NOTE: SMARTGrowth means different things to different communities.  In Flower Mound's case, it was not new urbanism because of lack of major arterials and distance from highways. 

 

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

January 29, 1999

Edition: NORTHEAST AM

Section: METRO

Page: 7

Southern Denton County

 

SmartGrowth answers

Flower Mound officials work to help residents understand moratorium on housing development

Author: Bryon Okada; Star-Telegram Writer

Dateline: FLOWER MOUND

Article Text:

 

Town officials continue to wage a battle of perception about the recently instituted SMARTGrowth Program, mostly the confusion surrounding the program's moratorium on new residential development.

 

The SMARTGrowth Program is a wide-scale plan to freeze the playing field of residential development to buy time for the town to bolster its over-burdened infrastructure and update its comprehensive master plan.

 

"The biggest piece of misinformation out there right now is that all residential construction stops, and if there's a house halfway done, it just stays that way," Mayor Lori DeLuca said.

 

Part of the problem may be the use of the word "new," which means not yet planned, according to Flower Mound officials.

 

From color newsletters and media briefings to videocassettes and CD-ROMs, the town has initiated a multimedia blitzkrieg about SMARTGrowth. Town Manager Van James and DeLuca, in tandem or individually, have given numerous presentations ranging from the original 90-minute analysis Jan. 8 to a three-minute glance this week at Denton County Commissioners Court.

 

County Commissioner Scott Armey said the motivation for SMARTGrowth is basic: "I think they have a capacity problem."

 

Still, some residents say that the awareness campaign comes too late and should have come before the Town Council's adoption of the program. They also worry that Flower Mound is in effect blacking out replays of contentious Town Council meetings on the town cable television station by continually running SMARTGrowth information.

 

"It's not the message I'm most opposed to. It's the method," resident Paul Stone said.

 

SMARTGrowth includes a review of the town's master plan, which is expected to be complete in September; a shorter, 45-day life for building permits; and a moratorium on new residential development plans, zoning amendments and master plan amendments.

 

The program was prompted by recent engineering studies by Kimley-Horn & Associates and Alan Plummer Associates that were commissioned by the previous Town Council as part of an update of the town's impact fees.

 

The studies, some of which were released months ago, revealed that in the near future, Flower Mound requires major additions to its water and waste-water supplies, as well as upgrades to its roadways.

 

Eventually the town of 42,500 is expected to exceed 92,000 residents.

 

SMARTGrowth Program questions

 

Some SMARTGrowth Program issues that have confused residents:

Exactly what is the cutoff point for residential development?

 

Any residential project with a properly submitted development plan can move forward, Director of Community Development Sam Paschal said.

 

Platted property can move forward. Homes currently under construction can move forward.

 

As of Wednesday, there were 824 open building permits without certificates of occupancy, DeLuca said.

 

With so many permits in the pipe, what effect does an eight-month moratorium produce?

 

Not much in the immediate sense. In a year or so, residential development will undoubtedly slow because of the cessation of new permits, DeLuca said.

Does the tabling of the Pecan Park project have anything to do with SMARTGrowth?

 

Not directly. The project is commercial, which means it has no direct tie to residential-only SMARTGrowth. On a peripheral level, however, the project was tabled pending the update of the master plan, which is tied to the SMARTGrowth Program.

 

Does SMARTGrowth solve Flower Mound's infrastructure problems?

 

Not directly. The plan, however, should give the town enough time to bring its plans to increase water and waste-water capacity to fruition, as well as give multijurisdictional coalitions and bond programs time to upgrade roads.

 

Does Flower Mound's SMARTGrowth have anything to do with President Clinton's proposed "smart growth" program?

 

Mere coincidence. Akin in many ways to New Urbanism, the federal proposal to promote smart-growth initiatives in local communities is perceived as anti-development by conservatives, but it is similar to Flower Mound's program in name only. Town officials pored over a thesaurus to try to find another name.

 

Copyright 1999 Star-Telegram, Inc.