Frisco Texas Residential

The Frisco City Council and developers of a subdivision of million-dollar homes came to the waterside to find common ground Tuesday night, paving the way for construction to begin.

The Frisco City Council and developers of a subdivision of million-dollar homes came to the waterside to find common ground Tuesday night, paving the way for construction to begin.

The Hills of Kings Wood, on a 333-acre site at the border of Frisco and The Colony near Lebanon Road and FM 423 had hung on the interpretation of the city's creek ordinance, and specifically whether the subdivision of 497 single-family lots and 23 open-space lots backs up to Stewart Creek or Lake Lewisville. Another point of contention was the gated community would cut off public access to Stewart Creek - violating a fundamental right of citizens to access the city's green spaces.

Developers of the project in attendance at the Dec. 6, 2005 council meeting said it would become the largest gated community in Frisco, surpassing Starwood and Stonebriar Ranch. The average price of a home would be between $1 million and $1.2 million, they said.

The city's Planning and Zoning Commission originally voted 5-1 to deny the planned gated community Nov. 22, and developers appealed to the City Council. Planning and Zoning said no based on the ruling the development did not comply with the section of the city's Subdivision Regulation Ordinance that limits building near the city's major creeks.

Section 7.08, or the "creek ordinance" as it is commonly known, says that only 40 percent of the lots in a development can back up directly to any of the city's five major creeks, including Stewart Creek. The ordinance requires that a minimum of 60 percent of the linear frontage of a development along a major creek's flood plain have a "parallel, loop, or cul-de-sac street adjacent to it." The commission's contention was that in the northern portion of the development, 100 percent of the lots backed up to Stewart Creek.

City staff's opinion was because the lots back up directly onto the creek's flood plain, access to them would be limited, causing problems for fire and emergency services access, endangering the "health and safety of residents." Coupled with the designs for a limited-access gated community the issues compounded, staff said.

In a letter to the City Council appealing the Planning and Zoning denial, a representative of the developers wrote their opinion was the majority of the lots were actually on Lake Lewisville, and since the land was federally owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - the builder and maintainer of the lake - the city's creek ordinance didn't apply.

The letter stated since the U.S. government owns the property adjacent to the creek - and the creek flows through federal land - the Corps of Engineers can control how it is developed. That means no development at all, preserving the intent of the city's creek ordinance ultimately.

"Since these lands will most likely never be developed considering they are 'a part of Lake Lewisville' an argument can be made that 100 (percent) of the property adjacent to Stewart Creek will remain undeveloped," the developers argued in the letter. "This will enable these areas to remain in their natural state and not be encroached upon by man-made developments," the letter continued.

After tabling the matter twice to further investigate the finer points and search for an amicable compromise, a developer's agreement was drafted and signed by Roque Saco-Vertiz, vice-president of Hills of Kings Wood, L.P. Jan. 31. The council voted to accept the agreement and grant the developers permission to move ahead, provided they adhered to the agreement's provisions.

The agreement specifies that only a maximum of 500 single-family homes can be built in the subdivision, and all lots along the northern and western boundaries (nearest Stewart Creek) will have 20-foot yard setbacks and a minimum of 40 feet between homes. Lots in that section must have open wrought iron or tubular steel fences so as not to obstruct views of the creek land beyond. Also, developers must provide seven 100-foot wide landscape areas connecting with a trail along the creek bank. Four of the landscape areas have to have a 12-foot-wide concrete drive to accommodate fire department, public works, and pedestrian access behind the lots.

Further, the developers must provide a public trail connection on the property's eastern edge off Lebanon Road, allowing public access to the development's trail. The public can be screened off from access to the private property by a fence or other structure. Also, security gates of the subdivision must be kept open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. for public access if there is no 24-hour manning of the gates, the agreement states.

Most of the council agreed the development would bring Frisco another opportunity for high-end real estate development, which was important because the city was running out of sites to accommodate them. Luxury developers would opt to build in other cities and Frisco would lose the property taxes, which would only be to Frisco's detriment.

Not every council member was in favor, however. Council member Bob Allen cast the lone dissenting vote.

"We are still circumventing the creek ordinance," Allen muttered slightly off microphone after the vote.




©Star Community Newspapers 2006

Author Information

Mike Raye, Staff Writer - Frisco Enterprise