- Keep residents safe by supporting our dedicated first responders.
- Get Plano moving with timely street repairs, traffic solutions and modernize our public mobility system.
- Ease the tax burden with careful budgeting and enhancements to the over 65 tax freeze.
- Encourage growth of both small and large business through fair incentives.
- Maintain excellent city services and preserve green space and parks throughout the city.
- Protect the rights of property owners through smart planning and zoning that considers infrastructure capacity, traffic studies, setbacks, screening, and noise regulations.
- Ensure safe water and air quality by overseeing independent testing.
To compare both Candidate’s answers to the issues, click here to read the Community Impact Questionnaires: Q&A: Meet the candidates running for Plano City Council Place 7 | Community Impact
Colleen Aguilar-Epstein
Occupation & Experience: Plano Board of Adjustment, Church Council Secretary, Strategic Long Range Planning Board, Board Member of La Paz
Candidate Website: https://colleenforplano.com
Why are you running for Plano City Council?
For over 30 years, my husband and I have raised our family here and built deep relationships. I’m eager to help shape decisions that strengthen Plano and keep it a place where companies call home, neighbors feel welcome, and families can put down roots and thrive.
What are the biggest challenges Plano is facing?
Aging infrastructure that is not sufficient for the explosive growth of the last decade and lack of affordable home stock. Young families can’t afford to move into homes here, so they are bypassing Plano for less dense suburbs. The resulting shrinking student population has caused some school closings.
How do you plan to address these issues?
I would slow approval of high-density residential developments, so our infrastructure can accommodate our current population. I would strengthen the “over 65 tax freeze”, so that seniors can transfer their frozen tax amount dollar for dollar to a smaller footprint residence. This will free up housing stock for young families.
What would your top priorities be if you are elected?
I will prioritize support for our dedicated first responders, and mitigate factors that make our residents vulnerable to crime. I will modernize our mobility, decrease traffic, and better plan for road repairs. I will reduce the tax burden with a stronger business tax base, and a more cost-effective transit solution.
Are there any changes or improvements you would like to see for public transit in Plano?
We need to modernize our transit. Billions of dollars of our taxes have been diverted to DART, with inequitable return in services to our city. We have the funds to provide immediate continuity of service outside of the DART system to our residents who rely on para-transit and micro-transit transportation.
To compare both Candidate’s answers to the issues, click here to read the League of Women Voters Questionnaire: Plan Your Vote | VOTE411
Nonpartisan
Colleen Aguilar-Epstein
Education
I graduated from UTD with a BA in Spanish Language and Literature and a Secondary Teaching Certification in Spanish and English. I have taught for 30 years, through public schools, private schools, home school co-ops, tutoring, and ESL Classes.
Experience
Plano Board of Adjustment Church Council Secretary Strategic Long Range Planning Board Member Founding Board Member of La Paz Mission and Ministry. Neighborhood Crime Watch Organizer Election Judge and Election Clerk
WebsiteColleenForPlano.com
Facebookwww.facebook.com/ColleenAguilarEpsteinForPlano
Campaign X Handle@ColleenForPlano
Campaign EmailColleenForPlano@hotmail.com
Campaign Phone
972-836-5243
Motivation: Why do you want to serve as mayor or city council member, and how have you contributed to the city?
Since I was first old enough to vote, I realized the importance of citizen involvement to protect and preserve my community. For over 30 years, my husband and I have raised our family here and built deep relationships. I’m eager to help shape decisions that strengthen Plano and keep it a place where companies call home, neighbors feel welcome, and families can put down roots and thrive. I am ready to serve on day one, because I have decades of experience leading boards and community outreach programs in Plano, including being appointed to the Plano Board of Adjustment 2 terms.
Changes: What changes do you expect in the city in the next few years and how would you plan for them?
Planoites who want to live near family and friends, are “aging in place”. After their children have moved out of their homes, many elderly residents would like to downsize to a more economical house. But because their taxes were frozen at 65 years of age, for most of them, the taxes on a smaller but newer home would be cost prohibitive to move. I would strengthen the “over 65 tax freeze”, so that seniors can make a one-time-only and dollar-for-dollar transfer of their frozen tax amounts to a smaller footprint residence. This will free up larger homes for young families to move in.
Transportation: What transportation and traffic issues in the city concern you, and what would you do to address them?
Dart no Longer fits our present-day transportation patterns and does not supply regional connectivity to places not along fixed routes. And the micro transit system currently supplied by Dart operates in 6 zones that generally require the riders to disembark after crossing more than one zone boundary and re-embark multiple times to finish their jour DART’s heavy 40-foot buses exert a lot of wear on the roads, causing constant construction on Parker Road. We can make our roads last longer by replacing these busses with city operated lighter duty paratransit and micro transit vehicles.
Infrastructure: Besides transportation, what are the most urgent infrastructure projects in the city, and how would you get them done?
Water shortage in Texas is imminent, and our Plano infrastructure is not sufficient to provide for our resident’s water needs. We need to pause more high-density developments and focus on providing services to the population that already lives here. Our older water and sewage pipes are decaying. We need to proactively replace them before they burst and cause more repair cost, loss of precious water, and inconvenience to residents. This replacement schedule should be staggered with phased work, to minimize worker overtime cost and traffic congestion due to construction.
Finance: What would you like to change, if anything, about city spending, including capital improvements?
We need to identify administrative and overhead costs that can be trimmed. We should shift away from DART membership and subcontract micro and para transit to free retail tax revenue for city focused projects. We need to reexamine whether bonds are the most appropriate way to pay for all capital improvements or instead consider shifting some of the capital improvements to “pay-as-you-go” or revenue bonds. I would create a bond accountability citizens group that gets regular reports and keeps the public up to date on what is happening with everything that has to do with the large bonds.
Housing: What is your vision for housing and land use in the city, and what actions are needed by the city council to support that?
Previous Plano City Council members of the last decade have voted to change lots of land zoned for agricultural, retail, or single-family use to allow for high-density apartments. This has created a population growth beyond what our aging infrastructure can accommodate. When rezoning cases come before the council, I would prioritize single family, smaller footprint houses over high density multifamily rental properties. Home ownership fosters pride in property upkeep, investment of time and resources in community involvement, and longevity of neighbors.
Public Safety: What new measures, if any, would you support to ensure public safety and prepare for natural disasters?
I would establish more robust lighting standards for parking lots and multifamily complexes to ensure safety for residents as well as mitigate possible ambush situations for our first responders. To prepare for natural disasters and decrease the likelihood of large insurance claims, we should review our building standards and ensure that they provide for sufficient resilience such as plumbing winterization. We should better educate the public about the importance of providing enough personal drinking water for emergency needs and tips on how to safely store it.
Other Issues: What other important issues are facing the city council, and how would you address them?
After our obligations to DART have ended, we will be voting on how to apportion the specific purpose sales tax. I propose that we allocate it toward:
1. Alternative transit consisting of para and micro transit and express or shuttle busses.
2. Enhanced safety measures.
3. Street maintenance.
