City presents community feedback on three closed PISD campuses; residents favor parkland

City staff presented findings from a community outreach effort on three former Plano ISD campuses the city is considering buying, saying residents overwhelmingly favored parkland and other public uses over housing.

Curtis Howard, director of neighborhood services, told council the outreach included six listening sessions, yard signs, more than 1,250 mailers and social media outreach. Howard said 354 residents attended the six sessions and 282 attended the three meetings focused on Davis Elementary. He said roughly 85% of respondents for Davis supported park uses; suggestions included a dog park, community garden, recreation center and senior center. Howard emphasized the city has not purchased the properties yet and no council decisions have been made.

Howard reported similar sentiment at Armstrong Middle School meetings, where about 63% of attendees preferred parkland or other community uses. On the Foreman site, he said residents supported locating Fire Station No. 3 and asked staff to solicit input about the remaining portion of that parcel after fire station planning is complete.

Howard said the outreach materials included poster boards where residents could place dots indicating preferences, and described staff efforts to reach neighborhoods at various times and locations. He said staff will return to council in a future meeting to seek direction once the city’s purchase process and community input are further analyzed.

The presentation was informational only; staff said they were not seeking direction at the meeting.