Plano City Council heard a detailed briefing on stream‑bank stabilization and a proposed funding approach after staff completed a citywide erosion study covering 127 miles of streams.

Caleb (staff member leading the presentation) said the assessment identified approximately 3,000 locations with erosion; staff attributed 70% of those locations to city responsibility, 24% to private property (residential and commercial) and 6% to homeowners associations. The city created a risk score for each location: 0–20 (critical), 21–40 (high), 41–60 (medium), and 61–100 (low to very low). About 1% of locations fell into the critical 0–20 band, and the majority clustered in the 61–80 range.

Cost and funding proposal: Staff estimated the construction cost for the sites classified as critical at about $10.3 million. To address those critical projects within roughly 2–3 years, staff said the city would need approximately $3,000,000 per year, which equates to roughly a 30% increase in the city’s drainage fee (the last fee change was in November 2020 and the current average drainage fee cited was $5.40).

Engineering approach and timeline: Caleb said the primary repair method for steep banks would be gabion walls or gabion mattresses, with examples shown to the council of recent gabion projects costing about $1,000,000 and $1,600,000 for long, high walls. Staff said expected service life for properly installed gabion structures is roughly 30 years but noted maintenance and early repairs could extend useful life.

Private property, plat language and cost sharing: Staff and council discussed legal and practical constraints for work on private parcels, including existing plat language assigning maintenance responsibility to property owners or HOAs. Caleb said the city has discussed options with legal staff, including potential plat revisions, maintenance easements, cost sharing and case‑by‑case treatments. Several public commenters from neighborhoods with creek‑edge lots urged the council to treat stream banks as core city infrastructure and to adopt a citywide maintenance policy rather than relying on HOAs.

Public commenters and neighborhood impacts: Brent Emke, president of the Hills of Indian Creek HOA, told the council that his HOA’s 122 homes — only 20 of which border the creek — cannot feasibly levy the special assessments required under their covenants to pay for large creek repairs, and asked the city to assume responsibility. John Zirin, the HOA treasurer, and Nancy Markham, a local realtor and creek‑lot owner, said erosion is accelerating due to upstream development and that the liability and property‑value risk falls unfairly on a small number of homeowners. Joey (public commenter from the Estates of Wooded Cove) described two eroding sites in his neighborhood and noted that upstream drainage from adjacent parcels and school parking lots appears to increase flow and velocity in local channels.

Next steps: Staff said they will incorporate council feedback, work with the budget office to model drainage fee impacts, return with a recommendation in September and include design contracts and phased construction thereafter. Staff also plans to re‑walk streams in 2027 (about five years after the initial study) to measure erosion rates and update priorities.

Quotes: “We walked all 127 miles…we identified 3,000 locations that had erosion occurring,” Caleb said. Brent Emke told the council, “These creeks aren't just natural features. They're an essential part of Plano's stormwater infrastructure.”

What the council did: The briefing generated questions and public comment; council did not adopt funding at the meeting and asked staff to return with a funding proposal this fall.