City council approves controversial Plano Tomorrow plan

PLANO - In spite of the opposition, Plano city council members approved a master plan for the future.

The plan called Plano Tomorrow is supposed to guide development in the Plano for the next 20 years, particularly when it comes to revitalizing older parts of the city.

The opposition came over ideas for high density housing, meaning townhomes and apartment complexes. The critics fear it will lead to crowded schools and hurt the city’s suburban feel.

But Plano Mayor Harry Larosiliere said doesn’t believe the character of the city will change. The plan does state that single-family homes are preferred.

“This plan is over two years in the making and over that time we listened to over 4,000 citizens that provided their input. So this is really a broad plan that we took a lot of input from and we set a vision for our city,” he said.

Larosiliere also said there’s not much land left to build on in the city so careful planning is important.

 “We’re going to be very judicious and prudent in terms of the right mix of housing, office, retail, etc.,” he said.