To approve Dallas Area Rapid Transit (“DART”) Resolution No. 210036 for the acquisition of the following parcels of land in the City of Plano, Texas for the purpose of construction, improvement, and operation of DART’s Silver Line Regional Rail Project and other public improvements and projects related hereto – Parcel CB3-013 at 910 10th Street and Parcel CB3-014 at 901 10th Street; and providing an effective date. Tabled

DART is preparing to construct the Silver Line project.  As the project team identifies properties needed for the construction of the project, they are required to receive authority from the City of Plano prior to using eminent domain.  Even though they receive this authority early in the acquisition process, they continue to negotiate with the property owner to acquire the property without the use of eminent domain.  As an example, on a previous acquisition for this project, the City of Plano granted eminent domain authority.  In that case, DART was able to complete the acquisition without needing to move to an eminent domain process.

In that example, if the acquisition team had reached an impasse with the property owner, the team would have invoked their right of eminent domain.  That eminent domain process would have resulted in a legal hearing where three special commissioners (court-appointed landowners) would have listened to testimony from both the acquisition team and the property owner.  Then, using that information, the special commissioners would have stipulated the value of the land.

All through the process (whether eminent domain or not) the acquisition team continues to negotiate with the property owner at every step.

Chapter 452 of the Texas Transportation Code grants to DART the right of eminent domain to acquire any interest in real property and further provides that such right of eminent domain may not be exercised within a municipality without the approval of each proposed acquisition by the governing body of such municipality. 

DART’s standard procedure is to request eminent domain authority from the City of Plano and other cities prior to presenting an initial offer to property owners.   This is done to streamline the approval and acquisition process.

This item has no financial impact.

Approval of this acquisition by DART relates to the City's Strategic Plan Critical Success Factors of Residential and Commercial Economic Vitality and Multi-Modal Transportation and Mobility Solutions.