TXU Easement-CS090513 ROBERT H. KORMAN II
116 Cascade Way,Coppell,Texas 75019, 972/462-9220
May 13, 2009 ECEME
Clay Phillips I I MAY 1 4 2009
City Manager, Coppell
255 Parkway Blvd CITY MANAGER
PO Box 9478 CITY OF COPPELL
Coppell, TX 75019
Sent via Certified Mail
Dear Clay:
I am a 15 year resident of Coppell. Immediately adjacent to Sunbelt Self
Storage of Coppell (585 S MacArthur Blvd) on the north side is a power
transmission line right of way, owned by the power company. This right of way is
not being maintained by the landowner and presents significant hazards to the
community. I have twice contacted the City Engineer's office, but with no
resolution after several years, am contacting you to make sure this property
issue is addressed.
Location
The right of way extends all the way to Belt Line (south of the storage facility) to
Sandy Lake Rd (north of the facility, east of MacArthur).
History
This right of way was well maintained and mowed regularly along its entire length
at the time until sometime in 2004 or 2005. (I have rented storage space at
Sunbelt since May 2003). At that point I noticed the right of way was not
draining, the landowner ceased mowing and the property was overcome with
plant growth. I noticed this was true for the right of way all the way up to Sandy
Lake (I did not check on Belt Line). I called Ken Griffin, the city engineer, to see
if the city was aware of this issue. After roughly six months, he returned my call
and let me know that he had not contacted me sooner as he wanted to have
some resolution on this issue first. He told me the city was aware, had talked
with the landowner (TXU I believe) and that animals had built dams preventing
drainage and that the city wished to resolve this without killing the animals.
However, he assured me this would be corrected and that leaving the land in an
unmaintained state was not acceptable.
Subsequently, parts of the right of way were cleared, drained and mowed and
have been maintained since. You can see this if you drive along Sandy Lake or
Belt Line. However, the area east and west of MacArthur near Sunbelt has
remained in an unmaintained state.
After another year or so, I called Ken Griffin's office again to inquire about this
section. He has not returned my call. While his assistant on one of the calls told
me this was a marsh, and always has been, that is not correct. While I cannot
speak to every bit of the right of way, certainly the area near Sunbelt was not
marshy and was maintained. There are a number of folks who will confirm that,
including the management of Sunbelt.
Status
The property is not mowed. Grasses and weeds are up to six feet high on the
property. There are large pools of standing water. This is not an industrial area;
west of MacArthur the right of way is bordered by single family residences in
Northlake Woodlands. East of MacArthur, townhomes and apartments border
the right of way. I have attached a few pictures of the maintained, and not
maintained areas.
Hazards
The current state of the right of way presents significant hazards to the
community.
• Fire hazard — During both droughts and during winter, the abundance of
tall dead plants and grasses represents a significant fire hazard. Auto
traffic on MacArthur could easily lead to a discarded cigarette igniting the
dried foliage.
• Disease — The pools of water are a breeding ground for mosquitoes,
which could result in the transmission of West Nile Virus in Coppell.
• Flooding — During periods of extended heavy rains, the right of way has
become a large body of water with risk of flooding over the street and into
the adjacent properties such as Sunbelt. Since maintenance of the right
of way ended, there was one spring where the property filled up quite a bit
and flooding became a possibility.
• Wildlife refuge — The right of way presents a natural habitat for
undesirable wildlife such as snakes, rats, possums, skunks, and bobcats.
Sunbelt has reported to me that a dead bobcat was found by the right of
way. When I went to take pictures, an animal about the size of a rat
scampered back into the brush in the right of way. While these animals
have a place in nature, in cities they also spread disease and can cause
injury. They do not belong in an area that should be, and was, maintained
properly.
• Attractive Nuisance —This property could be considered an attractive
nuisance to children wishing to explore nature, pretend they are in a
jungle, etc.
• Property Values —Today the right of way is aesthetically unpleasing.
However, were there to be fires, flooding, West Nile virus, etc, the
surrounding properties might face loss of business and decreases in
property value as a result.
• Electrical service complications — I have no specific knowledge in this
area, but there may be complications should a power line be downed or
an electrical outage happens.
Conclusion
Please take all necessary actions to get the landowner to remove these hazards
and to maintain the right of way as it was in the past.
Sincerely,
Bob Korman
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