Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/AddisonTX/comments/1tfgyz4/the_princeton_development_pivots_to_mixed_use/

Their first request was denied 7-0, this time it was denied 5-2.

Reasons P&Z Members Gave for Denial

• Against rentals
• Pro office
• Other
  • Potential shadow issues due to height and courtyard width
  • Improves pedestrian connectivity, but not enough
  • Removes more trees than it replants
  • Greenspace is too small

Reasons the Developers Gave to Encourage Approval

• They have worked with P&Z and staff for 2 years and did the following as requested:
  • Added ownership and office components
  • Held a community meeting and addressed feedback
  • Worked with surrounding property owners to fix sidewalk gaps
  • Created and presented a shadow map
  • Increased open space and trees saved
  • Got Green Building bronze standard
  • Made 3% of parking spots have EV chargers
  • Added public art
• Other reasons
  • Property is not near any single family houses
  • This office has no tenants, has asbestos and large maintenance issues
  • Surrounding offices have higher vacancy than DFW average

Votes

• Denial - 5
  • Alan Then (appointed by Howard Freed*)
  • Chelsey Smith (appointed by Bruce Arfsten)
  • Jimmy Barker (appointed by Marlin Willesen)
  • Denise Fansler (appointed by Darren Gardner)
  • Dave Collins (appointed by Randy Smith)
• Against denial - 2
  • Tyler Wright (appointed by Chris DeFrancisco)
  • EJ Copeland (appointed by Dan Liscio)

*Howard Freed was not reelected, but his P&Z appointment still remains until they are reappointed later this year.

Video link: https://addisontx.new.swagit.com/videos/388459

Layout to help visualize:

https://preview.redd.it/flplirlnyc2h1.png?width=1946&format=png&auto=webp&s=e7a452158455789468d448ed48a84bbd44eaa613

The Arapaho Center Station redevelopment in Richardson is on hold due to unfavorable market conditions and high capital costs. The city, anticipating budget cuts and potential restrictions on economic development funding, will not pursue the project further until market conditions improve.

Last month, two city council members said the city's survey about City Hall didn't match the draft questions that were submitted. 
So we've created a survey with those original questions.

From article:

"Last month the U.S. Census delivered a shock to North Texans accustomed to celebrating the region’s growth: Dallas County is now shrinking.

Based on current trends, Dallas County is likely to lose population between 2020 and 2030, making this decade the first 10-year period of demographic decline since the Civil War. If the county stays on this trajectory, North Texas will face economic headwinds similar to those of other metro areas which have suffered population losses – places like Cleveland, Detroit and St. Louis. 

This isn’t a new trend for Dallas proper. The city’s population has been declining since 2018. What’s new is that the decline is county-wide. The hole in the donut is growing. Addressing quality-of-life and affordability challenges that are pushing people away should become an urgent priority for North Texas leaders.

Today, America’s most successful core cities are growing by outcompeting suburbs as fun places to live more than they are by sustaining traditional job centers. This explains why Manhattan, with America’s best portfolio of restaurants, stores and arts institutions, is doing much better in population and economic terms than most other cities in the low-growth Northeast and Midwest.  

But Dallas County hasn’t been great at building walkable urban neighborhoods appealing to city lovers, with the possible exception of Uptown. In recent years, Dallas has also lost much of its affordability edge relative to other cities.

The good news is that Dallas is better positioned than most cities to reverse these trends. Inflows into the wider region remain strong, and Dallas County has abundant land available for new housing. 

Attracting people starts with getting the urban basics right, like public safety and schools. Dallas is making progress on both fronts. Crime rates are mostly declining, and Dallas has done better than most cities at addressing its homelessness challenges. Traditional public as well as charter schools are performing better than in most other core Texas counties."

If you’re unfamiliar with “urbanism,” it's how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. Positive urbanism inherently supports public transit and mixed use zoning, with an emphasis on making it easier to do everyday errands without needing a vehicle.

As a native Dallasite, I’ve noticed that there is quite a lack of this kind of infrastructure outside of very few places, which is crazy given the population size.

This doesn't apply to just DFW, but I’m working on a campaign to get local officials involved in supporting this kind of legislation forward. One small step in that is furthering the Build More Housing Near Transit Act. August is coming up, and if you want to get more involved in local politics, this is a great starting point.

Check out DATA to support DART - https://dallasareatransitalliance.org/

Thought this was a pretty good video of the Henderson Ave side of Knox-Henderson with shots of the new development going up.

You’ve probably seen the headlines, the “Save Dallas City Hall Coalition” just filed a 60 day legal notice threatening to sue the City of Dallas if it doesn’t repair the building. They present themselves as standing up for Dallas residents and Dallas taxpayers.

So I did some digging into who’s actually behind it.
The coalition’s public spokesperson and lead attorney is Chris Bowers. His Texas State Bar address is in Plano. He works for The Suster Law Group, a firm that multiple legal directories describe as “based in Plano, Texas” and that represents suburban developers in land use and zoning matters. He’s classified as a Collin County attorney.

Attorney #2 on the letterhead is Robert Miklos. His previous firm was in Farmers Branch. His current firm has offices in Plano. His Avvo directory profile zip code? 75093, Plano again.

Attorney #3 is Michael Northrup, whose firm Cowles & Thompson openly states it has “offices in Dallas and Plano, Texas.”

Attorney #4 is Sol Villasana is the one legitimate exception. Lives in Dallas and works downtown. He’s the only real Dallasite in the group.

So 3 of 4 attorneys threatening to sue the City of Dallas over Dallas land using Dallas taxpayer money as leverage are professionally rooted in Plano, a city that’s literally trying to leave DART right now and has been competing with Dallas for corporate HQs for 30 years and now sport franchises I guess?

Meanwhile, Bowers’s own firm’s website says it “represents developers and other property owners.” The guy leading the charge to freeze Dallas’s biggest downtown redevelopment opportunity in a generation is a suburban developer’s attorney who doesn’t pay Dallas property taxes and doesn’t vote in Dallas elections.

Make of that what you will, but this lawsuit threat is starting to stink and the Save City Hall crowd is starting to look more and more like pawns.

Last week, we reported that 418 concepts were submitted for City Hall and the surrounding city-owned properties. Today, the city uploaded them. We're reading through them now, but I'm also curious to see what everyone else notices. Let me know!

A nonprofit aimed at preserving Dallas City Hall has put city officials on notice: Take care of the building, or face the consequences.