City Secretary Lisa Henderson told Plano City Council members tonight petitions calling for a public vote on the Plano Tomorrow Plan are “insufficent” to move forward.
“The petition is insufficient to present to the City Council because it requests a vote on an ordinance that is not subject to the referendum provision in section 7.03 of the Plano City Charter,” said Henderson.
Andy Taylor, the City’s outside legal counsel who specializes in election litigation said, “The petitioners have chosen a legal path to challenge this plan that is not available under state law. The Council couldn’t call an election even if they wanted to. This isn’t a political choice. We have to do what the law requires.” The City informed the public that the issue was precluded by state law prior to the petition drive.
460 pages of petitions were filed with the City Secretary on November 10.
Plano Tomorrow Plan
The Plano Tomorrow plan, “a long-range plan guiding the future growth, development, and redevelopment of the city,” was approved with Plano City Council on October 13, 2015. The Plano City Council voted 6-2 in favor.
The following is a very brief summary of the Plano Tomorrow plan curated from the Plano Tomorrow website. For a more complete overview of the plan, please visit planotomorrow.org.
Plano Tomorrow is a long-range guide to the city’s future over the next 20 years. It is a key long-range guide for the future growth, development and redevelopment of our city. It is not binding. It is only a plan, a set of guidelines for the future. Plano Tomorrow is indeed comprehensive. It has 41 policies, 274 action statements, 10 key components and 5 supplementary maps.
The Plano Tomorrow plan provides policy and direction in terms of land use, transportation, housing, and other important aspects of a city and is envisioned to cover a long-term time horizon. The established policies and actions of the Plano Tomorrow plan provide a framework which individuals, businesses, and public officials can use to make decisions that are consistent with the community’s vision for the future.
Please click here to read more about the Plano Tomorrow Plan.
