Sandy Lk Plaza L1-CS 961029 ~"~.C.Godwin 4-*~ 485 P.81
General Contractors
W.g. Realty
¢/O Bettye Kouns
9702 Sunm~e~ville Ln.
Dallas, TX, 75238
OctOber 29, 1996 FAX 342-9207
REPORT: 600 Sandy hake Road.
Add rear parking lot,
Dear Ms. Kouns,
At your request, I visited with the City Building Inspector to
.verify construction details and that we could get a permit to
install the additional paving that we have been discussing. The
reason for the uncertainty was that both you and ! smelled a rat
from our discussions with the departments about the drainage
requirements. As an old resident sE Coppell, ! was treated quite
graciously, indeed.
sure enough, the real problem with the city is that the pro~erty
was never platted. This is a well known fact by all of the people
that I talked to in Planning, Building, and the Engineering
Departments. Pe~mlt will not issue without a filed plat.
The pressures that the city can exercise:
1. Me can not install the planned parking.
2. Parking tickets CAN be issued to cars that park on
"unimproved'* sites.
3. No building improvements can be made.
4. New occupancies will not be issued certificates.
Note that an '*improved" site is defined as one that is not only
paved with concrete, not asphalt, but one that is also platted
for the pavement, curbs and drainage.
No hints were needed that the city can also wield environmental
controls, utility informalities, and traffic restraints that will
bring us to our knees if we aggravate the powers that be.
There were no threats made. To the contrary, the staff were
overly cooperative and sorry for their duty to require the plat
and it's cost of compliance. However, it wes made clear that the
land WILL ultimately be platted.
We have proposed the cost of the desired paving to be $ 11,379.00
Cost of the completed property survey and plat process is
estimated by Hennessey Engineering to be ............. $ 6,000.00
The engineer made a wild guess estimate of the cost to install
the zequire~ additional landscape, irrigation, and curbing
requirements around the existing site at ............. $ 8,000.00
Ca=L) %T1 ~
~ T~za~ 78010
"""'.C.God~in 4- 4~5 P.e2
You were known to the city engineering department for your work
to get a correction to the pondin~ problem at the east drive. The
city engineer and I studied the existing plans and..the additions
that are tinder way across the street. We believe that we can
install an inlet structure with a grated flat inlet ~hat ties
into an existing 36" RCP storm sewer. Such a structure is only a
m/nor cost compared to the other development requirements that
will have to be met for the plat to be adopted. I doubt that the
city will participate in the cost of such a structure.
For that structure, I suggest a budget of ............. S 2,000.00
Be prepared Eot other requests by the city that may not be
required by ordinance, but for practical reasons will be
necessary to offer in order to ever have a plat approved.
My ~ears of additional demands are for dedication of land for
road widening, lighting additions, sign restrictions, drainage
easements, perimeter and mechanical equipment screen walls.
For the moment, the city workers are indisposed to press us to
this cost for just the purpose of installing 20 parking spaces.
However, we will have to plat the land before any permit ~il!
issue. Note that any tenant change, improvement or utility
modification will trigger that permit need and the attendant plat
requirement. Their power is both unfair and awesome.
The other side of the coin appears when the city wants to acquire
land for street widening if dedication has not been otherwise
granted by the owner. Then, maybe some deal can be made in lieu
of their costs for condemnation.
We should be careful of starting the plat process and then
abandoning the Program. That may trigger the citz fervor in
~orcing the plat issue by all of the insidious tools at their
disposal. Still, we are probably in a better negotiating position
to o~er the plat now rather than to let the city powers Become
obsessed with the compliance and exercise all of their fantasies
when we are in dire need of a permit or service.
[n view of the apparent success of the center, it can not
tolerate an extended delay for a tenant replacement. I recommend
that a quiet initial study BM an engineer be commenced to
determine the probable costs to complete the plat process.
! recommend Hennessey Engineering as the most qualiEied firm for
this ~ork. Pete, too, is an old resident of Coppell. He i~
respected at the city hall. He can be very discrete in his study
phase. ~ he Einds that ~hese budgets are likely to be true, then
the work could be continued through the arduous process of the
city steel de~ands and the several public hearings. Otherwise,
the status quo can continue, hopefully without new distress.
Yours Truly, B.C.Godwin 900 R