Plano residents gathered in the Sen. Florence Shapiro Council Chambers at night on Oct. 12 to voice their consent or dissent on the Plano Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan. City Council members approved the plan with a 6-2 vote late Monday night.[/caption]

Plano City Council at its Oct. 12 meeting voted 6-2 in approval of the Plano Tomorrow comprehensive plan.

The vote came after a public hearing where 75 speakers in a standing-room only crowd voiced their dissent or support to council members.

Council members Tom Harrison and Ron Kelley voted against the plan while council members Angela Miner, Rick Grady, David Downs, Mayor Pro Tem Lissa Smith, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Ben Harris and Mayor Harry LaRosiliere voted for the Plano Tomorrow plan.

Mayor Harry LaRosiliere said visionary planning is the reason behind Plano’s success so far.

“Thirty years ago we planned for today and look what we have become today,” LaRosiliere said, referring to the original comprehensive plan adopted in 1980s. “As the prior mayors have done, they passed the baton along to us and we are proudly, proudly running with it.”

The Plano Planning and Zoning Commission started working on the new plan more than two years ago. The first draft was complete in 2014 and the version the City Council passed Oct. 12 was the third draft of the plan.

“It’s the job of our city to plan. That’s what we do,” Mayor Harry LaRosiliere said. “We have 7 percent of our land left and we are going to be smart about our future.”

Council Member Tom Harrison voted against the plan because he felt it needed to be more defined and specific. He said he would like to table the plan until the Planning and Zoning Commission gets more citizen input and gives a clearer definition of some of the concepts.

“Many of the statements in the plan are so generalized that they cannot be consistently interpreted,” Harrison said. “[The] Plano Tomorrow plan is incomplete. Staff and city leaders need to do more to define the statements that are in the plan.”

Harrison said he wanted to listen to and represent the citizens who expressed opposition.

“The frustration among the residents of Plano right now is very high,” Harrison said during his statement after the public hearing. “Let me tell you I am not willing to give up on Plano.”

Apartments and high-density residential developments have been a focal point of the argument surrounding the plan.

Members from Plano Future, a group of citizens who did not agree with passing the comprehensive plan, spoke during the public hearing, saying, “Don’t make Plano Tomorrow the Dallas of today.”

The group voiced concerns ranging from overcrowding existing schools, to deterioration in school quality, to burdens on city services such as fire and safety departments.

Plano resident Mark Myers said he was concerned about the quality of mixed-use projects that could be allowed through the plan.

“It is crucial to build a high quality project,” he said, adding that multifamily and high-density housing options are likely to strain education and health care resources in Plano.

Resident Jeff Beckley said having the opportunity to choose an apartment at the beginning of his and his wife’s career was what drew the couple to live in, invest in and continue to contribute to the city.

“Back in late 1980s we sought to start our life together. We found affordable housing in an apartment,” Beckley said. “If we hadn’t had access to apartments when we started out, we wouldn’t be in Plano today.”

Beckley said the plan creates opportunities for the next generation of Plano residents to continue to live in the city and thrive.

Plano resident Robert Miller said a community needs diverse housing options and that apartments should not be taken out of the Plano Tomorrow plan. Looking at individual zoning ordinances in neighborhoods and participating in those meetings and hearings will make a difference, he said.

“The way you fight apartments is you stay informed about what the zoning is, what are the changes proposed and you find something that you don’t like, you come here and you complain about it,” Miller said.