Fort Worth Star-Telegram

May 4, 1998

Edition: NORTHEAST AM

Section: NEWS

Page: 1

ELECTIONS-FW/TC

DEVELOPMENT-FW/TC

 

Voters take path to slower growth

Homeowners-first philosophy prevails in Southlake and Flower Mound.

Author: Dave Nelson; Star-Telegram Writer

Article Text:

 

They have often been dismissed as NIMBYs, a group of "not-in-my-back-yard" protesters who storm city halls in opposition to a shopping center here or small-lot housing developments there, often in the name of protecting property values.

 

But in Southlake and Flower Mound, they are dismissed no more.

 

Candidates in those communities who campaigned for tighter reins on development rode to victory in Saturday's municipal elections.

 

They chalk up their success to what they call a growing number of people who believe that they have not been heard by their elected officials when it comes to development.

 

"It starts out as a NIMBY mentality, but when it happens to this neighborhood and then to that neighborhood, people start to compare stories. Phone calls and letters don't seem to do any good, so people have started realizing they can get their voices heard at the ballot box," said Debra Edmondson, who defeated incumbent David Harris, 1,655-846, in the Southlake election.

 

The trend was not consistent across Northeast Tarrant County. In Bedford and Keller, proponents of slower development failed to win city council seats.

 

Still, the homeowners-first philosophy posed a major threat to incumbents.

 

Many found themselves on the ropes - both those who supported developers and those who tried to maintain quality projects, political experts said.

 

"Regardless of how well the city has tried to manage growth, it puts the incumbents at a tremendous disadvantage," Jerry Yeric, a University of North Texas political science professor, said of the strategy.

 

"But all people have to do is look around, and they see they are being overrun.

"When they drive to work or to the store, they see the traffic.

 

They see it takes longer to get from point A to point B. They see new apartments and new homes going up all over the place. From a political point of view, it's something that politicians can run on fairly easily, and it doesn't take much to draw people's attention to it."

 

In Flower Mound, voters passed over former and current council members to elect Lori DeLuca as mayor and Tom Cawthon, Cindy Travis and Ted Baze as council members.

 

All four were supported by Voters United to Preserve Flower Mound, a group calling for no decrease in housing-lot sizes and for strict adherence to the town's master plan.

 

The plan provides guidelines for growth in a community whose population grew 12 percent last year to 42,500.

 

Councilwoman Pat Moore, who lost her bid for mayor to DeLuca, one of the creators of Voters United, said she was concerned about sending the wrong message to prospective businesses. If they are continually turned away, taxes will go up or city services will be cut, she said.

 

Moore said the irony of this election is that her approach to development is "not much different" than that of Voters United.

 

"The difference is that I had a record, and it can be interpreted.

It's easy to attack an incumbent when you don't have experience and you have no record," Moore said.

 

In Southlake, City Council candidates Edmondson, Ronnie Kendall and incumbent Gary Fawks scored victories with margins of 65 percent or larger by promising to put homeowners' wishes before those of developers.

 

Edmondson said the victory will mean more split votes when it comes to controversial developments in Southlake.

 

"People are upset right now about what gets built and how it gets built," she said.

"The developers are allowed to come in here and completely clear cut tracts of land that were once green, and once it's done, people look at it and wonder why we need it."

 

The campaign strategy did not always work.

 

In Keller, candidates backed by Keller Citizens Action Team, a group with similar goals as Voters United, failed in their council bids. They tried to convince voters that the current leadership was not protecting homeowners after a year of protests at City Hall over developments, particularly apartments.

 

Incumbents Dave Phillips and Pat McGrail attributed their victories to compromises that they had engineered between developers and homeowners groups, as well as a record of getting projects off the ground, such as the redevelopment of Old Town.

 

In Bedford, City Council candidates Karin Newell and Jeff Corbet won Saturday by saying the city should be more open to economic development.

 

Dave Nelson, (817) 685-3807 davenelson@star-telegram.com

Copyright 1998 Star-Telegram, Inc.