is a really neat house, but it's kind of part of a two-house story. And in a moment, you'll get to hear from Marvin Jolly, who's a wonderful neighbor. We are so fortunate to have him. He lives next door at 1016 Westwood. And his house is the former mayor's house. And in the backyard of our two homes, you can see these steps that kind of connect our story. So I just want to conclude by saying thank you for listening to the story of this home. I just feel very passionate about its preservation. And I hope that with an approval. We can help preserve it and direct some more resources to its care. And I also hope that it inspires other people to there's so much history in Plano. We would be number 38, I believe, following the Texas pool, which is just down the creek. But I hope it inspires other people. You know, we have the Collin Creek development. Happening so we have this new energy right in our neighborhood and I'm excited to with the idea that we can breathe some new life But yet hold on to our to our past. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Michelle. We really appreciate that Thank you.

Do you guys have any questions because I'm available?

I Knew mayor Harrington I was young but I knew him and he was a character too. I

That's what I've heard.

Oh, I love knowing that, Mayor.

Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. I'll open the public hearing. Oh, I already did that, didn't I? Sorry, it was a good story. I just got mesmerized by it.

There are no other speakers.

I'll close the public hearing and confine the comments to the council.

Mayor, I'd like to move to approve this agenda item. I know the history of this house, and it is just really cool to kind of see this come through, and I had the opportunity to watch both P&Z and the Heritage Commission about it because I'm a bit of a history buff myself, so I'm happy to move to approve this.

Wonderful.

Thank you.

Mr. Mayor, likewise, mirroring Councilwoman Downs' comments here, too often times we dismiss a lot of our older facilities, our older buildings, and this architecture is outstanding. And I think we're able to preserve it. I think it's just going to help show not only a city moving forward, but also embracing our past. So I'll be glad to second that motion.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. I have a motion and a second to approve item number four. Please vote. Motion passes eight to zero. Thank you. Next item.

Item number five, public hearing and consideration of an ordinance as requested in zoning case 2026-5 to amend the comprehensive zoning ordinance of the city, ordinance number 2015-5-2 as heretofore amended. granting individual heritage landmark designation 39 on .6 acre of land located on the east side of Westwood Drive, 355 feet north of Westbrook Drive in the city of Plano, Collin County, Texas. Presently zoned single family resident seven, directing a change accordingly in the official zoning map of the city, providing a penalty clause, a repealer clause, a savings clause, a severability clause, a publication clause, and an effective date.

All right, this is our second case for 1016 Westwood Drive. As you can see, it is adjacent to the property that you just considered. It is the Mayor Robert Lee Harrington Jr. House, and there's pictures on the screen of both the location and the house from the street. So it also meets three heritage landmark designation criteria per the city standards. It represents a significant postwar expansion similarly to the last request. It embodies distinct characteristics of the period in that it is a custom home based on a national standard out of Southern Living Magazine, and it is identified with a significant individual, Mayor Harrington. This also conforms to the comprehensive plan, both the neighborhoods category on the future land use map, the description and priorities within that category, and the heritage preservation plan policy and action number one. This also requires a number of modifications to yards. So the front yard requirement here is 30 feet side yard again, 10 feet. And the modifications would be a 27 foot front yard and an eight foot side yard on the Southern portion of the property. So with regard to responses here, we have a neutral response and a support response within 200 feet. We did not have a formal response from the property owner, but we have one in support, one neutral, and one in opposition on this case. And you see the city-wide map. Heritage Commission recommending approval by a unanimous vote of 5-0, and Planning and Zoning recommending approval by unanimous 8-0 vote. And that is the end of my presentation, unless you have any questions.

Well, thank you. Thank you very much. Thanks, Christine. Okay, thank you.

All right.

I'll open the public hearing.

We have one speaker on the item, Marvin Jolly.

Hello, Mayor Mons and Council. Thank you for the time tonight. My name is Marvin Jolly, and I am fortunate, honored, and humbled to be the homeowner at 1016 Westwood Drive. I too would like to express my appreciation to city staff for their work and guidance in the preparation for this meeting. First I'd like to share a few photos and a weather report from 1967. So different from 2026, When this home was built in 1967, the framers, the framing crew signed the rafters as Stratton Brothers. They were based in Plano from a Richardson family. But the framing was finished on August 4th, 1967, which was give or take 59 years and 20 days ago. But the very interesting thing here is that we have a very detailed weather report. that on August 4th, 1967, it was hot when this house was built. So just some factual information to share. The house is somewhat unassuming. It's a mid-century ranch. It doesn't grab you as you drive by. However, when you walk in the house, it does have that vaulted ceiling that's very interesting. Over 100 square feet of glass that looks back onto the creek lot. Not a lot of front-facing windows as the neighbors, the Giltners have as well. And then really, this photo really encapsulates that. the property. When we think about the fact that Mayor Harrington's leadership led to the founding of the Plano Parks Department, you think about this farm boy coming to town probably appreciated this larger lot with the creek in the background, and I'm sure he enjoyed many, many days and evenings there. Again, large lot. This is a view from across the creek. So across the creek is the Overland Trail, which is a greenbelt on Springbrook, and again, a nice view of the property there with some seclusion. So there are 11 converging elements that relate to the property of 1016 Westwood Drive, and this is gonna be less than two hours, but kind of interesting. So we're gonna talk about a Texas oil dynasty. a founding frontier family of Plano, the first Plano community in North Texas, the youngest mayor in Texas, two Plano mayors who were cousins, Plano's first comprehensive plan, the founding of the Plano Parks Department, the initial volume of a little magazine that became known as Southern Living, an iconic bridge in Dallas, a Super Bowl professional team owner, and a 25-year-old fledgling Plano attorney who went on to become a giant in Texas real estate law. As I mentioned to Planning and Zoning, I don't have progressive insurance. However, I have become my parents in the process of this historic research. So bear with me and let me indulge and let me tell you a story. The year was 1966. Herbert Hunt, son of Life Magazine's Richest Man Alive, H.L. Hunt, had developed the first planned community in North Texas, Dallas, North States, right here in Plano. He did this in partnership with his elder sister, Caroline Rose Hunt, now of the Rosewood fortune. Over a six-year period, Hunt and his sister and production builders sold 580 homes, ranging in size from 1,000 square feet to 1,500 square feet, anchored by the Texas pool. Across town on the east side, 33-year-old mayor of Plano, Robert Harrington, who had been elected in 1964 as the youngest mayor, and his wife and their four children had outgrown their 1,300 square foot home on 17th Street across from Plano High School. Mayor Harrington and council were deep in the implementation of Plano's first comprehensive plan and sights were set strongly on the future. In September of 1966, Mayor Rob's wife, Ann, discovered a modern concept house plan in Southern Living Magazine. The house plan focused lots of open space and it also had some large windows looking to the back of the house. And Ann Harrington saw this as the perfect house plan for their lot in, at the time, West Plano. It not only featured innovative interior configurations that placed those large windows on the rear wall of the house, Mayor Harrington's real estate and insurance business were flourishing and the magnetism of West Plano's Dallas North Estates was drawing Rob and Ann across Central Expressway. The green spaces along Pittman Creek must have captivated the former farm boy and Future Parks Department founder. In 1848, Rob's great-grandfather had settled on land west of Custer Road, located north and south of Spring Creek Parkway, where we see now Jack Carter Pool, Jack Carter Dog Park, and Planet Veterans Memorial Park, which are all near or on former Harrington farmland. Now, we all know that the 1960s was a time of ideas on napkins and handshake deals. In 1966, plans were made to incorporate additional green space into the residential footprint of Dallas North Estates, including the lots of the 1000 block of Western Drive. Rather than using conventional financing, Rob Harrington made a business deal with the Hunt family to purchase the lot contract for deed. H.L. Hunt had designated Lamar Hunt as trustee for Herbert's trust, and Margaret Hunt Hill as trustee for Caroline's assets. That's the way the HL worked with his kids. He created the trusts and they each had to work together and collaborate and cooperate to make sure that things happened. Five months before signing the deed and promissory note in this house, Lamar Hunt's Kansas City Chiefs had played in Super Bowl I, a national sporting event that he is credited with inventing. As construction on the house was planned, Mayor Harrington called on his distant cousin, master electrician and owner of Harrington Electric, Connor Harrington, and his crew to install the electrical wiring and fixtures in the house. Cousin Connor would later follow in Rob's footsteps as mayor of Plano, however, Connor left office as he was deceased on June 1st, 1970, only 58 days into his term of office. It's also interesting to me that coincidentally, during the period of the Harrington home being constructed, Plano Star Courier conveniently decided to run an article about Connor Harrington's electric business. So kind of interesting. that that happened at that time. Only months after the completion of the home in 1967, Mayor Harrington led the effort to found the Plano Parks Department in early 1968. The initial parks department consisted of one director, two part-time employees, and 42 acres of farmland at the time. As the Harringtons were building their new home on Westwood Drive, a 25-year-old fledgling real estate attorney named David Fair was getting his start. David was a second-generation title attorney, recent graduate of SMU Law School, and had started Plano Title Company in 1965. David went on to become a giant in Texas real estate law. He served on the Texas Broker Lawyer Committee with the approval of the governor. He was instrumental in the creation of real estate forms across the state of Texas. And he grew his Plano-based Hexter Fair Title Company to operate 21 branches across Dallas-Fort Worth. The signature of young David Fair is found on several documents that he drafted, notarized, and recorded in relation to 1016 Westwood Drive. And he was a very young man at the time. Seven years after completing his home in 1967, Rob would build a home for his parents and his invalid brother Don next door, as you've heard, creating a unique family compound within the city. Now you may be curious about the fate of the Harrington's previous home on 17th Street across from the high school. As Rob and the children moved west to the new home, their old house at 1716 17th Street was sold to a young man whose name was John Clark. John was a football coach. And 1967 was a great year for John Clark. Not only did he become a homeowner, but he was also, that was his first year to earn a football championship as head coach for the Plano Wildcats. Thank you for considering this request for Heritage Landmark Destination status, and we would like to provide this opportunity to share the story in the future, thank you.

and I'll be happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Marvin. Appreciate that. That brings back a lot of memories. Sure. Any questions for Mr. Jolly? Thank you, sir. Thank you. I'll close the public hearing and confine the comments to the council.

Mayor, it would be my pleasure to move to approve this agenda item.

I'm going to second, but I want to remind everybody that I've been saying this all along. The east side of Plano is the true Plano of the entire Plano City. And I believe that there are more than the famous stories that's been presented today. There are stories in every one of those homes on the east side of Plano. And each one of them is so beautiful because we have some really great, great I mean, including the Douglas community, which is amazing history. And I like to see more preservation of the Eastside Plano so that we continue to be able to see the true Plano that it is. So I already second.

Okay. I have a comment from Council Member Thomas.

I agree with Council Member too. The Eastside of Plano has a lot of history in it. And I would like for all of our citizens and council to remember that. And please consider the efforts in continuing to upkeep that side of Plano, because there is a lot of history and it's important to preserve it. Thank you.

Thank you. So I have a motion and a second to approve item number five. Please vote. Motion passes eight to zero. Thank you. There being no further business, the meeting is adjourned.