The Highland Village City Council approved the final plat for Wichita Estates, an 18.709-acre housing development east of Sellmeyer Lane and south of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tract known as Wichita Forest during Tuesday’s meeting. The coucil also received an update on a new police storefront at the Shops at Highland Village.
The single-family subdivision features 39 residential lots, six common areas that will be maintained by a homeowners association and a 10-foot wide extension of City Trail to be constructed on the east side of Sellmeyer Lane as well as sidewalks constructed throughout the subdivision. The current zoning of SF-10 will remain on the property. The final plat provides for a public street over land which is presently owned by the city and was subject to a private access easement which requires the property be used only for the purpose of access.
Additionally, converting the private access easement into a public street and utility easement does not impact any City use of the property and allows this in-fill development to occur in a more orderly fashion to the benefit of the city. The public street will impact a small portion of the northeast corner of Lions Club Park but will provide safer ingress and egress into the subdivision and the park by eliminating site issues.
The roadway will also include a 5-foot-wide paved sidewalk/trail on the east side of the roadway providing a safer pedestrian connection from the existing Copperas Branch Trail and the development. In return, the city entered into a public improvement participation agreement with the developer, Jaramco Investments, L.L.C., for the realignment of the “S” curve on Sellmeyer Lane with the developer providing the right of way and construction of the new segment. The site plan was submitted to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Planning & Zoning Board and unanimously approved by both.
Councilmembers also approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement with Mission Critical Partners, Inc. for a public safety communications and dispatch system assessment in the amount of $31,061. Mission Critical Partners, Inc. provides specialized expertise in all aspects of public safety. Since August 2014 Lewisville, Flower Mound, Highland Village, Lake Dallas and Denton County officials have met four times to discuss options on radio upgrades, consolidating radio hardware resources and joint connectivity of radio towers for mutually improved radio service reception. There has been discussion of participating in Denton County’s system but no clear plans or decisions have been made. The city is engaging with Mission Critical Partners to review City options and identify risks, costs, and benefits to this critical decision and to provide a roadmap for the City.
Councilmembers also received a presentation from police chief Doug Reim regarding the dedication of a Highland Village Police Department store front facility at The Shops at Highland Village. The Shops at Highland Village and Trademark Properties has agreed to provide a 600-square-foots space behind Whole Foods as the store front. The agreement includes a $10,000 new tenant property allowance, all utilities paid by The Shops at Highland Village and the space cleaned and painted prior to occupation. The Highland Village Police Department will staff the facility during “high volume” times with sworn/auxiliary officers and will provide enforcement of laws and ordinances, foot, golf cart and bike patrols as well as bar checks. The grand opening for the new storefront will take place on April 6.
The HVTV Update informed of upcoming changes related to the 35Express project to include the removal of northbound access on the I-35E frontage road between Garden Ridge Boulevard and Highland Village Road, the upcoming Easter Egg Hunt to be held on March 28 at Unity Park and the spring Family Camp Out scheduled for April 11-12.
The City Council early work session and regular session is available on HVTV (Time Warner 15; Verizon 43) and via the website streaming by clicking HVTV. The meetings are also available for on-demand viewing on the city website.
Laurie Mullens handles community relations for the City of Highland Village.
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