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Ken Griffin -West Sandy Lake
From: Ken Griffin
To: Gregory Peck; Jorge Aguirre
Date: 4/2412006 3:43 PM
Subject: Nest Sandy Lake
(Note: I tried to send this with the attachments but it would not go through. I will print the
attachments and mail them to you.)
This email is in response to your email concerning a letter the city sent on April 20, 2006 about the
widening of Sandy Lake Road at the Whispering Hills intersection. You pointed out two concerns with
the April 20th letter. The first concern was that the letter stated that Whispering Hills would be closed
for a week or more. Actually, the letter stated that the street would be closed the week of May 1st
through May 5th, unless weather causes a delay and then it would be closed May 8th through May
12th. If work goes as planned, the city anticipates the intersection to be closed for only four days.
The second point in your email stated that a significant portion of the trees that line Sandy Lake Road
and abut your subdivision would be cut down. The letter sent on April 20, 2006 does not address any
tree removal. I walked the area adj acent to Georgian Place and, prior to any tree removal, there were
98 trees of various sizes adjacent to Georgian Place. Of those 98 trees, two were removed near the
intersection of Sandy Lake Road and Whispering Hills adjacent to Georgian Place. There were also 8
trees adjacent to Georgian Place that were trimmed to provide for the proper tree canopy from the road
to the bottom of the trees. There are still 96 trees adjacent to Georgian Place of various sizes.
Your email goes on to discuss our May 2005 meeting. My recollection about our May 23, 2005
meeting was that it was a follow-up to the public hearing held on December 7, 2004 to discuss the
widening of Sandy Lake Road. In our meeting we discussed the potential to move the sidewalk behind
the tree row and let it meander onto the common property of the Georgian Place Subdivision. This
approach would allow us to att~ to save the row of trees adjacent to West Sandy Lake Road.
Prior to the December 2004 public meeting, the city mailed out approximately 950 notices to citizens
near West Sandy Lake Road. We actually had 44 people sign in at the public meeting. I noticed that
you were unable to attend the public meeting, so attached to this email is a copy of a portion of my
presentation that evening that shows trees adjacent to Georgian Place to be removed. (Slides 6 and 7
are the areas adjacent to Georgian Place)
Also, attached to this email is copy of my summary memo sent to the City Manager's office on
December 9, 2004 concerning the public meeting. A portion of the December 7, 2004 public meeting
was dedicated to the removal of trees adjacent to West Sandy Lake Road. In paragraph 2 of my memo,
I state that most of the comments received from citizens expressed concern or disappointment with the
amount of the trees to be removed. However, most seemed resigned to the fact that the trees would
need to be removed to complete the project.
Another item discussed at the public meeting was the potential to meander a sidewalk on the south side
of Sandy Lake Road, hopefully behind the trees planted in a straight line adjacent to the Georgian Place
and Forest Cove Subdivisions. The only way to construct the sidewalk behind the row of trees would
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be to install it in the common area of the Georgian Place and Forest Cove subdivisions. Constructing
the sidewalk behind those trees would give us an opportunity to attempt to save some of the trees. Mr.
Jorge Aguirre of the Georgian Place Subdivision was at the public meeting and asked several questions
concerning the sidewalk meandering. Mr. Aguirre suggested constructing the sidewalk in a straight
line and planting trees on either side of the sidewalk to create a canopy effect. In the meeting, I
responded to Mr. Aguirre's comments to state that we would need to contact the president of the HOA
to determine how decisions are made by the HOA. Once that was determined, we would then meet
with the HOA at a future HOA meeting and let the HOA decide whether or not to let us in the common
area.
In my file, I have a petition signed by the owners of the seven homes that backup to West Sandy Lake
Road stating that they do not convey any rights for the purposes of installing a sidewalk in the common
area of the Georgian Place HOA. Because the petition is not dated, I am not sure of the exact date it
was submitted to the city. However, on November 8, 2005, Mr. Aguirre sent an email to me stating
that Georgian Place does not want the City of Coppell to construct any sidewalk within the common
area and that the petition previously provided to my office stands.
As I have stated in numerous meetings and at several council meetings, the majority of the trees
planted along the south side of Sandy Lake Road from Denton Tap Road to Coppell Road are planted
in a straight line. To construct the roadway that the voters approved, the majority, if not all, of those
trees will need to be removed if the sidewalk is placed within the city's right-of way. The only way to
att~ to save any of those trees would be to have the sidewalk go behind the trees and encroach into
the common area of the HOA. If you look at Exhibits 6 and 7 on the Power Point presentation, we
show the sidewalk going behind the trees and we show several trees not to be removed. However, as I
have stated numerous times, if the sidewalk goes in the city's right-of way, the trees will more than
likely have to come out. We are still working on preliminary plans for West Sandy Lake Rd. and our
timeline is such that the final plans probably will not be submitted until later this year or early next
year as construction is now scheduled to begin in 2008.
No where in my notes or any presentation material, have I ever stated that no trees would come out
adjacent to Georgian Place. I apologize if during some of our conversations that you may have come
to that conclusion. However, every document in my office and every presentation I have made shows
that the trees adjacent to Georgian Place will need to be removed and that the onl ho e for saving
some of the trees would be to meander the sidewalk behind the trees as shown on the exhibit attached
to this email.
Because representatives of Georgian Place have submitted a petition requesting that we not encroach
into the common area, we are left with no alternative but to design the plans to show the sidewalk in
the city's right-of way. Therefore, the final plans will show a straight sidewalk and the removal of a
majority, if not all, of the trees along the south side of Sandy Lake.
The other item in your email was a request for delay of the project. As the April 20, 2006 letter stated,
we are only widening the intersection at Whispering Hills to allow for a dedicated left turn lane from
Sandy Lake Road onto Whispering Hills so that we can install a temporary traffic signal for safety
purposes prior to the time that the Sandy Lake Road construction begins. We are in no way ready to
begin the ultimate construction of West Sandy Lake Road. Right-of way has not been acquired, final
plans have not been submitted, nor approved, and utilities have not been relocated. This is only a
project to provide a safer intersection at Sandy Lake Road and Whispering Hills.
If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.
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Ken Griffin, P. E.
Director ofEngineering/Public Works
972-304-3686
k~riffin(cr~,ci.coppell.tx.us
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