The chair of the City Plan Commission is over his term limit, and Dallas has been put on notice.

Mike Northrup, an Old East Dallas resident and a lawyer, wrote to commissioners Thursday, citing rules in the city’s charter that set term limits for board members and commissioners.

“Your service to the City beyond your years of eligibility to do so is admirable,” Northup said in the email. “However, it is past time for you to step away from “the Horseshoe” and allow an eligible appointee to serve as a plan commissioner.”

“No one individual should be so important that his or her continued involvement puts the public’s business in jeopardy,” he said.

Northrup’s letter could have deeper implications after Dallas voters in November approved Proposition S, which waives governmental immunity and exposes the city to litigation if it violates state or local law.

Last month, Northup and a group of over 100 Dallas residents sent a letter to the City Council urging them to reappoint board and commission members who have overstayed their term, citing provisions in the city’s charter that set term limits.

“Every day that these individuals serve without authority to do so undermines the public confidence in the work product of the boards and commissions in question, and it puts that same work product at risk for invalidation,” the letter said.

It is not clear how many individuals have overstayed their terms. A city spokesperson said in December officials were in “receipt of the letter and will respond at the appropriate time.” City officials did not immediately respond to a follow-up call in May in January.

Typically, council members appoint volunteers to influential boards such as the City Plan Commission and the Park Board. The city’s charter states members who have served four consecutive two-year terms are not eligible to serve again on the same board until at least one term has elapsed.

Members serve until they are termed out or “until their successors are appointed and qualified,” the charter reads.

The December letter mentioned Shidid, who was first appointed in 2013 and has been the chair of the commission since 2019.

Shidid was appointed by council member Jaime Resendez, but the chair is picked by the mayor. Shidid did not respond to requests for comment after either the letter or the email were released.

Resendez, who appointed Shidid, told The Dallas Morning News “I will defer to the city attorneys for any legal conclusions or guidance moving forward regarding the letter.”

This year, the City Plan Commission grappled with several hot-button issues, such as Forward Dallas, the city’s updated land-use guide and the rezoning fight that has engulfed Pepper Square in North Dallas.

“What does it mean if the city’s business is led by someone that isn’t eligible to be there?” Northup said.

Northrup said he began drafting the letter following the passage of propositions S and U, which waive the city’s municipal immunity and mandate the city allocate 50% of any new revenue growth year-over-year to the police and fire pension system and other public safety initiatives.

The two propositions, Northrup said, represented “the mood of the public” and the letter supporters wanted to tell the city, “Here’s maybe a small thing to solve.”