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Dallas City Council Meeting
The City Council Agenda meetings are held on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at 10:00 A.M. in the Dallas City Hall
Fort Worth City Council Meeting
The Fort Worth City Council meets each Tuesday. The first and second Tuesday of each month the City Council meets in the evening, 7:00 p.m. The rest of the month's Tuesday meetings are held at 10:00 a.m.
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Our Services
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MASTERPLAN
Company Information
MASTERPLAN provides professional consultation to businesses, individuals, utilities
and government agencies in all matters relating to land use, including zoning, subdivisions,
building permits and other development approvals. Since MASTERPLAN was established in 1981,
the company has successfully obtained thousands of governmental approvals for our clients.
The firm also provides political consultation and representation for all types of local and
regional government issues. The firm’s mastery of technical issues combined with its
interpersonal communication skills and longstanding reputation of excellence makes MASTERPLAN
a significant asset for its clients.
MASTERPLAN has over twenty years of experience representing a variety of clients.
The background of the MASTERPLAN staff is unique as it combines a diverse set of educational
disciplines and many years of professional experience. MASTERPLAN also boasts employees with
years of experience in elective and appointive public office.
The growth of cities and citizens' increasing concern about their environment requires a sensitive
approach to development---whether it is one lot project or a major urban development. It is
imperative to understand why people have these concerns to obtain modifications or changes in
land use. By using this approach, MASTERPLAN has attained an extremely high success
rate obtaining approvals for its clients.
MASTERPLAN represents its clients with equal success, without regard to the size or complexity
of the negotiations. This success is due to the firm's diligence, forthright approach and reputation
in jurisdictions throughout North Texas and Louisiana where the firm has worked.
William E. Cothrum, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer founded MASTERPLAN
in 1981 after more than twenty years in the fields of construction and real estate. A native of
Dallas and an engineering graduate of Southern Methodist University, he was a member of the Dallas
City Council during two of the most vibrant periods of growth in the city's history, 1965-1969 and
1975-1980. He also served as Deputy Mayor Pro Tem for three years and has been active in a number
of civic and social organizations over the past twenty-five years. He was named an Outstanding Young
Texan by the Texas Junior Chamber of Commerce during his years on the City Council. Mr. Cothrum
was also featured on the cover of a newspaper edition entitled "Dallas Inc." The article characterized
him as one of the area's primary expeditors of zoning requests, building permits, subdivision plats
and other matters that must go through the public hearing process.
Karl A. Crawley joined the firm in 1998 and is now President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr.
Crawley has lived in the Dallas area for over 30 years and is a graduate of Texas A&M University
with a Masters degree in Urban Planning. He initially worked with private industry as a land planner
and developed several residential subdivisions in the area. Mr. Crawley was the Senior Zoning Planner
for the City of Dallas for ten years before joining the firm. He is a member of the American Planning
Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Ed Simons is the Chief Consultant for MASTERPLAN and has been with the firm since October 2000.
Mr. Simons served over 25 years at the City of Dallas in various positions including Technical Manager
for the Development Code and Development Manager. He specializes in assisting clients through the
intricacies of obtaining approvals for development projects and construction.
Dallas Cothrum, Ph.D., Santos Martinez, John Kimbrough, and Raj Sharma all
play important roles in the MASTERPLAN team of consultants. Each brings important skills and areas
of expertise.
Dallas Cothrum, Ph.D. is Executive Vice-President of Masterplan. Prior to joining Masterplan, he
was a tenured faculty member in the University of Texas System. Dr. Cothrum also handled operations in
East Texas and northern Louisiana for several years, completing numerous cell tower cases. He currently
serves as the primary consultant for TXU Electric Delivery, working closely with their Transmission
Engineering section. He is also actively involved in a number of community endeavors. Councilman Ed Oakley
appointed Dallas to the Permit and License Appeal Board, where he serves as Vice-Chair, and previously to
the Municipal Library Board. He is also a Trustee of Dallas Academy and the Friends of the Dallas Public
Library. Dallas was selected by the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce for its Leadership Dallas program.
Santos Martinez joined the firm in 2002 after years of experience with several governmental
agencies. His work experience includes housing and economic development with the City of Albuquerque.
Mr. Martinez worked on several neighborhood revitalization projects while working with the City of
Albuquerque. He also worked as planning director for Costilla County and Alamosa County, Colorado.
Recently, Mr. Martinez served as a Chief Planner for the City of Dallas where he managed the Board of
Adjustment, Subdivision section, and Code Amendments.
Raj Sharma P.E., A.I.C.P. R.A.S.has a wealth of experience. For over 30 years, he has worked all
in various government agencies engaged in writing & enforcing City ordinances related to building construction,
zoning, tree mitigation and signs. From 1997 to 2005, he was the Building Official for the City of Dallas.
Raj is a Professional Engineer, a Certified Planner, has an MBA, and has completed the Executive Development
Program. He is also a Registered Accessibility Specialist and has ICC certifications as a Building Plan Examiner,
International Energy Code Plan Reviewer and Inspector.
Raj is a founding member of the World Organization of Building Officials and has served on numerous committees
of the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards, the International Conference of Building
Officials, the Canadian Standards Association, the North Central Council of Governments, and the City of Dallas.
Raj has presented several seminars to the construction industry on various topics including the Dallas Existing
Building Code, the Green Buildings Initiatives. Raj has extensive experience in dealing with City Councils, and
City Boards and Commissions. Raj acted as the Interim Director of Planning, for the City of Dallas, in 1999.
Raj is a on the faculty of the School of Management at UTD, where he teaches Strategic Planning, among other courses.
For a number of years, Raj represented the State of Alberta Canada in the Republic of India in the areas of Trade and
Investments.
In addition to his other duties, Raj is helping our clients in the areas of, Building Code Advice, Expert Witness,
Accessibility and Energy Code Approvals etc.
John Kimbrough brought 30+ years of experience to MASTERPLAN from the City of Dallas. His
extensive history of the inner workings of the City of Dallas has been invaluable to number of our
clients.
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900 Jackson Street 
