Council approved an ordinance amending the zoning from agricultural district uses to Planned Development District No. 197 with agricultural district uses for a conservation development with certain exceptions, modifications and waivers to the town’s code of ordinances. Council held a hearing and approved a tree removal permit for 117 specimen trees on property proposed for development as Smith Tract Conservation. The agenda item approvals came with additional language covering side yard setbacks to preserve trees, lot entry modifications and exclusion of 12 trees for removal from the original 129.
Zooming in
The property is generally located south of Cross Timbers Road, east of Shiloh Road, west of Scenic Drive and features 447 acres. The site is master-planned for the Cross Timbers Conservation Development District.
Mike Boswell of homebuilder company Toll Brothers presented information to council about plans for the property, which will be a 223-unit residential lot.
According to the tree survey for the project, the site contains 648 specimen trees. The applicant is requesting to remove 129 specimen trees from the site to build the residential subdivision. The specimen trees proposed for removal are in good, fair or poor condition and are located within the proposed buildable area.
A few people spoke during the public hearing. Sally Mashburn, who lives in Dallas and is a Smith family member, supported the measure for the Toll Brothers to do a residential development on the property.
Another speaker, Flower Mound resident Bill Milburn, said he had reservations about the development because of traffic safety issues and also said it would take more than 100 years to replace the trees that would be eliminated.
The next step in the development process is a subdivision site plan or plat, said Lexin Murphy, town director of development services.
What they’re saying
“It’s a good project; they did exactly what we asked for,” said council member Adam Schiestel, who mentioned it was “tragic” to see these ranches converted into neighborhoods because of the community's desire for open spaces.
