Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parkland Dedication topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
McKinney staff propose downtown and citywide caps to curb outsized parkland fees
Summary
City staff presented options to cap parkland cash‑in‑lieu fees — two citywide caps ($400,000 and $300,000 per acre) and downtown caps aligned to the HNIZ ($300,000 or $200,000 per acre) — and council signaled a preference for a downtown‑focused cap to address downtown infill inequities.
McKinney staff on July 21 presented options to limit how the city calculates cash‑in‑lieu parkland fees, telling council that steep land appraisals for downtown infill have produced per‑unit charges far higher than other parts of the city.
"We put together two proposed citywide cap amounts for your consideration," said Dakota Crier, parks construction project coordinator, who explained a $400,000 per‑acre cap would have reduced fees in the sampled period by about 3%, while a $300,000 cap would have cut roughly $1,500,000 (about 15%) from the same sample. Crier noted staff recommended aligning any downtown cap with the Historic Neighborhood Improvement Zone (HNIZ) because it is an existing zone with defined boundaries.
Councilors described the problem as downtown appraisal anomalies driven by small infill parcels that carry utilities and higher certified CCAD values compared with greenfield sites. One councilor said the downtown per‑unit fees can reach "$14,000, $20,000" for some infill lots. Several members said they favored the downtown cap option to bring downtown charges more in line with the rest of McKinney; staff said council could also adopt a combination of citywide and downtown caps and could choose different cap amounts than the ones presented.
The presentation referenced historic collections: "Since 2023, the city's collected over $29,000,000 in parkland dedication and park development fees," staff noted. Staff requested council direction on whether to pursue a citywide cap, a downtown cap, a combination, or no change; council discussion leaned toward a downtown cap and asked staff to return with refined recommendations and potential ordinance language.
Next steps: staff will refine the options based on council feedback and return with more analysis at a future work session before any ordinance change is proposed.
