The Council recently looked at empowering neighborhoods through state-authorized Public Improvement Districts. Presented by the Development Services Committee and staff at the last work session (Item 2D), PIDs would enable a neighborhood to fund improvements on public property, usually street rights of way, such as landscaping, distinctive lighting and signs, screening walls, and parks. The three that I've heard most often from neighborhood wish lists are screening wall maintenance, street lights, and a community park.
 
Public Improvement Districts have been used in the state for many years and the current legislation was written in 1987 (though amended numerous times). Initially, the districts were used solely in commercial areas. The idea of using them in neighborhoods was pioneered by Grand Prairie. Today, Grand Prairie has 15 districts, eight in older, established neighborhoods and the remainder as part of newly developed neighborhoods.

As seen here, a number of neighborhood screening walls throughout the city are "challenged" but have no responsible organization to address the problem, except on a lot-by-lot basis, which results in many various patches that degrade the look of the neighborhood. A PID could address this and many other neighborhood problems.

 
I posted information on the districts a couple months ago but the study by the committee and staff has been underway for much longer, including a tour to Grand Prairie. Please check that link to cover the basics. Also, Grand Prairie has a very informative page here. State law is extremely strict on how the districts can be created, governed, and used; however, cities can also add additional requirements or limitations. The Grand Prairie districts closely reflect state law but also follow local policy guidelines that may vary somewhat from what Garland might eventually adopt.
 
My advocacy stems from two factors:

• Residential neighborhoods in Garland are declining in value and have been for several years. I've posted on it numerous times. When you buy a house you expect prices to appreciate. On average, that's not what we've seen locally. It hasn't been especially noticeable because new construction each year has offset the decline, allowing our residential property base to remain flat. Even if that sounds acceptable, we're still declining by the rate of inflation. If that trend continues, then we will hit a wall as the city reaches build-out, projected to be in a few short years. Unfortunately, last year the existing residential base dropped 3.5% so we're not even flat and that decline is expected to continue. We have to adopt policies and offer tools that enable neighborhoods and homeowners to invest in their properties and their immediate community. There isn't one solution; the answers will come from incremental changes that turn the spiral around. PIDs represent one tool a neighborhood might choose to consider and adopt.
   
• While the improvements must be on public land and could be provided by the city, we won't have extra money for projects for many years. Even then projects would be funded by taxing citizens citywide—a localized perk at everyone's expense. The PID enables a neighborhood to identify projects that are beneficial or most needed and then pay for them over time through annual assessments. That assessment can even be added to a mortgage escrow so it is paid monthly in smaller amounts. The cost to each resident would be based on the project expenses, including administration and interest. Only the neighborhood can petition for the creation of the district and the projects. But there are checks on that process too: the district would be governed by the Council, the district would have an advisory board of neighborhood residents, and there would be a public hearing before any assessment rate was set. In some ways, a district would give a neighborhood some of the advantages that homeowner associations have but without the wider reaching powers of some HOAs, such as architectural controls.

As I said in that post a couple months ago, there are pros and cons. Fortunately, PIDs cannot be imposed on a neighborhood but must be initiated and authorized within the neighborhood.
 
Once the PID is created, a property manager would have to oversee the operation. The county would probably be hired to collect the assessments. The city would hold the assessments and handle much of the bookkeeping and check writing.
 
As a city, we have numerous challenges. Empowering our citizens to improve the quality of life in their neighborhood seems like a no-brainer and we shouldn't let piddly reasons block their ability to decide their future. It has been suggested that assessments are like taxes. Yes, that's true. The difference is that projects and assessments are decided by a full majority of the neighborhood, not imposed by nine politicians downtown at everyone's expense.