Dallas City Council

Mendelsohn: Lower Tax Rate is a Farce, Property Owners Will Be Writing Bigger Checks

By April Towery / September 19, 2024 /

Dallas property owners got a little relief Wednesday as the City Council approved the largest tax reduction in recent history along with a $4.97 billion city budget.  But Far North Dallas Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn wasn’t giving hugs or high-fives at the horseshoe. Shortly before the budget and tax rate were adopted, Mendelsohn introduced an amendment…

Resident Volunteers Wrote the ForwardDallas Housing Component, and No One Gives a CLUP

By April Towery / September 16, 2024 /

Occasionally when someone brings up the “socialist city planners” who secretly crafted Dallas’ comprehensive land use plan update over witch’s brew, I’m reminded of something Nathaniel Barrett told me in August 2023.  A 15-member panel of volunteers, the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Committee (CLUP), actually had significant input in drafting the ForwardDallas 2.0 plan as…

We’ve Got the Memo Outlining Dallas Councilman’s Compromises on ForwardDallas 2.0

By April Towery / September 11, 2024 /

Seven long days have passed without in-depth reporting on the much-debated ForwardDallas 2.0 land use plan, but don’t worry. We’ll say it again for those in the back — Dallas City Councilman Paul Ridley helped reach some important compromises with single-family home advocates last week, and now it’s headed to Council. CandysDirt.com was the first…

Are There 8 Votes to Push ForwardDallas to the Finish Line? Here’s What Your Council Member Has to Say

By April Towery / September 2, 2024 /

Elected and appointed officials have spent years working on ForwardDallas 2.0, an update of the city’s comprehensive land use plan. Residents in each of Dallas’ geographic districts have gotten savvy to the technical aspects of the document and lobbied for their causes at town halls and City Plan Commission meetings. Is the rubber about to…

Lip Service or Straight Talk? City Council Debates ForwardDallas With No Progress

By April Towery / August 28, 2024 /

Not much was accomplished in Tuesday’s Economic Development Committee meeting, but good questions were asked and dramatic sound bites abound for the City’s controversial ForwardDallas 2.0. Dallas City Council members on the Economic Development Committee discussed the proposed comprehensive land use plan — and if, or how it will affect existing single-family neighborhoods. The accusations went…