Plano (pronounced /ˈpleɪnoʊ/ ) is a northern suburb of Dallas, Texas. Located mostly within Collin County, the population was 222,030 at the 2000 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas. According to a 2008 census estimate, Plano grew to 267,480 residents, making it the seventieth most populous city in the United States. Plano is within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area, colloquially referred to as the Metroplex. The city is home to many corporate headquarters, including Ericsson Inc., Rent-A-Center, Crossmark, Perot Systems, Electronic Data Systems, JCPenney, Frito-Lay, Cinemark Theatres, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and UGS.
In 2005, Plano was designated the best place to live in the Western United States by CNN Money magazine. In 2006, Plano was selected as the 11th best place to live in the United States by CNN Money magazine. Plano schools consistently score among the highest in the nation. It has been rated as the wealthiest city in the United States by CNN Money with a poverty rate of less than 6.4%. In 2008, Forbes.com selected Plano, University Park, and Highland Park as the three "Top Suburbs To Live Well" of Dallas. The United States Census Bureau declared Plano the wealthiest city of 2008 by comparing the median household income for all U.S. cities whose populations were greater than 250,000. The annual Plano Balloon Festival is the city's premiere cultural and entertainment event.
History
In the early 1840s, several settlers came to the area around Plano. Facilities such as a sawmill, a gristmill, and a store brought more people to the area. Mail service was established, and after rejecting several names for the budding town (including naming it in honor of then-President Millard Fillmore), the locals suggested the name Plano , from the Spanish word for "flat," a reference to the terrain of the area. The name was accepted by the post office.
In 1872, the completion of the Houston and Texas Railroads helped the city grow, and the population grew to more than 500 by 1874. In 1873, the city officially incorporated.
In 1881, a fire raged through the central business district, destroying most of the buildings: 51 in all. The town was rebuilt, and business again flourished through the 1880s. In 1895, the PISD (Plano Independent School District) was formed.
Unlike many of the other Dallas suburbs, which were closer to Dallas itself, the population of Plano initially grew slowly, reaching 1,304 in 1900 and increasing to 3,695 in 1960. By 1970, Plano began to feel some of the boom its neighbors experienced following World War II. A series of public works projects and a change in taxes that removed the farming community from the town helped increase the overall population of Plano. In 1970, the population reached 17,872, and by 1980, the population exploded to 72,000. Sewers, schools and street development kept pace with this massive increase, largely due to Plano's flat topography, grid layout and planning initiatives.
During the 1980s, many large corporations moved their headquarters to Plano, including JC Penney and Frito-Lay, which helped the city grow, as more people moved closer to their workplaces. By 1990, the population reached 128,713 and dwarfed the county seat of McKinney. In 1994, the city was recognized as an All-America City.
Among other sport accolades, Plano is home to the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA), the training ground of 2004 and 2008 Olympic All Around Champions, Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin. The gym is owned by Patterson's coach, Yevgeny Marchenko, and Liukin's coach and father, Valeri Liukin.
By 2000, the population nearly doubled again to 222,030, making it one of the largest Dallas suburbs. The city's population now is stabilizing. Plano is completely locked in by other municipalities and cannot expand in area. There is little undeveloped land remaining within the city limits. By 2005, its population was estimated at 250,096.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, Plano has a total area of 71.6 square miles (185.5 km 2 ).
Climate
- July is the average warmest month.
- The highest recorded temperature was 118°F in 1936.
- On average, the coolest month is January.
- The lowest recorded temperature was -7°F in 1930.
- The maximum average precipitation occurs in May.
Transportation
Plano is one of 12 suburbs in the Dallas area that opts into the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) public transportation system. During most of its membership in DART, Plano was lightly served by bus lines, but in recent years, the Red Line of the DART light rail project has opened stations in Downtown Plano and at Parker Road, which provide access to commuters traveling to work elsewhere in the Dallas area. Approximately 1% of the city's population uses DART.
Plano was the first city in Collin County to adopt a master plan for its road system. The use of wide, multi-lane, divided highways for all major roads allows for higher speed limits on those thoroughfares, generally 40 or 45 mph, but sometimes up to 55 mph (89 km/h) on the northern section of Preston Road.
Plano is served directly by several major roadways and freeways. Central Plano is bordered to the east by U.S. Highway 75, the west by Dallas North Tollway, the south by President George Bush Turnpike, and the north by SH 121 a toll road). Preston Road or State Highway 289 is a major thoroughfare that runs through the city.
Government
Local Government
According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s general fund had $194.0.million in Revenues, $212.3 million in expenditures, $277.5 million in total assets, $31.4 million in total liabilities, and $337.2 million in cash and investments.
The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:
Economy
According to the City's 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Plano is the corporate headquarters for some of the country's largest and most recognized companies. Tree-lined Legacy Drive in the 75024 ZIP code, between Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway, has many corporate campuses. The following companies headquarter (or have major regional offices) in Plano:
- Acision
- Adams Golf
- Atlantic-Crossing
- Capital One Auto Finance
- Dr Pepper Snapple Group (formerly Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages)
- Cinemark Theatres
- Crossmark
- DealTaker
- Electronic Data Systems (now part of Hewlett-Packard)
- Ericsson
- Frito Lay
- Gearbox Software
- Highland Homes
- Metromedia Restaurant Group
- Microtune
- PetroTel Inc.
- PFSweb
- JCPenney
- MotionZoneHD
- Perot Systems
- Prodea Systems
- Rent-A-Center
- Rug Doctor
- Safety-Kleen
- Siemens PLM
- Smith System
- Traxxas
Approximately 80% of Plano's visitors are business travelers, due to its close proximity to Dallas and the many corporations headquartered in Plano. The city also has a medium-sized convention center that is owned and operated by the city.
Plano has made a concerted effort to draw retail to its downtown area and the Shops at Legacy in an effort to boost sales tax returns. The Shops at Legacy area has apartments, shops, and restaurants constructed with the new Urbanism philosophy. An experimental luxury Wal-Mart Supercenter is located at Park Boulevard and the Dallas North Tollway.
Education
There are 70 public schools, 16 private schools, two campuses of the Collin County Community College District, and six libraries in Plano.
Plano Independent School District serves most of Plano. Student enrollment has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Plano has a unique high school system, in which grades 9-10 attend a high school and grades 11-12 attend a senior high.
There are three senior high schools (grades 11-12) in PISD; Plano East, Plano Senior, and Plano West.
Small portions of Plano are served by the Lewisville Independent School District, Frisco Independent School District, and Allen Independent School District.
Plano is the home to two campuses of the Collin County Community College District, one at the Courtyard Center on Preston Park Boulevard and the larger Spring Creek Campus on Spring Creek Parkway at Jupiter.
In 2006, Plano Independent School District announced that 115 seniors were selected as National Merit Semifinalists, the largest in the district's history.
Plano has given $1.1 billion in property tax revenue to other school districts through the Texas "Robin Hood" law, which requires school districts that are designated as affluent to give a percentage of their property tax revenue to other districts outside of the county. In 2008, PISD gave $86 million. Controversy erupted when the salaries of teachers in less affluent districts, like Garland ISD, exceeded the salaries of teachers in districts that had to pay into "Robin Hood".
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