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City council members directed staff Tuesday, Feb. 3 to develop conceptual plans for relocating Liberty Plaza to a site near the Rose Garden off Valley View Lane during a study session preceding the regular meeting.
Parks and Recreation Director Robert Diaz presented three potential locations for the veterans memorial, which currently sits in a location with limited parking and accessibility near Interstate 635.
Council members reached consensus on option one, a 1.59-acre site west of the Rose Garden and north of Keenan Cemetery. The location fronts Valley View and includes existing parking infrastructure.
"I wanted a place of prominence, a place of feature, and something that would be seen," Mayor Terry Lynne said. "There's parking there. I believe when I counted there were 36 spots that were already there."
Council member Tina Bennett-Burton, who originally requested the item, supported the Rose Garden location for its aesthetic value and public purpose designation.
"It would bring something aesthetic right off of Valley View because we can't and that is a public space," Bennett-Burton said.
The other options included the front of the Dodson House at Farmers Branch Historical Park and a site at Farmers Branch Park near the Branch Connection, where the city holds annual Veterans Day events.
Council members also received a real estate market analysis from Matthew Church, vice president of government affairs for Metro Realtors, showing challenging affordability trends.
The median home price in Farmers Branch sits between $300,000 and $399,000, with active listings and closed sales declining year-over-year. Church noted the average first-time homebuyer is now in their 30s, while buyers in their 50s and 60s dominated transactions last year.
"The ability to afford a home for one person, whether you're in a home and be able to maintain the property tax liability, whether you're on a fixed income or those who are first-time home buyers, that ability is becoming more and more difficult," Church said.
Alan Gwen, a data analytics instructor, presented spatial analysis of local crime data showing correlations between transit stations and certain crime categories. Using five years of police records, Gwen created heat maps displaying assault, robbery and drug offense locations.
Farmers Branch recorded 1,259 assaults over five years compared to more than 8,000 in Dallas during the same period.
"He's doing a great job," Gwen said of Police Chief Kevin McCoy. "It makes me want to pick up and move out here and buy a house."
Council members also gave direction on a redlined version of the travel reimbursement policy that adds a submission deadline and removes waiver of stipend provisions while maintaining charter requirements for reimbursement of necessary expenses. The policy will return on a future consent agenda for approval.
