The Dallas Morning News

July 17, 2002

Edition: SECOND

Section: DENTON COUNTY

Page: 1M

 

City makes changes to SMART Growth

Plan streamlines development, expands environmental effort

Author: ANNETTE FULLER; Staff Writer

Dateline: FLOWER MOUND

Article Text:

 

In 1999, Flower Mound made headlines by adopting a SMART Growth plan that sought to manage the exploding residential growth at that time. The plan was criticized by builders as restrictive, cumbersome and cost-prohibitive.

 

This week, the town of Flower Mound made its first major revision to the SMART Growth plan, streamlining the procedures and reducing the costs for builders. When the Town Council adopted the SMART Growth plan three years ago, "we knew it would need to be updated," said council member Cindy Travis. "We're only making it better, and we're not lowering any standards."

 

Town Manager Van James outlined the updates to the Strategically Managed And Responsible Town Growth plan Monday night, and the council unanimously approved them.

 

The updates also widen the plan's push for environmentally friendly development - saving trees and the natural environment - across the entire town. Incentives were previously offered for development in the Cross Timbers Conservation Development District, an area in western Flower Mound that is largely open space.

 

Residential and commercial building permits have dropped in Flower Mound in the last year. But officials denied that the current economic climate affected the plan.

Mayor Lori DeLuca, out of town on vacation, said the town staff has been working on updates to SMART Growth for the last 18 months.

 

"This has nothing to do with the recent economic downturn," Mrs. DeLuca said.

Mr. James agreed.

 

"Economic cycles tend to be short-term in nature, and SMART Growth is a very long-term vision," Mr. James said. "SMART Growth ensures vision-driven development, as opposed to market-driven development, which tends to have a short-term perspective."

 

A representative from the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas said his organization complained in 1999 that the processes developers have to go through to build in Flower Mound were too cumbersome and expensive. Before their projects are approved, builders must complete studies that show their project's impact on traffic, schools, natural habitat, trees and more.

 

"We hope the changes they have made will provide some relief, while still allowing them to reach their goals as a community," said Paul Cauduro, government relations director for the association.

 

'Ways to improve'

 

But Mr. James said the plan never had any provisions that were too cumbersome for builders.

 

"We are simply looking at ways to improve the program, to simplify the process as much as possible," he said. Those changes include eliminating threshold zoning criteria and instead using only the SMART Growth analysis. Threshold zoning criteria included 32 topics that developers had to address - from drainage and traffic to water use and police protection - to ensure their project did not unduly burden the existing residents of Flower Mound. Removing threshold zoning will reduce the number of public hearings that each project must have, Mr. James said.

 

Also, town staffers will conduct some of the environmental studies for proposed projects, rather than requiring a developer to foot the bill to hire an outside consultant, Mr. James said. He said this can be done without any additional hiring.

 

Another significant change in the plan extends incentives to developers throughout the town for environmentally friendly development. For example, if a developer can prove his project protects green space, natural habitat, trees and other wildlife, he may be eligible for permit fee waivers, expedited development review and reduced street infrastructure requirements, Mr. James said.

 

"We have to think of our grandchildren's grandchildren," said Town Council member Sara Wingard. "All God's creatures have a place in the ecosystem, whether they're cute and cuddly or not. It is our responsibility as human beings to be God's stewards of the Earth. This is a step in the right direction."

 

The town first offered the incentives in the Cross Timbers area, a swath of land through central Flower Mound known for its large stands of old trees, mostly oaks.

'A leader'

 

The only other city in Texas that has done the same comprehensive and environmentally sensitive planning is Austin, said Bobby Hernandez, a community planner for the Environmental Protection Agency in Dallas, who attended the Monday night meeting.

 

"This SMART Growth plan makes Flower Mound a leader, since the towns around them don't have any sort of plan like this," Mr. Hernandez said. "Paving new ground is always difficult. Flower Mound realizes that the smartest thing they can do is to protect the assets they have to begin with, like 400-year-old oak trees."

 

No residents expressed opposition to the changes, and several spoke in favor.

 

Joe Ann Brooks said she is a supporter of SMART Growth in that it helps preserve the town's natural areas. She said she sometimes sees wild animals walk across her property and wants to keep it that way.

 

"I know that the animal is there by nature and that I am not intruding on his property," she said. "It's nice not to be paved over in concrete."

 

E-mail afuller@dallasnews.com

or call 972-436-5551 ext. 2002.

Caption:

CHART(S): 1. BUILDING PERMITS. 2. CHANGES TO SMART GROWTH PLAN.

Copyright 2002 The Dallas Morning News