The February 23rd Joint Meeting of Copper Canyon Town Council and P&Z was postponed because Planner Greg Last had a prior engagement. The Joint Meeting is rescheduled for Monday, March 9. However, I cannot emphasize more strongly how important it is for residents to let Council and P&Z know what they want for future residential in Copper Canyon in the FM 407 Town Center.
Please attend the meeting personally or send your thoughts by email to[email protected]. Council and P&Z will have access to all your emails and they will also be available to the public in the Council Packet posting on the Town website on Friday, March 6.
The Master Plan for Copper Canyon’s FM 407 Town Center was created over a decade ago. At that time, it was anticipated that the 160-acre to possibly 200-acre Town Center would develop primarily as retail/commercial. (Only 25 acres, one-sixth to one-eighth of the 160-200 acres, were designated only on the south side as possibly residential.) But in the interim 10 years, there have been no serious inquiries by retail/commercial developers for any of the Town Center acreage.
So, last summer the Council determined that it was time for an up-to-date re-evaluation of our proposed Town Center’s realistic prospects for development. Greg Last, planner for Southlake for 22 years, was retained to do just that. Mr. Last presented a new Concept Plan for the Town Center at the January 12th Joint Meeting of the Council and P&Z. He recommended that this Concept Plan be used as a general guide to possible development, but not adopted exactly as presented. Basically, his conclusion was that the future Town Center would be predominantly residential, with only a small contingent of Retail/Garden Offices adjacent to FM 407. This evaluation was NOT what the Town had originally contemplated for the area.
Planner Last also said that in the future there “might” be some retail/commercial development east of Copper Canyon Road and across from Lantana’s CVS complex. But Mr. Last cautioned that the entry to this area would need to be north of the northeast corner of the intersection of FM 407 and Copper Canyon Road. That northeast corner has serious topography challenges due to the extreme drop in elevation from the height of FM 407’s pavement surface. It is also necessary to not block drainage from Double Oak, which naturally must continue to flow north and eventually to Lake Lewisville.
Last said that, in his professional opinion, the Town Center had two major drawbacks to being a predominantly retail-commercial development.
First, Location. Location is one of the primary determinants for any retail-commercial development.
(a) Mid-Block Location: Copper Canyon’s FM 407 strip is “between” two major FM 407 retail-commercial developments – the highly developed intersection of FM 407 and FM 2499 (WalMart, Shops of Highland Village, Lowe’s, Target) and the currently developing intersection of FM 407 and the Lantana curve (Kroger, banks, restaurants, gas station, etc.). “Mid-block” is NOT a desirable retail/commercial location.
(b) No Major Intersection: Our Town Center has no major north-south intersecting road with FM 407. And, none is likely to develop in the future. (As traffic bearing arteries, both Copper Canyon Road and Jernigan Road basically “dead end” into FM 407.)
Second: Limited Wastewater (i.e. sewer). Retail/commercial development must have wastewater. Copper Canyon’s is limited by contract to 400,000 mgd per day by its supplier – and an increase to that amount is not available.
In general both Council Members and P&Z Commissioners were appreciative of the thoughtfulness of planner Last’s Concept Plan. They appeared to endorse the idea of buffering existing homeowners’ backyards (Estates of Copper Canyon and in Double Oak) with larger adjacent residential lot sizes in our Town Center. Both Council and P&Z appreciated the “green space” Last had provided, but also suggested even more “green space” be required in the Town Center. “Green Space” provides the spaciousness and “rural feeling” that our Copper Canyon residents so cherish.
High Density Residential Areas proposed by two Developers for Town Center
Both developers are sponsored by two landowners wanting to sell their relevant acreage in the Town Center.
At the January 26th joint meeting of Council and P&Z, two developers proposed high density residential developments for the Town Center. (Both developers have contracts to buy from the two landowners wanting to sell the relevant acreage in the Town Center.) Proposed width of home lots were 80’ wide, 70’ wide, 60’ wide, and even just 50’ wide for a proposed Over-55 Age Restricted Development. Both possible developers would be subject to any standards P&Z and Council may approve in the near future for required “green space” or larger minimum lot sizes or lesser density of proposed homes.
North Side of FM 407
On the north side of FM 407, one developer proposed 85 home sites on 28 acres immediately to the west of our Estates of Copper Canyon residential subdivision.
The Estates of Copper Canyon, an almost 20-year-old subdivision, currently has 35 Copper Canyon homeowners on one-acre residential lots. Twenty plus residents of the Estates of Copper Canyon came in person and by petition to Town Hall to ask for no more than half-acre to third-acre home sites backing up to their existing one-acre home sites. Actually, planner Greg Last had suggested just this sort of medium-size lot buffering to our current residents in the Estates of Copper Canyon. Both the Council and P&Z Commissioners also appeared to be receptive to this buffering proposal between current and future home sites in our Town.
South Side of FM 407
The same developer proposed 190 home sites on 55 acres south of FM 407, and backing up to existing one-acre homes in Double Oak.
The second developer has proposed an Over Age-55 Restricted Development with 4.62 homes per acre on 33-plus acres or 162 homes total. (Visualize each one-acre home site in the Woodlands and along Rolling Acres Drive with 4.62 homes replacing the one home on those one-acre lots now.)
Mayor Mike Donnelly of Double Oak has been attending our Council Meetings and keeping his residents informed. Mayor Donnelly asked for a Good Neighbor policy that respects the privacy of existing Double Oak one-acre homeowners’ back yards. These back yards would be adjacent to both developers’ proposed high density residential areas in Copper Canyon.
Over Age-55 Restricted Developments
The major issues here are threefold:
(1) Density of homes per acre and minimum space between the homes
(2) Percentage of “green space” required in the development as a whole
(3) Amenities provided
Because of the density of homes customary in an age-restricted development, it is often difficult for a developer to not “clear cut” most of the development site. For mature trees to survive, they need no soil coverage and no disturbance of their roots out to a certain perimeter distance from their trunk. This proposed development is zero-lot line on one side of the home and only 8 feet between the homes on the other side. Back yards are minimal in space and usually used to accommodate air-conditioning units.
But an increase of the percentage of “green space” could definitely ameliorate this issue of tree loss. However, increased “green space” inevitably means a lesser number of lots for development.
At present, Copper Canyon has fewer than 500 homes in Town. The two Developers propose an additional 437 home sites on FM 407 – or almost double our current number of homes in Town.
At present, Copper Canyon has fewer than 500 homes in Town. To put the proposed residential density in perspective: North of FM 407 – 85 home sites proposed on 28 acres; south of FM 407 – 162 age-restricted home sites proposed on 33 acres and 190 home sites proposed on the adjacent 55 acres. Total proposal by the two developers is 437 home sites along FM 407 – in comparison to less than 500 homes on minimum one-acre-plus lots in our Town now.
Council and P&Z may vote on Some Issues at Joint Meeting March 9th
Council and P&Z have twice met jointly to discuss the future of our Town Center on FM 407. No action was proposed at the prior meetings, so that neither governmental body would feel pressured to make a hasty decision. But Council and P&Z may take some action at the Monday, March 9th, 7 p.m. meeting at Town Hall. Or, Council and P&Z may postpone action to a later date. The required public notices will have been posted for some action on February 23rd or postponement of action to a later date. Issues for consideration, for the Town Center only, are:
(1) Residential Lots:
a) Minimum lot size, maximum lot density per acre, or combination of both.
b) Required setbacks for homes on lots – front, back, and side setbacks.
(2) “Green Space”:
a) Minimum percentage of “green space” (i.e. “open space”) per development area.
b) Clear definition of what qualifies as “green space”.
(3) Minimum width of paved surface for vehicles between curbs:
a) This is an important safety feature to ensure that emergency vehicles (fire engines and ambulances) can easily pass between vehicles parked on opposite sides of the street.
(4) Over-55 Age Restricted Single Family Residential Developments:
a) Whether to allow “age-restricted” developments generally in the
Town Center.
b) And if allowed, any pertinent legal requirements or restrictions.
Input from Town Residents is Important!
Council and P&Z would appreciate your taking the time to give your input. We are at a crossroads as to our Town’s future via the Town Center on FM 407. You are always welcome to come to meetings at Town Hall and express your recommendations in person. But, if your time is pressed for whatever reasons, please take a few moments to send your comments and evaluations via email to [email protected] or to [email protected]. Please give your name and home address in town. (Though we respect the input from neighbors outside Copper Canyon and relevant developers, persons living in Copper Canyon are the ones most impacted by any future development.) All emails will be available to Council and P&Z.
The timely input of suggestions from homeowners in Copper Canyon will be much appreciated by me, our Council Members, and our P&Z Commissioners.
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