Source: Google Street View.
On November 2, 2026, the Richardson City Council approved a change to the City's Matching Fund Beautification Program that will allow the City to give public tax money to private HOAs to make improvements on their private property. Monday's action followed up the Council's June 22 discussion of a request by the Knolls at Breckinridge HOA for matching funds to repair their HOA's entry that was damaged by a car accident. Spoiler alert: the Council instructed staff to find a way to meet the private HOA's request for $30,000.
I wrote about this last summer when the council first discussed it ("Council Recap: Public Money for Private Property"). I was against it then. I'm still against it. Just like I don't want my school taxes to go to vouchers for private schools instead of public schools, I also don't want my city taxes to support private HOA landscaping projects instead of public parks. But the council lived up to its long history of not listening to me, so no surprise there. I republish the rest of what I said in July at the end of this article. Here, I will just add a few comments about what transpired Monday night.
- Elections—uh, appointments have consequences. In July, Council Member Dan Barrios was the only Council member who stood against the idea. He said, "I am not a fan of the idea of using public money on private land." He's gone now. His replacement, Council Member Daniel Burdette, supported giving public money to private property owners to rebuild their medians.
- Council Member Curtis Dorian: "Our neighborhood associations have always had the opportunity to utilize this program, which is invaluable to them and the city, and it certainly continues to elevate our communities."
- City Manager Don Magner explained the kinds of projects the City thinks qualifies. "We were trying to focus on a private asset within a public realm, which to me is different than their entry features or these these long stretches of landscaped areas that they maintain around a masonry screening wall that usually encloses their neighborhood." Look at that median in the photo above at the Knolls at Breckinridge. The council just approved spending public money on this. It sure looks to me like it's an "entry feature" that the City Manager seemed to be excluding.
- Council did not establish a funding cap on this use of public money. City Staff estimated that Richardson has approximately 20-25 HOA-owned medians that might meet the proposed criteria.
Here, in full, is what I published in July:
Council Recap: Public Money for Private Property
Source: City of Richardson.
The Richardson City Council met June 22, 2026. One of the topics reviewed was the "FY27 Matching Fund Beautification Project Requests". According to the city, citizens, businesses, civic groups, and HOAs may partner with COR to improve the landscape on public property. COR matches partner group funds 100%. COR maintains the landscape after project completion. Improvements often are made in parks, on medians, and at neighborhood entry points. So far, so good. So what was the City Manager asking City Council to provide direction on?
The ask appeared on this slide:
- FY27 MFB Consideration
- One FY27 MFB project request proposes landscape renovation on private property
- Proceeding with this project would require a more robust contractual agreement between COR and the partner group
- Easement — Would need to be executed and recorded with the county
- Survey would be required, and would add to cost
- Platting process would be followed
- COR would not be able to provide continuing maintenance of the landscape after the completion of the project
- Projects are historically only performed on public property
- Is this a direction council wishes to take?
Source: City of Richardson.
Council Member Jennifer Justice was quick to answer.
You asked us a question there at the end about council consideration with respect to private property and HOAs. I get that question all the time when I visit HOAs in the panhandle about, you know, we wish we could do this. And, you know, what can the city do? And our policy, I think, has been this is private property. And so we cannot match for some of the reasons you've pointed out in the presentation, which is we can't come on and maintain it afterwards and those sorts of things. So I think we should maintain that policy. But I do hope that there's a way that we can look for opportunities where we may have existing easements, for example, where we could go on and maintain them. And so it's quasi public in some ways because of our easement, because I would really like for us to find a way to support those with the matching beautification. So I don't know whether a project like this, if that would qualify, but I would like for us to figure out a way to address that gap that we have in supporting the HOAs across the city.Source: City of Richardson.
Council Member Corcoran, Mayor Pro Tem Hutchenrider, and Mayor Omar all shared Justice's interest in exploring whether and under what conditions private, mandatory-membership HOAs could participate in the Matching Fund Beautification (MFB) Program for use on HOAs' private property. Only Council Member Dan Barrios was against the idea: "I am not a fan of the idea of using public money on private land."
With majority support, City Manager Don Magner will ask city staff to draw up conditions that would allow private, mandatory-membership HOAs to participate in the MFB Program.
I am with Barrios on this. I share his concern about using public tax dollars to fund private improvements. However, my objection could be lessened if the City acquired a perpetual real-property interest in the land, perhaps through an easement, deed restriction, or covenant running with the land that preserves the improvements and allows city access for maintenance. I don't want a future HOA board undoing city-funded landscaping after a decade—for example, by cutting down trees planted by the city. Even then, I would not necessarily support every application. I would still object if the beautified common area is physically or visually inaccessible to the public, making any public benefit difficult to identify. If a private HOA considers this condition too onerous, well, so be it. HOAs are not required to participate in the MFB Program.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
"Barrios speaks plain.
Public money, private land.
Keep the lines intact."
—h/t ChatGPT
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