Sandeep Sharma is running for Flower Mound Town Council Place 2.
He will run against Albert Picardi in the citywide election on May 5.
Community Impact Newspaper sent Sharma a series of questions on his candidacy. His written responses, edited for publication style, are below.
1. What do you think is the biggest issue facing Flower Mound?
Traffic. Flower Mound does have a Master Plan and SMARTGrowth program which was designed to maintain the town charm, preserve open green spaces, provide quality of life, manage build-out and mitigate traffic problems. Flower Mound does not have a major highway or many thoroughfares.
Looking at the recent project approvals, the traffic will only increase. The approval of multifamily projects along FM 2499 will add thousands of cars, creating bigger bottlenecks, and with additional traffic lights installed, will back up the traffic on FM 2499.
2. What are your plans to fix this issue?
Prevention is easier than the cure. Let’s not increase traffic to the point that we can’t solve it. When elected, I will prevent the traffic by controlling the growth of multifamily projects. I will work to add more open green spaces in town. I support responsible growth. When we keep changing the Master Plan to add higher density housing, it simply puts more burden on the infrastructure.
3. If elected, what will be your top priorities?
Enhance green and open spaces in Flower Mound—If we start holding developers to the town’s park land dedication requirement and development fees, and stop waiving cash fees in lieu of land dedication, we will be able to continue to add parks and trails.
Listen to and engage with the residents—The town is losing its appeal. I have promised to bring the Town Hall to the people, and I have continued to be the voice of people of Flower Mound, listening and engaging with the residents. I have taken residents’ issues to the Town Hall and helped them collaborate with Town staff on important issues. This is how I would work and not let the government work in silo, disengaged from the residents.
Support responsible growth—Flower Mound has a wonderful master plan and an enviable SMARTGrowth Program. The residential and commercial developments need to these plans for balanced responsible growth. The town doesn’t need any more high-density residential development. It is creating higher traffic that always moves in one direction only. The town needs right type of commercial that will bring people into the town during the day and help sustain the retail establishments, which in turn will help increase the sales tax revenue.
4. Where do you see Flower Mound in the next five years?
Flower Mound has one of the best parks and trails systems. In the next five years with me on the council, it will only get better. I will work towards enhancing the parks and open green spaces. With me on the town council, you will have the peace of mind that right decisions are being made for the benefit of the town. In the next five years or so, Flower Mound’s southern FM 2499 will either be lined with apartments or nice campus commercial development. With me, it will be the latter. In the next five years, west Flower Mound will either be filled with higher-density residential with retail everywhere or with me on the council, comply with the master plan [and] with SMARTGrowth and have open and green spaces. In the next few years, I see the council working hard to make the Riverwalk and Lakeside a success, which we owe it to the residents, businesses, visitors and the town.
5. As Flower Mound grows, how do you plan to address traffic? Affordable housing?
There are two ways to handle the traffic situation; prevention and cure. As prevention, if we continue to adhere to master plan, our infrastructure including roads can handle the traffic. Since we have drastically amended our master plan in the past, we are seeing the after-effects in increased traffic. I will support the economic development without an increase in traffic problems by helping generate traffic in the reverse direction where workers are coming into the town to work and leaving town in the evening. As a cure, I will work with other council members and town manager to plan and implement the fast and smooth flow of traffic to the surrounding highways by improving major thoroughfares, intersections, turn lanes and traffic signal efficiencies.
Affordable housing is a very subjective phrase. The entire DFW market has seen an increase in the house prices. Due to the location and charm of Flower Mound, the land is becoming expensive, and it is not easy to build very low-cost housing. In May 2017, a senior housing overlay was adopted to encourage affordable housing options for seniors. We will have to see and review what kind of proposals come before the town under that provision.
