Flower Mound’s Town Council made its way through a full agenda in an atypically rapid pace on Monday night.
It approved: a rezoning request and tree removal for a new development; a town lease agreement in Parker Square; SUP’s (Special Use Permit) for a day care center near FM 407, a drama-dance-music studio by Sagebrush and a reception hall in The River Walk; a re-zoning request for an on-site sales trailer in Lakeside DFW; buying a 1860’s log cabin to use as a public park centerpiece; and, raising the compensation for the town manager and town secretary to equal the rate of increase for other Flower Mound staff.
The only item left hovering in a holding pattern pertains to drone definition as a vehicle and their usage over town parks.
The rezoning request for the Hawks Hill development property was approved unanimously.
“I look at pieces of land as old friends,” said council member Brian Rountree prior to voting his approval. “Seeing the stretches of open land disappear … I struggle with it. But, we have to respect the property-owners rights … but, building a building on the top of the crest; they could’ve done better. I have to move my emotional feeling from it.”
The applicant’s request for the 18.58-acre property to be rezoned from agricultural land use to a planned development with retail and office space was approved, as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission at its Sept. 28 meeting.
The property is located west of FM 2499, north of the future Highland Court residential project and south of Waketon Rd.
Hawks Hill’s top one-third is projected to have approximately 30,000-square-feet of retail and restaurant dedicated usage, plus a 6,000-square-foot convenience store with gas pumps to be at the FM 2499/Waketon intersection opposite Win Kids Sports and Learning Center. The bottom two-thirds of the development will be 99,200-square-feet of professional office space usage.
Town Planning Services Executive Director Doug Powell advised the council that the rezoning request does not include any signage specifics or the SUP (Special Use Permit), which will be required for gas sales.
As she had at the P&Z meeting, Consultant Kendra Stephenson represented the developer, Hawks Ramsey, with a presentation of the Hawks Hill development specifics.
Matthew Hotelling, town traffic manager, again reviewed the recent TIA (Traffic Impact Analysis). He said that once the planned road improvements in the area are completed, traffic flow will meet the requirements.
Among the scheduled improvements are a traffic signal at the FM 2499/College Parkway intersection, a left-turn and longer right-turn lane at the FM 2499/Waketon intersection already included as part of the Waketon improvement projects.
Some residents again voiced their concerns about the undeveloped property between Hawks Hill and the residential property off Rippy Road. That property is also owned by Hawks Hill developer Jeff Ramsey.
“I realize this may be an exercise in futility,” said Selena McUmber. “However, the concerns still need to be stated. This concept plan doesn’t show the possible 192-unit multi-family buildings that were in the October 2014 plan.”
Powell pointed out that the acreage between Hawks Hill, west of Jacob Lugo Drive, and the single-family, low-density residential land is still zoned Agricultural.
He also pointed out that the location of Jacob Lugo Drive was set with the Highland Court development approval.
He added that the exceptions/waivers to the town’s ordinances the developers are asking for have impact on only themselves. The requested variances include a compatibility buffer of a distance less than the required 550 feet on the west side of the project.
Lakeside DFW
A rezoning request to allow a temporary sales trailer for marketing the Lakeside Towers condominium units was also unanimously approved.
Realty Capital Managing Director Richard Myers said that 35-persent of the condos have been pre-sold. The trailer will allow the sales agents proximity to the building and will only be on-site for 12- to 18-months after building start.
Council members encouraged Myers to visit the sales trailer in the Canyon Falls development for ideas in aesthetics for the Lakeside unit.
SUP’s Granted
A Specific Use Permit (SUP) for a reception hall was approved for The River Walk at Central Park.
The 4,900-square-foot hall will be located north of the island dedicated for the chapel. It will be used for special events, town functions and meetings.
The Learning Experience day care center’s SUP was approved to be built just south of FM 407, west of Stone Hill Farms Parkway near Cloud 9 Salon and Spa. It will be a one-story, 10,000-square-foot building.
Also approved for an SUP was the Turning Pointe drama-dance-music studio. It will be housed in an existing building south of Sagebrush Drive east of FM 2499.
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