ST8201-CS 890306 (2) ~ The City With A Beautiful Future 214-462-0022
March 6, 1989
Mr. and Mrs. Fikes
North Lake Nursery
and Landscaping Company
794 Denton Tap Road
Cop~x~ ,50~
Re ,' Denton Tap Road mprovements from Belt Line Road to Sandy : ~_~.ake Road./~~
Dear Mr. and ~s. Fikes:~
I have read your~k~tter~ich I received on Tuesday, February 28,
1989, and carefully~c~l~sidered its contents. I have given the
issues you raised my personal attention. Before I address any
specific items, there are a couple of things that I would like to
share with you.
First, our City Council has developed the current program of
capital improvements projects to benefit each and every citizen
and business in the City of Coppell.
Second, when complete, these projects will improve the health and
safety, quality of life, and economic environment of our
community as a whole.
I well understand that the properties adjacent to these projects
typically bear more inconvenience and frustration from the
construction, but they are also the ones most dramatically
enhanced by increased property values resulting from the adjacent
improvements. Therefore it is not only fair, but proper to levy
assessments against those properties.
The assessment process is provided by state law, and as such it
must follow certain procedures which include Public Hearings and
specific guidelines pertaining to both the items whose costs may
be included in the assessments, and the method in which those
costs are distributed among the adjacent properties as
assessments. The provisions for payment of the assessments do
not require immediate payment in all cases, but allow for partial
payments over a period of up to four years. In summary, within
the limits allowed by state law, the City Council has the
authority to set the rate of assessment and the method and timing
of payment. I assure you that you will have ample opportunities
for providing input to the City Council at the required Public
Hearings for the Denton Tap Road Improvements Street Assessment
Ordinance.
At this time there have been no preliminary estimates of
assessments made, and therefore any figures you have been made
aware of pertaining to this project are not only inaccurate, but,
as far as the City of Coppell is concerned, they are unauthorized
for publication. During the two Property Owners meetings, which
you attended on February 16 and December 17, 1987, it was
mentioned that the rate of assessment set by the City Council for
the Belt Line Road Improvements project from 1-635 to Denton Tap
Road was approximately $ 130.56 per Front Foot. It has not been
determined at this time whether the rate of assessment for the
Denton Tap Road Improvements project will be higher, lower, or
the same.
The minimum Right-Of-Way width for Denton Tap Road was prescribed
by the Major Thoroughfare Plan of October, 1985 as 120 feet,
since this road is one of the two Principal Arterial
Thoroughfares (P6D) within the city of Coppell. As such the 100
foot Right-Of-Way adjacent to your property is deficient by 20
feet, 10 feet on your side and 10 feet on the opposite side of
the road.
Prior to beginning the construction of this project we decided to
try to bring the benefits of this Road Improvements Project to
the citizens and businesses of the City of Coppell, prior to
burdening the adjacent property owners with the donation and/or
condemnation of the deficient Right-Of-Way. We believed then, as
we do today, that it is fair to accomplish the actual
construction with temporary construction easements allowing the
improvements to be completed, and require the donation of the
deficient Right-Of-Way from the adjacent properties as they
develop.
I would like to point out that the 120 foot minimum width Right-
Of-Way requirements are applicable to all adjacent properties to
this project, with the exception that those at the corners of
major intersection are subject to an additional 10 foot width
within 300 feet of the intersection, measured from the
intersecting Right-Of-Way Line. You have not been singled out.
Others, such as H. T. Ardinger, Town Oaks Centre, Braewood
Center, and the U. S. Post Office, to name a few, have donated
their Right-Of-Way for this project in advance of construction.
We have received total cooperation with your fellow adjacent
property owners concerning the granting of Temporary Construction
Easements for the completion of this project. To date we have
received no other objections to future donation of the deficient
Right-Of-Way elsewhere. In summary this whole process of
Temporary Construction Easements/Future R.O.W. Donation was
embarked upon to particularly help those adjacent property owners
who are finding it difficult to survive these poor economic
times.
I have checked our project files and found that you did, indeed,
grant a Temporary Construction Easement to the City of Coppell
for this project on April 22, 1988. Our records show that you
attended both Property Owner's meetings as mentioned above. We
have also been made aware of numerous telephone conversations and
meetings at the project with the Project Engineer. Please feel
free to contact me personally and explain to me how we have
failed to accommodate you in regards to this project.
If you insist in revoking the Temporary Construction Easement you
granted to the City of Coppell in good faith, we will pursue
alternate avenues, both legal and engineering to bring the
benefits of this project to our citizens and businesses in a
timely and cost effective manner. However, I do urge you to be
patient, and reconsider your position, and allow the project to
continue as planned and see for yourself the end result of all of
this effort. I assure you that many concessions have been made
to protect businesses such as yours, for the well-being of all,
and we will continue to do so.
As always we value your input in not only this matter, but all
matters pertaining to our community. We wish you no undue
hardship, and hope for your success as a business in the finest
community in the entire Metroplex. Please call me if you wish to
discuss the matter further.
Sincerely,
Alan D. Ratliff i ~
City Manager
cc: Russell Doyle, City Engineer
H. Wayne Ginn, Ginn, Inc. Consulting Engineers
Lawrence W. Jackson, City Attorney
Mayor and City Council