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Planners advised to OK homes near lake
Dallas, Coppell, Irving try to settle differences on controversial project
12:00 AM CST on Saturday, December 10, 2005
By ERIC AASEN and EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
Dallas planning staffers recommended Friday that the Dallas Plan Commission endorse a controversial
residential development near North Lake.
The recommendation follows discussions held the same day among Dallas, Irving and Coppell officials
about Billingsley Co.'s Cypress Waters project, which officials in the suburbs fear will crowd schools
and congest streets.
Another meeting is scheduled Tuesday among officials from the three cities, some of whom hope to
hammer out a compromise over the northwest Dallas development. The Dallas Plan Commission plans
to take up Billingsley's zoning request Thursday.
Dallas Mayor Laura Miller met Friday with Coppell Mayor Doug Stover and Irving Mayor Herbert
Gears. Separately, Coppell city and school officials huddled with Dallas and Irving officials. Developer
Lucy Billingsley also talked with Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm.
City officials from all three cities found Friday's talks encouraging.
"We concluded we'd like to resolve this and not go to court," Ms. Miller said.
Said Mr. Gears: "We made a lot of progress in just laying out and detailing our positions."
Mr. Stover hopes Tuesday's discussion allows officials to "talk honestly and openly without the legal
cloud above all of us."
The meeting is scheduled to include the three cities' mayors and city managers. Ms. Billingsley and the
Coppell school superintendent are expected to be invited, Mr. Stover said.
While city officials hope to reach a compromise, how that would happen is unclear.
Coppell and Irving would like Billingsley to at least downsize Cypress Waters, a 355-acre site that's
connected to the rest of Dallas by a narrow strip of land. Ifs bordered by Coppell and Irving, and most
of the land is in the Coppell Independent School District. Coppell and Irving officials both say they'll
withhold basic services - like water and police protection - from the development unless a compromise
is reached.
Dallas officials, however, support Cypress Waters because it will boost their city's mx base.
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Billingsley has amended its zoning request to allow it to double the project's density. The city has given
Billingsley the go-ahead to request denser zoning so that Dallas can generate enough tax revenue to
provide the area with services on its own.
"It could be anticipated," a Dallas planning staff report stated, "that a higher intensity and density of
development than previously contemplated by the applicant is necessary in order to support the cost of
infrastructure and service delivery."
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http://www.dallasnews.com/cgi-bingoi/gold_print.cgi 12/13/2005