P&Z

P&Z - Village at Walker Place, Heritage Place, and Reata Ranch 

The Commission:

Dale Treadway(Chairman) - Present
Rob Endter(Vice Chairman) - Present
Kenneth Thomas - Present
Dustin Dewald - Present
Howard Hawk - Present
Sarah Kindler - Present
Jerry Cantrell - Present


Hello again Copperas Cove! The Planning and Zoning Commission held a Call to Order with Public Hearings related to Village at Walker Place, Heritage Place, and Reata Ranch phase 2. Dustin Dewald recused himself from the majority of the meeting (F1 - F4, G1 & G2) due to his involvement and part owner of land being discussed.

Meeting Agenda link

Public Hearing:

F1- The Public Hearing opened up with discussion about a request to amend the Future Land Use Plan map for Village at Walker Place from Low Density Residential to Medium Density Residential.  The applicant (Mitchell and Associates, Inc) intends to plot 68 duplex units on a 33.356 acre area located east of Dixon Circle and north of US HWY 190. Bobby Lewis (Development Services Director) informed the Commission that out of 100 notification letters sent out to nearby residents, 4 were received back with comments for denial. Kenneth Thomas asked to see the letters for his review, to which Bobby Lewis was able to present.

Mike, with Mitchell and Associates, was the first to go up to the podium for questioning. Rob Endter asked if there will be a through-fare passing through the new development, or will it dead end? Mike stated they would like to have one eventually that would lead out to the highway, but they are facing complications with TxDOT that they need to figure out first. With that, there were no more questions for the applicant, so residents started coming to the podium to speak. Christina (Cline Dr) was the first to speak out against the neighborhood because she feels like she and her husband would be directly affected with many reasons for concern. Her husband is a disabled veteran and their home has been custom built to accommodate his disabilities. The construction of the neighborhood will affect accessibility to their property and disturb the peace and quiet that he needs. One example she gave was he has a workshop in the backyard that he needs to be able to access with his vehicle, and this construction would affect that access. They don't want to impeded on progress, but she also has to watch out for her family. Donald was next up and he stated the area they are looking to build on is a nice serene environment and he is concerned about losing that serenity. He also raised concern about this becoming a "high priced ghetto", and it allowing neighborhood crime to be brought in as well as surrounding property values to drop. Dustin Dewald followed these comments to provide his input as a property owner of the lots being discussed. This development won't affect anyone's access to their property unless they're accessing from his property - which leads into a bigger problem he's been facing. People have been trespassing his property for years to use it for illegal dumping, hanging out, and even bringing their 4 wheelers on it to go have fun. All of that is a liability for him as well as an eye sore for the property. Bringing in this neighborhood will make the property look nicer and bring an end to the illegal activities. It's always been intended to be a neighborhood, it just took them until now to decide to make it happen. They are hoping to bring the road out to 3046 during the next phase of construction. Rob Endter asked if this will be like "The Meadows" off W. Ave B? Dustin was unsure about that particular neighborhood, but knows of other similar neighborhoods in the area to what he's wanting to bring in. He also brought up the fact that duplexes cost more than a single family home. Because of that, he doesn't see how it's possible for this neighborhood to drop property values. Jerry Cantrel, concerned for DV's, wants to see us looking out for each other and be considerate. Dustin agrees with this and said the neighborhood there is a safe neighborhood and he doesn't expect to see this change any of that. The only change should be this undeveloped property will be developed. Choncey (Walker Place) asked if there is any way to make the entrance only from the bypass or 3046 and block off access from Walker Place or Cline Dr? Dustin said there's not due to city ordinance. All neighborhoods must allow through-fare when possible. With this, there was no more discussion and the Commission moved to vote. Pass 4-2 Against - Howard Hawk, Jerry Cantrell

F-2 Mitchell and Associates is requesting to rezone property for Village at Walker Place from AG-1 and R-3 to R-2. Village at Walker Place sits on property consisting of 123.529 acres located west of FM 3046 and south of US HWY 190. By getting rid of the AG-1 and rezoning from an R-3 to R-2, they're actually being more restrictive on what can be built in this area. R-3 allows a mix of businesses and apartments to be mixed in with single family homes and duplexes. This change would only allow duplexes and single family homes. Even without this change, they could come in and build duplexes right now - but they are wanting to make this change to "clean up" local zoning. With no public comment, this was voted for PASS with votes from all Commissioners present.

F-3 Mitchell and Associates submitted a request to amend the Future Land Use Plan map for Heritage Place Addition to go from Low Density Residential to Low Density Residential, Medium Density Residential, and Retail. Heritage Place Addition sits on property consisting of 123.529 acres located west of FM 3046 and south of US HWY 190. Bobby Lewis informed the Commission that the city sent out 20 letters of notification to nearby residents and received 3 letters of approval and 1 letter of denial in return. Kenneth Thomas asked to review the letters, to which Bobby Lewis was able to present. Mike with Mitchell and Associates was present for questions from the Commission, to which there were none. One Citizen stood up and expressed his concern for losing the serenity of the property and crime increasing in the area. Sam followed up and asked what type of businesses are they anticipating coming in with this change? The place does look like a trash dump so it will be nice to see that cleaned up. What will happen to all the Oak Trees on the lot? He'd hate to see them pulled up and burned. There's a small creek running along the property - has anyone checked to see if this is a flood zone? Will the creek be reinforced with concrete or large rocks? There is a mountain along the south side of the property - will they be cutting into that? Jerick Dewald responded that there is nothing specific planned for commercial businesses. When pressed if he had any ideas in mind, he stated he didn't want to go into that until they had something solid in motion. The duplexes would be built and maintained "in house", but if there are single family homes built, they will be picky with who they allow to build to ensure quality materials and workmanship. They will leave as many Oaks as possible in the neighborhood, and the creek will be left natural. Anytime they look at building on a lot, it's an automatic thing to check for flood planes, and if one is identified then it becomes a very rigorous process to ensure the proper steps are taken. This involves participation on the local and federal level. With that, there was no more discussion and this request was a PASS with votes from all Commissioners present.

F-4 Mitchell and Associates is requesting property for Heritage Place Addition from Agricultural to Single Family Residential, Two Family Residential, and B-5 Commercial Services District (the most liberal of Business Zonings). The property is located on 123.529 acres located west of FM 3046 and south of US HWY 190. Bobby Lewis said based on the plan provided by Mitchell and Associates, the City Staff recommend B-4 rather than B-5. When Jerick Dewald was asked the reasoning for requesting B-5, he said they were just trying to ask for as much leniency as they could get and see what happens. The Commission voted to PASS with the recommended change by Bobby Lewis of B-4 instead of B-5.

Action Items:

For Action Items G1 - G3, the Commission voted to PASS all items without change. These items covered:
-a Preliminary Plat Request for the Village at Walker Place, being a duplex unit residential subdivision consiting of 4 blocks and 68 lots
-a Preliminary Plat for Heritage Place Addition being a residential and commercial subdivision consisting of 14 blocks, 367 residential lots, and 2 commercial lots
-a Preliminary Plat for Reata Ranch Phase 2 being a single family residential subdivision, consisting of 3 blocks and 24 lots located on 23.75 acres of an 80.86 acre parcel, located within the ETJ of Copperas Cove, west of FM 116 and Coleton Drive.

Reports:
Bobby Lewis reported that there are a couple items coming up on next months' meeting, one of which is wrapping up the sign ordinance.


With that, the P&Z meeting was wrapped up. We appreciate your continued support of the blog and remind you to share this among our fellow citizens!