ST9302-CS 931026 ~RANDUM
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Kenneth M. Griffin, P.E., City Engineer
DUPLICATE
RE: Information on gaining consent from the City Council on which
direction to proceed on landscaping along Sandy Lake Road.
Date: October 26, 1993
The City of Coppeil has recently held two public meetings concerning Sandy Lake Road. The first public
meeting was held on September 23, 1993 and basically revolved around the landscaping issues along
Sandy Lake Road. Seventy-four people attended the meeting. The second meeting was held on
September 30, 1993 and revolved around the roadway alignment and access issues. Seventy-eight people
attended the meeting. A major issue from the meetings concerned the aesthetics along Sandy Lake Road
in regards to the existing stockade fences. The residents were very adamant about the fact that if the City
wanted to create continuity around the City and an aesthetically pleasing environment along Sandy Lake
Road, then the City should expend funds to remove the existing stockade fences and replace them with
brick screening walls similar to the ones being constructed around Coppell.
There currently is 5,210 feet of stockade fencing existing on Sandy Lake Road. To the best of staff
knowledge, all of the stockade fences exist on private property. However, there is one section on the
south side of Sandy Lake which exists on alley right-of-way. Staff is currently investigating who has
responsibility for the maintenance of that fence section and whose responsibility it would be to replace
it. If brick screening walls are constructed at all areas where brick screening walls could go, including
the locations of the existing stockade fences, then it is conceivable that 5,662 feet of screening wall would
be constructed.
The overriding issue of why this information is being brought forth is to gain direction from Council on
what the City's involvement should be in regards to the removal and replacement of fences that serve
private properties and are basically constructed on private property. This in essence is an enhancement
to a private piece of property that is not provided to every piece of property within the City of Coppell.
The brick screening walls being built around the City are being consltucted at the developer's expense
(about $55 to $70 per linear foot per side of street) not the City's expense. It is quite possible that if the
City chooses to do an assessment program on Sandy Lake Road the construction of the brick screening
wall could in fact enhance the adjacent properties and cause an assessment against the adjacent residential
properties. Obviously, City Council will have final discretionary action as to whether or not any of the
residential property would be assessed.
The City is at a point in the design of the landscaping where direction is needed on which avenue to
pursue: heavily landscape the parkways and medians or set a precedent and replace the existing stockade
fences with brick screening walls and provide less landscaping.
If no direction is provided to staff to formally address this issue at a Council meeting, then staff will
proceed with the original plan of providing the heavy landscaping and not setting a precedent by replacing
private fences with brick screening walls.
FENCES AND WALLS ALONG SANDY LAKE ROAD
ROAD
LEGEND
REPRESENTS EXISTING STOCKADE FENCES (5,210 l.f.)
REPRESENTS EXISTING BRICK WALLS (3,343 1.f.)
REPRESENTS ADDITIONAL AREA WHERE BRICK WALLS COULD GO (452 l.f.)