Richardson | February 2026

Government

BY JACQUELYN BURRER & ISABELLA ZEFF

DART continues to brace for potential service cuts

50 city charter amendments set for May ballot Richardson residents will likely vote on 50 amendments to the Richardson city charter in the May election. The background City Council recommended 48 ballot propositions originally set for the November 2025 ballot. The election was postponed from November to May 2026 to coincide with the proposed bond election. City Secretary Aimee Nemer presented an overview of the 48 approved propositions for the charter election, as well as two new propositions for council to review. What’s new One new proposal was to add clarifying language specifying that a resigning member of City Council may not vote on the appoint- ment of their replacement member. The second was the addition of a resign- to-run provision, requiring the automatic resignation of any council member or mayor who announces their candidacy for any other elective public office. Council member Dan Barrios announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress on Dec. 9, so a retroactive amendment would force his resignation if approved. Mayor Amir Omar said the amendment had “nothing to do” with any particular person, but that council was now in a position of hav- ing to decide what to do in these situations.

At their Jan. 13 meeting, DART’s board of directors called a public hearing to receive input on “potential service modifications” that could become necessary depending on the upcoming May withdrawal elections. Some context Residents in six DART member cities will vote on whether they should stay with DART on May 2 unless an agreement between the city and agency is met prior to March 18. The impact W. PARKER RD. According to meeting documents, withdrawal of the five cities holding special elections would impact several bus routes, around 800 bus stops, 13 GoLink zones, two Trinity Rail Express stations, two Silver Line stations and 10 DART light rail stations. Rob Smith, DART vice president of service plan- ning and scheduling, said if any of the cities with special elections vote in favor of withdrawing from DART, all DART services, including paratransit, in those cities would immediately cease the day after votes are canvassed. Zooming out While Richardson is not considering a with- drawal election, DART services in the city could still be affected, meeting documents state. In particular, Route 241 and 247 would be shortened or could see changes. The 883 University of Texas at Dallas Comet Cruiser could also see changes because it currently has stops in Plano, Smith said. Smith said there will be several long-term financial and service implications dependent on if any cities withdraw from the agency, which DART PLANO PKWY. W. PARK BLVD. W. 15TH ST.

DART rail lines Red Line 1 Parker Road Station 2 Downtown Plano Station 3 12th Street Station Silver Line

4 12th Street Station 5 Shiloh Road Station

Plano

E. PARK BLVD.

MUNICIPAL AVE.

14TH ST.

PGBT TOLL

SOURCE: DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT/COMMUNITY IMPACT

officials are currently working to identify and prepare for. The full list of potential impacts on DART services is located on the agency’s website.

Richardson commission OKs 5 new units at Richland Park Apartments Richland Park Apartments is on track to add five units and a playground after Richardson’s City Plan Commission unanimously recommended approval for rezoning Jan. 6. The details

apartment units in underused areas in the leasing and community building. The new units would replace the indoor sports room, a maintenance storage room and portions of the clubhouse on the second, third and fourth floors. What else The proposal included some additional site modifications to accommodate the new units, but no building expansions were proposed.

BU CK I N G H A M R D .

Richland Park Apartments

The apartment complex, located at 951 Abrams Road, comprises four buildings containing a total of 82 apartment units, as well as a leasing and commu- nity building that houses the complex’s amenities. The complex proposed to add an additional five

PARK BEND DR.

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM