“This is a plan of compromise,” Mayor John Muns said. “It is time to move forward.”
The plan is a long-term guide for the city that focuses on future growth, priorities, services and development in Plano, according to the city’s website. City officials have been following guidelines from the interim comprehensive plan that was approved in 1986.
Once called the Plano Tomorrow Plan, the guide was voted down by council last year after residents voiced concerns that it was too focused on development and increased density.
Council then mandated the formation of the 16-member Plano Comprehensive Plan Review Committee, charged with making revisions to the Plano Tomorrow Plan.
As a result, more detail was added in areas related to land use, density, transportation and growth management, according to city documents.
After a year and a half of work, the plan was approved by the committee and the Planning and Zoning Commission in recent months.
It was presented for review through an online survey, and a public town hall meeting was held Oct. 14 to answer questions about the plan.
Plano resident Steve Lavine said the plan is not perfect but is a step in the right direction.
“It certainly does not include everything I thought it should include,” he said during public comments. “But it is a great set of guidelines that we needed.”
Muns said the changing demand for office and retail space is one example of why the city must have a flexible plan moving forward.
“That’s why you have to say, ‘Let’s make sure we plan and do it right, but then be able to adapt,’” he said. “We finally have a plan that we can work with, but let’s not assume that we are going to be too rigid about what we are doing. We need to make sure it benefits the city.”
Muns said the plan can always be amended down the line.
“It was always intended to be looked at every five years,” Muns said. “We just want to make sure that we’re giving the city and future [City Councils] ... the flexibility to make decisions on what the market demands.”
The entire plan can be viewed at www.planocompplan.org
