City Council to Address The Root of Tree Issues With The Bluffs Colleyville Proposed Development
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In our last installment of trees versus housing development, we left you with the Colleyville City Council dashing the hopes of WillowTree Custom Homes in its plan to develop 14 acres between Pool Road and Wilkes Drive into The Bluffs Colleyville.
To catch up those who might not remember, Colleyville’s planning and zoning denied the initial request to rezone the parcel of land from agricultural to single-family resident. It was WillowTree Custom Home’s idea to create The Bluffs Colleyville, a gated subdivision with luxury homes. That’s progress and increased property values in some opinions, but to others, it’s destroying “heritage trees,” part of an urban forest in what is supposed to be a protected area.
New proposals will be discussed at the next regular meeting of the Colleyville City Council at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the City Council chambers of City Hall. This will be the “first reading” of the new proposal, and no vote will be taken. The “second reading” is scheduled for June 20, and a vote could be taken then. For the development to proceed, zoning would need to change from its current agricultural designation, the designation it held when the developer purchased the property.
Things could get interesting.
Getting to The Root During Garden Week
Let’s just start with the fact that this meeting comes during National Garden Week. It gets better. The Colleyville Garden Club will receive a proclamation from the city recognizing it being named Texas Garden Club of the Year.
Meanwhile, some of Colleyville’s oldest trees could become history or the city could expect new residents, depending on how the city council decides to vote Tuesday on a controversial and possible reversal in the city’s long-range plans.
The Bluffs Colleyville website describes the development as containing 14 single-family residences with the average lot measuring 28,000 square feet. Each lot, according to the website, will have “its own beautiful view of nature.” Additionally, two common areas are planned within the gated community.
“We think we’ve addressed what the council has asked us to do,” said Curtis Young, owner of The Sage Group and the architect in charge of this proposed high-end development.
Originally, plans for The Bluffs called for 23 lots, was reduced to 19, and now stands at 14 lots, he said. Owner Mark Goodwin owns 12 acres, with another 1.9 acres under contract. This would give residents of the proposed development access from Colleyville’s Pool Road, instead of going through Ross Downs, a residential area that is approximately 30 years old.
“Most of the neighbors wanted this because it wouldn’t be taking traffic through their neighborhood,” Young said.
The architect labeled the property “unique” with lots of trees and a fair amount of slope. The Bluffs’ team now envisions luxurious homes on approximately 30,000-square-foot lots.
Young said that Goodwin bought the property knowing it was zoned agricultural with the hopes the city would change the zoning for the development, admittedly not the normal order for such a project. The city’s planning and zoning commission recently approved the 14-home plan.
Most developers put a property under contract after the zoning has been changed to residential, he said. Goodwin took a “huge risk,” Young said. “But it’s a show of confidence. He’s fully invested in this property. This is going to be the best of the best.”
Goodwin did not respond to an interview request.
The development is not being cheered by many Colleyville residents, including Mary Ann Nicholson. Nicholson, although a longtime member of the Colleyville Garden Club, said the garden club has not taken an official position on the development, but the club did allow an informational table at its May meeting explaining the stance opposing the development. Nicholson, as a national lifetime honorary member of the National Garden Club and a trustee of Texas Garden Club, Inc., does hold her own personal view of what should be done with the land currently zoned agricultural.
“I would love to have the city get involved and keep it as a wild space,” she said. “I don’t think we have enough wild space in Colleyville and the country. It’s just a beautiful place to visit. We spend thousands of dollars visiting national parks to see pristine land, and we have a little of it here. And really, unless citizens get involved, we can lose this.”
Changing Thoughts on The Bluffs Colleyville
Another resident opposing the proposed subdivision is Bob Egan, who has lived in neighboring Ross Downs for 32 years and claims the distinction of living in the neighborhood the longest. Initially, he assumed the proposed parcel of land would be developed, but he now strongly disagrees with the plan. His research has led him to believe that the proposal is wrong for several reasons.
“When we saw the plans for it, we began to see the topography of the land, and it slopes so dramatically,” Egan said. “Knowing the number of trees that would be taken out just to cut the road, too, there was a great amount of concern.”
According to Egan, The Bluffs will require substantial retaining walls, and shifting soil could make that a problem.
“It is the city’s responsibility that they do this properly and that they make sure the soil changes they’re going to make are adequate to support the homes that are going to be erected on that development,” Egan said. “The developer has done no soil testing, as of the last city council.”
And then there are the trees that will be removed to make way for housing. Fifty percent would be allowed by the developer, and another 50 percent allowed by each homebuilder, seemingly at odds with Colleyville’s tree policy.
Colleyville lies in the Eastern Cross Timbers ecological region with numerous post oaks and blackjack oaks, according to the city’s website. In 1993, the suburb adopted its first ordinance concerning tree removal.
“I care about the trees,” Egan said. “So far they have the right to take out up to 50 percent of the trees. These are old-growth trees that have been there for up to 200 years. Because these trees are back behind where no one can see them, the city doesn’t care.”
Young has a different view.
“They want this to be a private park, at the city’s expense,” he said. “That’s not the way the world works. It’s a bit ridiculous what they’re asking for. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done before where they live.”
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Excellent article. The Heritage Trees need to be saved to help our environment and historically help remember Colleyville used to look. Let’s save the TREES!!!
“Ridiculous and not how the world works” “It’s nothing that hasn’t been done before where they live.”
Mr. Young is stuck in his business as usual for over 4 decades mentality. By his own admission, Colleyville is 97% developed and developers like him have been mowing down Eastern Cross Timbers until native old growth forest are all but gone. The citizens are clear that preserving green spaces like this are VERY important to our quality of life and general welfare.
In January 2019, City Leaders expressed that it is their intent, and in the public interest, to conserve the Eastern Cross Timbers Forest by updating City ordinance Chapter 5 – Urban Forestry; Section 5.1 – Purpose, … “To promote, conserve and enhance the City’s Urban Forest by Recognizing the historical and cultural importance of the Eastern Cross Timbers and its impact on Colleyville.” The city codified this into an ordinance and this is what citizens expect in the case. There are 641 opposition letters signed by Colleyville taxpayers and submitted to the city on this case. The city’s citizen survey released Jan 2023 says 73% want the city to acquire more greenspace.
I realize that may not be the way Mr. Young’s world works but he is clearly out of touch with how the city and citizenry have evolved. Mr. Young, things change and the longer you cling to your outdated beliefs the more irrelevant and ridiculaous sounding you will become.
We benefit from the convenience reaching DFW airport but we are subject to the Air Pollution and Noise here in Colleyville. By DFW airports own audit for 2019, about 76,000,000 pounds of Carbon emissions were released by the air traffic going to and from DFW. And another International Terminal with 15 gates will be added in the coming years!
One tree in a 40 year life span can take in about 2,000 pounds of carbon. So we need a lot of trees! We need all the trees we can accommodate although of course not the only solution to climate change and toxic pollution.
Yes indeed there has been a near annihilation of the Cross Timbers Forest and we need to preserve the fragments that are left. We are intelligent enough to say, “Stop” and pivot toward environmental conservation NOW! We adults need to courageously demonstrate to young people that we will stand up for what is right and leave them a living planet. It was said last night by a resident or two that we teach our children to have courage so that is what we are doing standing up for the preservation of our natural world of which we all are a part and our health is dependent upon! We need more residents to come forward to fortify our stand because we will be remembered whether we did or were “neutral”. We have beautiful natural areas in Colleyville but we also have them to lose and once they are gone, they are gone. Come join us by signing the Opposition Letter at SaveColleyvilleTrees.com Thank You!
How much would each of the 641 opposition letter writers need to invest to purchase the property as a preserve?
Tony,
The developer is willing to talk to anybody who is interested in purchasing the property, however, he is inflating the cost by an exorbitant amount that even the city said they’re not willing to pay that much.