Big decisions made in 2015

• Plano Tomorrow plan approval Council approved the city’s third comprehensive plan in October. The Plano Tomorrow plan provides a framework for the city’s development during the next 20 to 30 years. The plan is also a guide that city officials will follow when making decisions about land use, infrastructure, housing and transportation.
• Incentive agreements Council approved economic incentive packages with companies including Liberty Mutual Insurance, Capital One, Pizza Hut and Cinemark Holdings totaling $410 million in land and infrastructure improvements. Nearly 5,000 new jobs were added in fiscal year 2014-15.
• Tax rate unchanged Council approved a $496 million budget for fiscal year 2015-16 in September. The budget was about $29 million more than the previous year, and the city’s property tax rate remained steady at 48.86 cents per $100 of valuation.
• Rezoning signage and notice changes City Council approved an ordinance in May to mandate developers to post notice signs for rezoning requests on the property at least 28 days prior to a planning and zoning commission hearing and 14 days before a City Council hearing. The city also expanded its area of coverage for courtesy notices to residents living within 500 feet of the property proposed for redevelopment. State law requires the city to notify residents within a 200-foot radius of the property.
• Oak Point Nature and Retreat Center opening The city’s new $5.5 million nature and retreat center opened to the public Oct. 8 at 5901 Los Rios Blvd. The parks and recreation department moved into the new center from its previous location in Municipal Center South in mid-July. The facility, which connects to the trails at Oak Point Nature Preserve, includes a visitors center and office space.
• New special projects manager The city hired Peter Braster in November to replace Phyllis Jarrell, who will retire in April after 31 years with the city. Jarrell was involved in major corporate headquarter developments like Legacy Town Center. 

Top issues for 2016

• Employment center growth City Council will focus on strengthening the city as it continues to evolve into a major employment center in the North Texas region. This includes preparing for completion of projects like Legacy West, which is expected to bring approximately 12,000 jobs to Plano by 2017.
• Improving infrastructure The city will continue to upgrade its infrastructure in order to spur further development projects and meet the mobility needs of the city and region.
• Regional discussions Council plans to continue dialogues with neighboring cities on topics such as water and transportation.
• Redevelopment efforts Consider commercial redevelopment opportunities throughout the city and continue to support city-sponsored neighborhood revitalization programs in order to provide more viable housing options to accommodate growth.

Meetings

The council meets at 6 p.m. for its preliminary meeting and reconvenes at 7 p.m. for its regular meeting the second and fourth Monday of each month at the Plano Municipal Center, 1520 K Ave., Plano. 972-941-7000 www.plano.gov

Terms and compensation

The mayor and council members serve four-year terms without compensation and are limited to no more than two consecutive terms.

Video coverage

Meetings are televised live on Plano TV—Time Warner Cable Channel 16 or Verizon Fios channels 30 and 31. Live webcasts are also available online at www.plano.gov.