Sunday, December 8, 2024

Good evening:

A majority of Dallas City Council members want to continue the years-long effort to sell public sidewalk space for digital advertising boards that could generate an estimated $20,000 each annually.

All told, it would be a small fraction of the property tax revenues generated back into City coffers via developments led by some of the biggest opponents of the plan.

“There is no room for these digital kiosks in the core of our Downtown or in Uptown or in Deep Ellum or in Lower Greenville,” Shawn Todd, Chairman and Founder of Todd Interests, told City Council members on Wednesday. “So to my context and from my constituency — the people that live Downtown, that office Downtown, that go to restaurants Downtown, that go to hotels Downtown — this is something not wanted and not needed.”

Todd Interests is behind transformative Downtown projects including The National, the former Post Office building at 400 North Ervay, the East Quarter neighborhood, and Energy Plaza (now known as The Sinclair). Todd joined other major developers and civic leaders who signed a new letter of opposition last week calling for City Council members to table the discussion on new sidewalk advertising for at least a few years.

City Council members were mostly undeterred (only Council members Paul E. Ridley and Cara Mendelsohn have said they are totally opposed). Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert is expected to move ahead with a new Request For Proposals (RFP) for a digital kiosk vendor. Tolbert noted under questioning that her staff is not advocating for the kiosks but is deferring to City Council guidance.

A previous RFP was canceled after city officials acknowledged a lack of public input on the plan. A proposed contract with a recommended vendor is expected to come back to City Council for approval some time next year.

Read on for more on:

• A City Council vote on a big piece of the 2026 FIFA World Cup for Downtown.

• When Council members will discuss the latest on the search for a permanent city manager.

• How DART is preparing its system for the future.

• “Gondola-like pods” that could one day help you get around town.  

⚡ Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings of Interest:

— “City Hall must listen,” Mayor Eric Johnson said in his annual State of the City address, one day after City Council members voted twice not to hear from Downtown area stakeholders who signed up to speak against selling public sidewalk space for digital advertising.

— Members of a City Council committee endorsed plans for Downtown’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup International Broadcast Center (IBC), NBC 5 reports. A City Council vote on the agreement, which includes up to $15 million in capital improvements, is set for this Wednesday.

— City Plan Commissioners recommended a one-year Specific Use Permit (SUP) for Club Vivo at the southwest corner of North Harwood Street and Pacific Avenue. CPC previously recommended the permit be denied, but City Council members later voted to send the matter back to CPC for another look. The club owner is attorney Kevin Kelley, who also owns the nearby Kitchen + Kocktails. The matter now heads back to City Council.

— Discussion of a proposal to eliminate some parking mandates tied to developments will continue at City Plan Commission next month, following a public hearing on the matter on Thursday. Read more from The Dallas Morning News.

Thanks to DDI's Nikia Summerlin, Urban Planning Manager, for monitoring hours of meetings every week and contributing to these summaries.

Email Nikia

📝 Memos of Interest:

— The latest breakdown of how those sweet federal pandemic relief dollars are being allocated and spent can be found here.

— Check out all City Manager Memos here.

Meetings of Interest:

Dec. 9 - 13

Watch City of Dallas Meetings Live

Monday, December 9

City Council Workforce, Education, and Equity Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— This agenda includes briefings on closing disparities across services within City departments and upskilling Dallas security officers on career paths to become Dallas police officers or marshals.

City Council Public Safety Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Overall violent crime in Dallas is down by nearly 9%, according to DPD, but business robberies are up by nearly 8%. Read more.

— This briefing highlights various Dallas crisis response initiatives, including a forthcoming pilot behavioral health desk to better identify when people calling 911 need mental health assistance.

— There is a national mental health crisis among police officers and firefighters. Both the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue have found innovative ways to address the psychological needs of our officers and firefighters. Read more.

— We’ll see what committee members think about Uber Eats delivery robots rolling through Downtown. The Dallas Morning News editorial board says it hopes “the City Council will do as much as it can to ensure our new friends don’t become a burden on the city’s already subpar sidewalks.”

Tuesday, December 10

City Council Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— The Dallas Housing Policy 2033 action plans prioritize equitable development and housing affordability through targeted initiatives, including transit-oriented development, affordable housing preservation, and leveraging city-owned land. Read more in this briefing and this more detailed report.

— How does the Dallas Area Median Income compare to that of other cities in the region? Find answers to that and other recent City Council member questions in this memo.

City Council Government Performance and Financial Management Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— The above table documents costs for a City delegation trip to study high-speed rail in Japan last month. The trip included four City Council members and five staffers. Read more.

— A Downtown City-owned former family homeless shelter building recently auctioned off is expected to be demolished next month, according to this memo.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Committee-of-the-Whole, 2 p.m., DART Conference Room C - 1st Floor, DART HQ, 1401 Pacific Ave.; Watch Live Here

— DART Transform is the agency’s 10-year system modernization program, as detailed in this briefing.

— Agency leaders will also provide updates on ongoing talks with service area cities on key priorities and resolutions passed by some cities advocating for lowering DART sales tax contributions. The City of Dallas does not support cutting the voter-approved tax rate.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors’ Meeting, 6 p.m., Board Room, DART HQ, 1401 Pacific Ave.; Watch Live Here

Wednesday, December 11

Dallas City Council Meeting, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Item 27 is an ordinance granting a private license for installation of 10 new street lights, landscaping and irrigation surrounding the new Dallas County parking garage at 700 Jackson Street.

— Item 51 is a proposed $49 million City subsidy for the $103 million West End Lofts project, a mixed-use, mixed-income, and transit-oriented development at 805 Elm Street, 711 Elm Street, and 211 N. Austin Street. DDI’s Evan Sheets told CBS 11 last week that DDI backs the project. Read more in this briefing.

— Item 53 would add vaping to the City’s existing ban on smoking in public spaces. The ban has been in the works for well over a year. Read more in this memo.

— Item 66 is an eight-month use agreement to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup International Broadcast Center (IBC) at our Downtown convention center. The agreement includes up to $15 million in capital improvements. A press conference announcing Dallas as the IBC host is also scheduled for Wednesday in the City Hall Flag Room.

— Item 68 would make it easier for City Council members to use public money to travel to Austin and Washington, D.C. The proposal is being pushed by five City Council members.

— Item 73 is the proposed reappointments of DFW Airport Board members DeMetris Sampson, Mario Quintanilla, and Ben Leal.

— Item 76 is consideration of $248,000 in City funds for Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT). The vote comes amid ongoing controversy over the DBDT decision to fire and replace its dancers in August. This memo outlines a possible path forward while the City awaits a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board.

Thursday, December 12

City Council Ad Hoc Administrative Affairs Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Committee members are expected to discuss “the finalizing of the Dallas City Manager search,” which is down to four candidates, including interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert.

Dallas Park & Recreation Board, 10 a.m., 6FN Conference Room, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

Regional Transportation Council, 1 p.m., Transportation Council Room, North Central Texas Council of Governments, 616 Six Flags Drive, Arlington

— This agenda includes conversation about “gondola-like pods” that could one day dangle over Dallas and other cities in the region.  

Did we miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings? Let me know.

Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here.Have a great week.

Best,

Scott Goldstein

Communications & Government Relations Consultant

Downtown Dallas, Inc.