With a 1pm start time and 9 Public Hearings on the docket, this week’s Denton City Council meeting is likely to head into Wednesday morning. We kick things off with a Work Session at 1pm followed by our 6:30pm Regular Session. Click here for a full agenda with backup materials. If you can’t make it to the meeting, you can always catch us online or on TV. Here are a few things to watch…
DENTON’S CHANGING TAXI LANDSCAPE
As an urbanophile who recently gave up one of the family cars, I couldn’t be happier about more transportation options in Denton. I was excited about Uber’s announcement to come to Denton and their subsequent “Free Week.” Too often, unfortunately, their local service ends up looking like this (shot taken on Monday evening in Downtown):
Fortunately for Denton, Uber is not our only option. Local entrepreneurs are starting to sense the market and are stepping up to fill Denton’s taxi void. Take, for instance, Wandervan – a promising concept involving the use of vintage vans.
In order to take advantage of this rapidly changing and increasingly innovative market, 
Denton is embarking on a comprehensive look at our “vehicle for hire” ordinance. The posture from many on council, including myself, is that we need to find regulatory landscapes that are both accommodating and inviting to innovators in this industry. Denton certainly doesn’t have the problems that big cities do with large, existing taxi industries involved – our problem is getting more players in this market. Though our conversation in council will focus primarily on Uber, this is the first of several conversations to help make sure our city code is open to innovation and changing markets while keeping the public safe.
HELPING DENTON’S HOMELESS
The council will hear a report on local efforts, many of them collaborative in nature, to tackle the difficult problem of homelessness in Denton. This is a conversation the entire council needs to have on a regular basis and, as I’ve suggested in the past, it is time for us to add homelessness (and other important social issues) to the city’s Strategic Plan. This document helps both to set policy and aid in budgetary decisions. Currently the city spends $67,300 a year and allocates $25,000 in federal Block Grant funds aiding agencies working on these issues. Here are some other facts from our presentation:
- 465 estimated homeless in the city, according to the 2015 Point in Time survey
- 27.2% of them are considered “chronically homeless”
- 45.4% of them are “employed homeless”
- 16% report significant health issues
- 20.2% have serious mental illness
- 74.9% have NO health insurance
- 73% spent at least one night in jail
SUP FOR WHEELER HOUSE – FAMILY SHELTER and CLINIC
Speaking of helping the homelss in Denton, this is another collaborative project brought to us by the good folks at Serve Denton. The Wheeler House will colocate a family shelter (something Denton is currently lacking) and a health clinic at this location at North Elm Street. Because it is classified as a “group home,” they must seek approval in the form of a Special Use Permit. This is in a great location near some other key services for the population they plan to help. It is even just a a couple blocks away from my house. I love being able to expose my kids to the way Denton serves people in need. I look forward to hearing more about this exciting initiative.
VOTE ON SMOKING ORDINANCE
Arguably one of the more controversial topics of the evening will be a Public Hearing, discussion, and vote on changes to the city’s smoking ordinance. On the table are recommendations to:
- prohibit the sale of vaping/e-cig products to minors (something the state currently allows)
- extend the current indoor smoking prohibition to stand-alone bars
- include vaping among the prohibited items for establishments subject to smoking ban
I have long been an advocate of a more comprehensive ordinance in order to ensure healthier indoor environments for anyone who might come into them: employees, customers, vendors, delivery workers, musicians, etc.
On Monday night, I hosted a get together at my house for those who wanted to discuss this topic in more detail. The crowd was primarily composed of owners or workers in Denton’s bar industry. The vast majority of them disagreed with my position, but our conversation was productive, civil, and enjoyable. I look forward to carrying many of these thoughts, along with so many others shared by the citizens over the last few months, into the council discussion on Tuesday night.
As always, if you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please share here or contact me at 940-206-5239 or kevin.roden@cityofdenton.com.