Windsor Estates-CS 950223 /~.~ · The City W~th A Beautifui F~ture , .....~.- ~ ......
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; , ~ebmary 23, 1995
H.H. Mclnnish c/o Milburn Gravley ~ ~ ~
1910 Hilltop Drive 1500 Frances '..~ ~ ~
Carrollton. Texas Carrollton, Texas 75~6 ~ ~
Re: DeForest Road
Dear Mr. McInnish:
On February 22, 1995, yourself, Milburn Gravley, Rob Dillard, Attorney for the City of
Coppeli, Jim Witt, City Manager, Tom Morton, Mayor and myself met concerning several
issues which involved DeForest Road. The three main issues were 1) the construction of a water
line without benefit of an easement in the mid-1980's, 2) drainage constructed with the Villages
of Coppell Subdivision to the south of DeForest Road and 3) the actual right-of-way dedication
for DeForest Road.
The City has determined that it did extend a water line across the property without benefit of
a proper utility easement. To rectif~v that problem, the City has committed to provide the legal
description for a 20 foot wide utility easement, centered over the top of the water line, to be
executed by yourself and provided to the City.
As for the drainage, there was substantial~ discussion about the impact of the fill on the
property south of you. As was explained, the filling of the property was approved by the City
of Coppell and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in accordance with the
Floodplain Management Ordinance. It was also conveyed to you that when your property
develops it would need to be filled to meet finish floor requirements. The property currently
is within a designated floodplain.
As far as DeForest Road being within a right-of-way, the City's position is that legally there
could probably be a claim as to whether or not the City has prescriptive rights for the surface
and the adjacent barrow ditches. However. at this time, the City is not choosing to exercise any
prescriptive rights and is more interested in resolving the issue to the satisfaction of the affected
parties. To that end. the City is not requesting that the surface of DeForest Road be dedicated
as right-of-way. However, to properly access the fire hydrant in times of emergency and/or
maintenance of the water line. the City is requesting an access easement over the top of the
current paved surface up to the fire hydrant. In addition to that, the City is requesting a
drainage easement on the south side of the access easement to provide any necessary
maintenance to the drainage ditch that conveys the water away from this site.
During the course of the conversation, there was discussion about whether or not you had the
right to fence across DeForest Road if the City deemed it was not right-of-way. During the
meeting, the City expressed the fact that we were not opposed to fencing across the right-of-way
if the police and fire had adequate access through the gate. Any fencing would require that
proper building permits be obtained.
In exchange for the dedication of the necessary easements, the City of Coppell has committed
to review the amount of illegal fill that has been placed on your property in the form of broken
concrete and rubble and determine the extent of what it would take to remove that. Depending
on that analysis, the City may be in a position to remove the rubble off your site in exchange
for the utility, access and drainage easements. You also expressed some concern about where
your true boundaD' lines were. During the course of the meeting, the City stated that it would
do some investigation to rD' to determine where property pins are currently located. It is
likely that if the City does not exercise it's prescriptive rights for DeForest Road. then your
property line could be deemed to be the northern boundaD' of the Villages of Coppell
Subdivision. south of DeForest Road.
In summaD', the following represents the responsibilities of yourself and the responsibilities of
the City.
H.H. Mclnnish: 1. Provide easement for water line:
2. Provide access easement over the top of DeForest Road paving up to the fire hydrant;
and
3. Provide a drainage easement south of DeForest Road.
City of Coppell: 1. City will not exercise any prescriptive rights on DeForest Road;
2. City will install a sign on the south side of DeForest Road stating it is private
property;
3. City will investigate the amount of rock and rubble placed on the site to determine
if it can be hauled off in exchange for the necessaD' easements;
4. City will investigate to the best of our ability where your property lines are and
provide that information to you; and
5. City will prepare necessaD, descriptions for the various easements.
If you should have any questions or need any additional clarifications please feel free to contact
me at 304-3679.
Sincerely,
Kenneth M. Griffin, P.E.
Assistant City Manager/City Engineer
cc: Jim Witt, City Manager
Rob Dillard, City Attorney