PUBLIC DRAFT - MAY 2025 Comprehensive Plan

Please be specific and define what is an ADU according to size, and would be allowed or not allowed for use based on this statement: "These properties (referring to East Addison) are more likely to accommodate the construction of accessory dwelling units or modifications to the main home to include additional living spaces" Would this open the door for commercial uses of a private home? Subdividing a private property for rental income? Would such an approach permit commercial businesses operating Group Homes or Dorms or SROs in a residential living neighborhood?

Please define what are considered "home based businesses" and what is allowed in a residential home in accordance with Homestead laws, and both Federal and state tax rules. Would local business registration or permitting be required?

Please cite methodology and source.

Please make sure to cite methodology and sources used for this analysis. It's pretty generic and does not take into account a number of factors used to compare and analyze project investments.

Please cite the who conducted this analysis, along with the methodology and data sources used. It is also unclear what data sets were used to determine cost and how it was measured, along with how results were calculated/assessed. There also should be clarity regarding actual $ value ranges defining what is High, Mid, Low for each category type. Documentation and supporting information should be made publicly available given specific examples being used.

In the last year alone we have seen a huge increase in homelessness in Addison circle park. As a young adult I’ve lived here for 10 years and an avid dog walker for our peaceful, safe parks, no matter the time of day. The Dart is inviting unwelcome homeless who are making our daily park walks uncomfortable. I don’t think public safety in relation to the Dart is being taken seriously for Addison circle park. Will only get worse if it’s not addressed and planned for now.

Who is the source and what specific methodology is cited for this "fiscal analysis"? How is it applicable or relevant to Addison? Who actually conducted the analysis, and why is their work not properly cited? Why is the methodology purposely excluding the Airport (which generates revenue even if it is not taxable)? Such a critical omission distorts Addison's true economic picture. Moreover, area acreage is considered financially productive if it generates a large "economic impact" and return on assets - whether it is directly property taxable (levied) or not. Most public or tax-exempt assets should never be omitted from land use fiscal analysis - think Universities (large land mass and diverse real estate holdings), Hospitals, Stadiums, Convention Centers, and the like. Also, assets are tax-exempt based on exempted use and not on whether the owner may be exempt. Another important consideration in methodology is that commercial property tax valuations are based on an estimated "income approach", that is, Commercial property value = NOI/cap rate. So your real estate mix and the type of investment made is equally important. There should be greater transparency on the source and the methodology of the analysis being relied upon. Please make sure to provide access to data and the complete study.

Perhaps unrelated but can the council please explore the possibility of a parking ordinance? There is currently multiple cars in the Spectrum corridor where they have not moved in 6+ months. Officers have said there’s nothing they can do because the cars appear in tact. Meanwhile I’m forced to park in an office garage more than a block away where there’s known car break-ins, all because the cops hands are tied & nothing can be done about these abandoned cars utilizing highly demanded resident parking.

This is great, however, I feel the town can’t handle what’s even currently on their plate. I’ve lived here in the Circle nearly 10 yrs and it seems I’m the only one who speaks up about even the simplest things. For example, I’ve had to submit Addison FixIt app requests far too often about my street lights not being on at night; I’ve had to call the police about car break-ins that are happening before my eyes as I’m out walking my dog. I would like to think it’s not that difficult to ensure the street lights are on & working at 10pm at night in a high densely populated area. As a female, avid dog walker, these safety issues are a major concern.

Thank you for this overall great plan. I would like to see less stringent regulations on housing development in general, though. Supply and Demand will do their job. More density and more walkability is economically viable. Please consider removing parking minimums and consider allowing property owners to build what they want on their property. Even if the means a homeowner in a zone for single-family housing wants to renovate their house into a duplex, or make a mother-in-law suite in their backyard. I also want to encourage Addison to focus on longer, high-quality pedestrian and cycling infrastructure between Village on the Parkway, Addison Circle, and Virtuvian Park. Thank you for all your work!

I would love to see these in Addison Circle!!!

Quorum through Addison Circle could use narrow lanes. Not only to reduce speeds far more efficiently than just lowering the speed limit, but also to give more room for pedestrians and cyclists!

I really appreciate how in this design, the bike lane is actually separated from car traffic. It would be great if some sort of physical barrier besides paint were made to protect cyclists and drivers on the Quorum Addison Circle Bike Lanes.

I really think that Addison needs to invest more in larger non-car-centric connectivity. Addison has great walkable areas that are nearby each other, but are realistically unreachable without a car. Take, for instance, anyone in Addison Circle who wants to get to the Village on the Parkway. A Walk/Bike is technically feasible but extremely undesirable. Crossing Belt-Line and the DNT is horrible. If Addison spent the time and money improving the pedestrian and cycling access between its walkable areas, it would help them all thrive! Another example of this is the area between the Addison/Keller Springs Apartment Complex and the rest of Addison Circle, Addison Circle to Addison Walk, and Addison Circle to Vitruvian Park.

There is WAY too much parking in this area. I would love to see Addison consider significantly reducing or eliminating parking minimums.

Another key factor here that was not mentioned is that building more apartment units is the best way to help the housing crisis. DFW has the highest average rent price of all the Texas Metros. If we want to help homeless people, the best thing we can do is build more apartment units.

Addison did a land swap on the East side of Addison with the City of Dallas around 1980 or so. Wouldn't the shape of the map (outline and the actual borders) have been different prior to when the annexation and land exchange occurred? I cannot see the detail, but judging from the outline of the Town all years look the same.

This reference is taken out of context and does not apply to Addison history. The Court award in 1979 was for real estate that has never been located in Addison - the specific 1884 Church land site was adjacent to where the White Rock Cemetery Garden of Memories is located. Ironically, once the Court awarded the land that had been the subject of the lawsuit that led to the Supreme Court case it was immediately sold for a large undisclosed sum by the Church and title conveyed by White Rock Chapel Board to a developer. [See "On Hallowed Ground", D Magazine, David Dillon, 2/1/80; In addition you can find the original Deed of Sale of White Rock Chapel to Murray Property Company though Dallas County Records, see link

"Responses" is misspelled.

"Responses" is misspelled.

Many areas in Addison face infrastructure challenges. I support reinvestment, but recommend a “basics first” approach:

Prioritize street, drainage, water, and utility upgrades before aesthetic or mobility experiments

Conduct infrastructure needs assessments tied directly to growth zones identified in the Place Types Map

As someone who moved here from NYC, I know how bad it can get when law enforcement is not prioritized. I urge the Town to include:

A commitment to sustain or increase law enforcement staffing and resources in proportion to new development

A strategy for community policing that supports both traditional enforcement and proactive presence

Specific metrics or performance indicators to help track the relationship between growth and safety

I strongly support making Addison Circle’s design, aesthetic standards, and mixed-use balance a formal benchmark in planning and zoning decisions. To reinforce this, we should:

Codify Addison Circle-inspired development standards for new “Urban Village” areas

Require architectural and connectivity guidelines that emulate its human-scale layout

Prioritize similar redevelopment in areas currently marked for transformation

I appreciate all of the enthusiastic young Strong Towns and DART advocates who have heavily influenced this document with their comments. It would be interesting to see how long people who have commented have lived in Addison or will still be living here in five years. You may quote experts - but to me - the real life Addison experts are the senior demographic. Our seniors have lived through many social experiments and have seen a lot in their lives whether they have lived in Addison or not. Sadly, many of our wise seniors have no idea how to work this commenting thing - so the bias will naturally be towards those more technology proficient. I hope those documenting will think about that and take in feedback from the Addison seniors that regularly meet at the AAC. With all things there are good and bad consequences. To act as if something is only wonderful without the consideration of possible impacts and to disrespect those who have concerns is not polite or prudent. Therefore as an Addison elder of two decades I will share my experience with walkable cities which has been good and bad. In my own experience - I came to Addison from Denver - and I lived in a suburb of Littleton/HR. We were so excited when the light rail came to Littleton. I rode it downtown many times by myself to see friends and go out. I took the bus to DIA. 16th Street Mall (a pedestrian only street with just bus service) was such a nice place with restaurants and stores. Then Denver changed. Fast forward to after COVID - my sister who had a successful business downtown Denver closed it because of all the homeless she had to fight off every day who wandered in to use her bathroom and there was not enough security for her garage or business to keep her customers safe. 16th Street Mall which was once a huge destination spot - is now rife with crime and murder (google it if you don't believe me). I would not take the bus or light rail again as the ridership has changed dramatically as society's issues have increased - as it has everywhere including Dallas where I used to take kids from the Carrollton station to the Texas State Fair - teaching them how to get tickets, etc. - until we had a few run ins with mentally unstable people. Yes, I love walkability. Yes, I miss the trail system I had in Colorado. Yes, I love reducing pollution. Yes, I love including all people. Yes, I have supported public transportation - but we have to understand that the world has changed post COVID with mental health issues and financial stress hitting all people - which we should not discriminate against - but we do need to protect and preserve the Addison quality of life which has made it a place people feel safe to live and work, which is attractive to businesses and makes our home values rise. We also do not want to stress out our police force and fire keeping the safe Addison we have known. I am from a big family. More people inherently means more issues - good and bad. Whether they are passing through to work/ visit or living here - the MOST important investment we can make is in our public safety (police and fire) - as well as protecting and monitoring our air and water quality. If Addison's goal is to add as many people as possible per square inch and then stress our 4 mile environment's health and safety with increased public transportation, increased airport traffic, and car traffic (as you will NOT remove the need for cars in our southern environment because professional people in Dallas don't want to come to a meeting with sweaty pits and fizzed out humidity hair) - you must listen to and consider the negative impacts to have balance. We don't know what the future holds but we can learn from the past and from the perspectives of all. This will be my last comment as all it does is invite rebuttals. I am just an individual who has called Addison home for 20 years and have no bias other than the worry about the current state of Addison with crime increasing and for residents and business owners current and future to have the safety they deserve. Thank you

This is key, only Uptown Dallas and Greenville and BIshop Arts, come to mind as desirable places in Dallas with walkability and experiences for pedestrians/cyclists. Six lanes for traffic are great if you want to make your commute shorter and your city to look ugly, but if you want a better overall experience as Addisonites more parks, walkable sidewalks, and restaurants with outdoor seating is the future

Unique/ interesting bars/restaurants are critical if Addison wants to remain vibrant. Most of the restaurants on beltline are boring/chain restaurants that are not exciting. We should push for interesting restaurants/coffee/bars (Loro comes to mind) to open in Addison if we want to encourage pedestrian/cycling populations. Who wants to go on a long walk/ride, and not have a spot to rest/gran a drink/snack?

**Reinvestment Incentives for Aging Homes -
Addison should add homeowner-targeted incentives such as permit rebates, phased tax assessments, or design overlay zones for residential rebuilds, improvements and upgrades.

Addison should provide greater transparency and accountability in how resident feedback is incorporated into land use decisions. Clarify how public comments impact policy.

Town should provide for increased resources for code enforcement in aging single-family neighborhoods, with programs to assist homeowners in revitalization. Specifically, single family homes that are rental units show much more neglect (visible from the exterior and driving by) than owner-occupied homes, with some exception since the town has many original homeowners who have not done many updates over the years.

Expand zoning and incentive programs to encourage fee-simple, owner-occupied homes rather than rental-heavy growth.

Provide tax incentives for existing single-family homes to be refreshed or rebuilt ex: 5 year property tax reduction.

Addison Town taxes are higher as a % of property value than many surrounding cities. Considering all the business property taxes paid, those single family homeowners who have invested in the town should not be paying more in property taxes than competing local cities.

All new development should be tied to rigorous traffic studies and proactive planning for infrastructure and emergency services.

Consider adding explicit protections for existing single-family zones to prevent encroachment from high-density multifamily development.

If the town is truly prioritizing people first, that includes all the employees in Addison restaurants who often travel from far-away suburbs because they cannot afford to live in Addison. Restaurants are the lifeblood of Addison, and these employees deserve affordable housing close to their workplaces. Consider coordinating with rental complexes to provide discounts/rent reductions to lower-paid employees of Addison businesses.

Will there be collaborations with the City of Dallas to improve certain streets and intersections? An example would be the intersection of Arapaho and Dallas Parkway. One side is Addison and the other is Dallas. This intersection desperately needs some improvement. The traffic lights are hanging in an odd way and should be replaced. This intersection needs some beautification since it’s the entrance to Addison Circle for many folks going down Arapaho and currently it’s an eye sore. I wonder if it’s possible to improve intersections like these where Addison shares a border with Dallas or Farmers Branch?

Overall - this is an excellent plan for Addison. I loved the sections on education - hopefully more residents will come to understand why we desperately need to improve on the car-centric designs this city has inherited from the past.

I'd like to see less city-level control over exactly what kind of developments can go where. We need to be flexible and open to constant renewal. Many types of businesses are compatible with residential areas like coffee shops, book stores, clothing stores, etc.

Great job! This is exactly the kind of plan I want my city leaders to hopefully execute in the near future!

Awesome outline, would love to see more of this type of traffic calming in Addison!

This area should definitely be in the Enhance/develop category. Let the economics drive the zoning and development decisions!

Love to see this strip highlighted as a target for retrofit. I live by this area and would love to see it developed into basically anything else. There's way too much paved surface and useless parking space that is never filled. Walking to these shops is outright dangerous. There's no space for pedestrians and lots of driveways right next to driveways. It could be so much better!

Loving this section! We need to do everything we can to get the word out: the suburban experiment has failed.

It might take a long time to finally get away from the death spiral of unsustainable land use, dangerous car-centric street design, and endless traffic/sprawl. But it all starts with education. Our children and grandchildren will thanks us!

Despite the airport being missing - awesome analysis! We need to use data and metrics like this to help roadmap future developments and priorities. We need to move away from car-centric developments that are literally holding us back, especially oversized parking lots and big-box retail. And we need to stop subsidizing the SFH lifestyles of older and wealthier residents. There's nothing wrong with a suburban neighborhood but it shouldn't be subsidized by all other residents! Our tax policy should make it so everyone pays their fair share

The airport and supporting properties need to be included in this analysis. It is land use like any other and we need to be honest about its cost in terms of land use and the opportunity to develop it into something more compatible with the urban core nearby. Good data drives good decisions.

Awesome list - these factors should continue to be the priority to ensure a healthy tax base and ensure the stability/growth of city services and amenities. There's a lot more to do to improve land use in Addison - but we already know the path forward!