The project by Hat Creek Development in Southlake had been tabled and denied in 2023 but ultimately got the approval after 10 p.m. during the July meeting. The vote was made by both the planning and zoning commission as well as City Council in the joint meeting, with 7-0 in favor of the development.
Mayor William D. Tate said it was the only second supermajority approval he recalled in his more than 30 years on the dais.
The big picture
Eason Maykus, president of Maykus Homes and Neighborhoods, said the proposed Grapevine Springs development would include 21 two-story homes. A retaining wall would be built in the area that borders an existing office park. There will be 4.4 acres of open space, making up 37% of the overall project.
The original proposal for 32 homes was denied by planning and zoning, and then council in November with prejudice, meaning Maykus could return before the one-year window of the project being denied. The project was tabled in October 2023 at the request of Maykus.
The supermajority was needed due to 38.2% of the surrounding property owners within 200 feet of the development being in opposition to the plan, according to city staff.
During the meeting, Tate said he spoke with Maykus after the previous denial, and Maykus told him he could sell the land to someone who would build an office.
“I told him not to do that; I felt the neighborhood was a lot better with single-family [houses], and save more trees,” Tate said. “He worked with staff to overcome the main issues with planning and zoning, and council—the public streets and reducing the number of lots. He made quite a sacrifice to cut out 11 lots, which is about a third of the subdivision. It’s as nice as any we have in our community.”
The background
The 11.2-acre project near Northwest Highway and North Dove Road had been residential prior to 1984 but was rezoned to a professional office district and community commercial district. The vote by planning and zoning, and council approved the rezoning request to a single-family district.
According to city documents, several proposed residential developments were previously denied in the 1990s. The proposed development would have also been bordered by the Dove Creek neighborhood to the north and the Manor Oaks neighborhood to the west.
“There have been three requests granted changing from commercial use to another since 2003,” Maykus said. “The professional office designation and community commercial designation have stayed, leaving it undeveloped and stagnant for 21 years.”
What they’re saying
“When you were here before, unfortunately, it was just riddled with concerns from not just the council, but the neighbors and all of that,” council member Duff O’Dell said. “To go back and make the changes that you've made, obviously going from 30 to 21 is a significant cut on your return on investment. So that tells me that the integrity of what you're doing is certainly there.”
What else?
Maykus said he made an agreement with neighbors to replace a wooden fence and also eliminate second-story windows on lot Nos. 1-5. Both of those were added as stipulations with the approval.
He said the average lot size would be 9,435 square feet, and the smallest would be 7,888 square feet. He also added that tree coverage had changed from the three different presentations that have been made on the development. The first would’ve eliminated 80%; the second took out 50%, but the latest plan would preserve 55% of the trees there.
Maykus also said a self-imposed stipulation would be to plan two trees in the front yard or street on every lot in the the development.
Council pressed Maykus on the look of the houses, and he said they would not be "cookie-cutter homes" and would look like homes recently completed in or around Grapevine by his company. He said he would like to build at least a third of the homes, but that decision would come later, but he promised if another homebuilder comes into the development, it would be a company that has previously built within the city limits.
