Cambridge Phase 1-CS 951116 CITY OF COPPELL
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
CASE#: PD-131R (P.D. SF-12) to (P.D. SF-12), The
Estates of CambridEe Manor
P & Z HEARING DATE: November 16, 1995
C. C. HEARING DATE: December 12, 1995
LOCATION: The residential subdivision is located on the north side of Deforest Road,
approximately 1600 feet east of MacArthur Blvd.
Location. Lot Number & Block of Affected Lots:
Along the east side of Cambridge Manor Lane: Lots 4, 5, 8, 9 of Block
D and Lot 4 of Block B.
Along the west side of Cambridge Manor lane: Lots 1 of Block E &
LOt 7 of Block A
Along the west side of Castle Creek Drive: Lots 1,12, 13 & 16 of
Block D and Lot 7 of Block B.
Along the east side of Castle Creek Drive: Lot 1 of Block C
SIZE OF AREA: Entire subdivision is 33.713 acres with 56 single family lots.
Total affected lots- 13
CURRENT ZONING: PD-SF-12 (Planned Development, Single Family-12)
REQUEST: PD-SF-12 (Planned Development, Single Family-12), amending
the development conditions on 13 comer lots to permit fences
enclosing side yards to be as close to a street right-of-way as 5
feet.
APPLICANT: Beamer Development, Inc. Dowdey, Anderson, Engrs.
(Owner) (Engineer)
Jack Bommarito, Manager Bill Anderson
P.O.Box 2312 16250 Dallas Parkway
Coppell, Tx. 75019 Dallas, Tx. 75248
908-1068 931-0694
HISTORY: City Council approved PD-131 on March 10, 1994, with several
conditions. One of the conditions stipulated that fences shall not
extend beyond the platted building line on any lot. Council
approved the final plat on June 14, 1994.
Item # 7
TRANSPORTATION: Deforest Road is to remain a local street in the thoroughfare plan
requiring 50 feet of right-of-way and 27 feet of paving.
SURROUNDING LAND USE & ZONING:
North - vacant; LI zoning
South - existing single-family; SF-0
East - existing scattered single-family, farming; A
West - existing scattered single-family; A
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: The Plan shows this area to be utilized for low density
single-family uses.
DISCUSSION: The manner in which side yard fences are treated, when adjacent
to a street, is an important element of neighborhood design. The
design consultant's original concept on this project was to establish
building lines and to prevent fences as well as buildings from
extending beyond those lines
These are some of the traditional design principles at stake:
homes are designed to have curbside appeal
setting homes back from the curb displays them better by
providing greater public visibility
fencing front yards is undesirable because it obstructs that
visibility
the resulting open space creates a park like setting which
residents clearly value, as evidenced by the amount of time
and money they spend caring for their front yards
to achieve the same visual effect, larger homes need
proportionally larger lots and greater setbacks
an equal and uniform setback on both sides of the street
provides a balanced and symmetrical appearance from the
street
personal privacy is best achieved by fencing that portion of
the homesite most removed from the street
Item # 7
The original design concept for the Estates of Cambridge Manor
observes all of these principles, but one. It provides an equal and
uniform setback on both sides of the street only for Lots 4 and 7
of Block B. The final plat shows a 15-foot building line on one
side of all the other comer lots. (Sections 32-2 and 32-3 of the
Zoning Ordinance would have required a front yard setback on the
side street side had the Planning and Zoning Commission not
approved a plat showing a lesser amount. Apparently, to improve
the prospects of gaining approval for these 15-foot building lines,
the proponent proffered to exclude fences from the resulting yard
areas.) The original design concept also takes advantage of the
City's agreement to waive alley requirements, making it possible
to increase lot sizes by an average of over 10%.
The smallest lots in the subdivision are 100 x 120 feet. Except
on cul-de-sac lots, the minimum side yard width is 10 feet where
adjacent to an interior lot and 15 feet where adjacent to a street.
On a lot 120 feet deep, the additional 5 feet of side yard adjacent
to a street occupies an area of 450 square feet. On the 2 lots
where a uniform 30-foot setback line occurs on both street
frontages, additional area devoted to setback is between 2000 and
2100 square feet for each lot. In terms of the amount of area
which may be enclosed with privacy fencing in this planned
development, a 15-foot side yard adjacent to a street reduces that
area by about 1350 square feet, while a 30-foot setback affects
about 2700 square feet. As a result, the design engineer oversized
9 of the 14 comer lots to compensate for the additional setbacks,
providing in those lots no less than 1200 square feet and up to
4000 square feet more than the minimum lot size. However, even
on the smallest comer lot, the amount of land area behind the
platted building line is 7,650 square feet...greater than an entire lot
in many other subdivisions.
The deed restrictions for the Estates of Cambridge Manor require
fences to be 8 feet high. This height is as great as the cave line
of a typical single-story house in Coppell. Visually, therefore,
backyard fencing in this neighborhood is nearly as obtrusive as a
flat-roofed accessory structure.
The proposal to extend 8-foot-high fences to within 5 feet of the
street right-of-way diminishes the width of the view corridor along
these residential streets by 10% to 25% and creates an even more
unequal, unbalanced and asymmetrical streetscape. Consequently,
the proposal does not improve neighborhood appearance.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommendation is based on public interest. While personal
and business interests may be served by this proposal, community
Item # 7
and neighborhood interest clearly suffers. Therefore, staff
recommends permitting side yard fences to extend beyond the
platted building line and within 5 feet of the street right-of-way
only along Prince Edward Lane where there are no lots which face
the street and where, when the street is extended westward, no lots
are likely to face it.
ALTERNATIVES: 1) Approve the PD amendment
2) Disapprove the PD amendment
3) Modify the PD amendment
ATTACHMENTS: 1) Applicant's letter to the City of Coppell's Planning &
Zoning Commission
2) Maria and David Colondres' letter to the Developmental
Review Committee
3) Site Plan
4) Conceptual Elevation of the 8' Board on Board Fence
Item # 7