PLANO (1080 KRLD) - Members of the Plano Planning and Zoning Commission and the Plano City Council held a joint meeting Monday night to discuss repealing the Plano Tomorrow comprehensive development plan and replacing it with the zoning rules that were in place before the plan was adopted in 2015.
Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission wanted more time to study the impact of that move and postponed any vote until their next meeting.
Some Plano residents have criticized the plan, saying it would allow too many high-density apartments in the city. There's a lawsuit over the plan. Representatives from the City of Plano had attended a mediation session in that case earlier this month. Monday night's meeting was set to allow the Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission to "repeal and replace" the plan.
"I don't think I have enough information and haven't had the opportunity to review everything that's being proposed," said Planning and Zoning Commissioner David Downs. "I have issues with trying to make a decision tonight on this topic."
Some members of the City Council agreed that the issue needed further study. "There is a significant amount of confusion, misunderstanding and apprehension about what has happened, what is happening...and what it all means going forward," said Council Member Shelby Williams.
Mayor Pro Tem Rick Smith noted that any move to revert to the city's pre-2105 zoning policies should only be temporary. "I don't think there's any intention that that would be the plan forever," he said. "What we would want to do beyond that would be to put together a citizens commission to actually take charge of the responsibility of putting together a a new plan that would be a citizen-centric plan."
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted to allow city staffers to put together more information for their review and to take up the issue at their August 19th meeting.
Members of the Council hope the issue can be resolved soon. The dispute, said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Anthony Ricciardelli, has not been good for the city.
"We are approximately $400,000 and three and a half years into litigation," he said. "More than the time and the financial cost, I think we have borne a cost as a community."
