Master Plan Update 2013

Municipal Sewer - Cross Timbers Conservation District

Rick Lust, Flower Mound Mayor 1988-1990

December 10, 2013 Letter to Town Council

Honorable Mayor and Council,

           At the last Council meeting of Dec 2nd, the 1982 master plan land use plan was referenced several times as having low density described as 3 units per acre in the Cross Timbers area. That is true. However, you need to know that is not what the final master plan (Jul 1981) created by WRT ( Wallace Roberts and Todd) called for. The WRT plan which took almost two years of comprehensive study and meetings with the citizens, and cost nearly a quarter of a million dollars (funded by HUD), called for RURAL (2 acre minimum lots) in the Cross Timbers area. (see attachment)  How could this change have happened?  Well, the ink was barely dry on the plan when a small group of land owners (including one a former Mayor and one a retired physician) began to put significant and chronic pressure on the Council to change the land use as it did not maximize the profit potential of their personal land holdings. End result of this political pressure was the crude land use drawing found in the plan adopted by the Town in October 1981.

          The point here is, unless you have some underlying fundamentals in your master plan, it will be susceptible to political corruption.

          The bottom line: sewer = urban, septic = county.  If you are serious about preserving this town’s signature as a dichotomy of “the city and the country”, you should not create a wastewater Service Area for the Cross Timbers District.

           What would be a reasonable compromise at this point? I would think allowing clustering in the Cross Timbers District that is density neutral with a minimum lot size of one acre is reasonable. It affords the developer an opportunity and flexibility to reduce lot size by 50% and also take advantage of the financial benefits of the conservation area donation. This flexibility would still allow for scenic roadways, sight lines, tree preservation etc. This would also preclude the need for a sewer wastewater district and assure the vision and integrity of the Master Plan.

           Please give this some careful thought and consideration for it is the unique identity signature of our town and it’s future that is at stake.

Respectfully,

Rick Lust / Mayor

Wallace, Roberts and Todd 1981 Master Plan