ST9902-CS060424
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Ken Griffin - Sandy Lake Expansion at Georgian Place
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Date:
Subject:
"Gregory Peck" <g.peck@venzon.net>
<dstover@cl.coppell.tx.us>, <.Jpeters@cl.coppell. tx. us>, <.Jpeters@cl.coppell.tx.us>,
<tsuhy@cl.coppel1.tx.us>, <bfaught@cI coppell.tx.us>, <byork@cl.coppell tx.us>,
<tsuhy@cl.coppel1.tx.us>
4/2412006 7 31 AM
Sandy Lake ExpansIOn at GeorgIan Place
From:
To:
On April 22, 2006, a number of the residents of Georgian Place received a letter
from the City regarding the impending changes to the section of Sandy Lake that
runs along our neighborhood This letter contained some surprising information
1) That beginning on Monday April 24, 2006 one of the entries to our
neighborhood would be closed for a week or more (tree removal actually began over
the weekend)
2) That a significant portion of the trees that line Sandy Lake and abut our
neighborhood would be cut down
In May 2005, two members of the Georgian Place HOA met with Ken Griffin to discuss
our resident's concerns regarding the impending expansion of Sandy Lake One of
the central tenants of our discussions was the retention of the trees that are
currently being removed Ken made it clear that while the majority of the trees
along Sandy Lake would be removed, the trees that line our section would not be
coming out The letter received today gives us virtually no opportunity to discuss
our concerns on this latest development on our neighborhood and is not consistent
with the pledge from Mr Griffin to retain the trees and should something change he
would work with us to address our concerns
I
with this in mind, we would respectfully request a delay in the beginning of this
project so that we can gain a fuller understanding of the needs of the City and the
impact on our community
Gregory Peck
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4/24/2006
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THE.CITY.OF
corrELL
I)
DATE:
April 24, 2006
TO:
File
FROM:
Ken Griffin, Dir. of Engineering/Public Works
RE:
Response to Gregory Peck's e-mail of April 22, 2006
Concerning construction along West Sandy Lake Rd.
(Adjacent to Georgian Place subdivision)
ThIS ema1IIS m response to your emall concernmg a letter the CIty sent on Apnl 20, 2006 about
the wldemng of Sandy Lake Road at the Whlspenng Hills mtersectIOn. You pomted out two
concerns wIth the Apnl 20th letter The first concern was that the letter stated that Whlspenng
HIlls would be closed for a week or more. Actually, the letter stated that the street would be
closed the week of May 1 st through May 5th, unless weather causes a delay and then It would be
closed May 8th through May 12th. The CIty antIcIpates the mtersectIon to be closed only for four
days.
The second pomt m your ema11 stated that a SIgnIficant portIOn of the trees that lIne Sandy Lake
Road and abut your subdIvIsIon would be cut down. The letter sent on Apnl 20, 2006 does not
address any tree removal. I walked the area adjacent to GeorgIan Place and, pnor to any tree
removal, there were 98 trees of vanous SIzes adjacent to GeorgIan Place. Of those 98 trees, two
were removed near the mtersectIOn of Sandy Lake Road and Whlspenng HIlls adjacent to
GeorgIan Place. There were also 8 trees adjacent to GeorgIan Place that were tnmmed to prOVIde
for the proper tree canopy from the road to the bottom of the trees There are stIll 96 trees
adjacent to GeorgIan Place ofvanous SIzes.
Your ema11 goes on to dISCUSS our May 2005 meetmg. My recollectIon about our May 23, 2005
meetmg was that It was a follow-up to the publIc heanng held on December 7, 2004 to dISCUSS
wldemng of Sandy Lake Road. In our meetmg we dIscussed the the potentIal to move the
SIdewalk behmd the tree row and let It meander onto the common property of the GeorgIan Place
SubdIvISIon. ThIS approach would allow us to attempt to save the row of trees adjacent to West
Sandy Lake Road.
Pnor to the December 2004 publIc meetmg, the CIty maIled out approxImately 950 notIces to
CItIzens near West Sandy Lake Road. We actually had 44 people SIgn m at the publIc meetmg. I
notIced that you were unable to attend the publIc meetmg, so attached to thIS emallIs a copy of a
portIOn of my presentatIOn that evemng that shows trees adjacent to GeorgIan Place to be
removed. (SlIdes 6 and 7 are the areas adjacent to GeorgIan Place)
Also, attached to thIS emallIs copy of my summary memo sent to the CIty Manager's office on
December 9, 2004 concernmg the publIc meetmg. A large portIOn of the December 7, 2004
publIc meetmg was dedIcated to not only the street project but also the removal of trees adjacent
to West Sandy Lake Road. In paragraph 2 of my memo, I state that most of the comments
receIved from CItIzens expressed concern or disappomtment with the amount of the trees to be
removed. However, most seemed reSIgned to the fact that the trees would need to be removed to
complete the project.
Another Item dIscussed at the publIc meetmg was the potentIal to meander a SIdewalk on the
south SIde of Sandy Lake Road, hopefully behmd the trees planted m a straIght lIne adJacent to
the GeorgIan Place and Forest Cove SubdIVISIons. The only way to construct the SIdewalk
behmd the row of trees would be to mstall It m the common area of the GeorgIan Place and
Forest Cove subdIVISIOns. Constructmg the SIdewalk behmd those trees would gIVe us an
opportumtv to attempt to save some of the trees. Mr Jorge AgUIrre of the GeorgIan Place
SubdIVISIOn was at the publIc meetmg and asked several questIOns concernmg the SIdewalk
meandenng. Mr AgUIrre suggested constructmg the SIdewalk m a stra1ght lIne and plantmg trees
on eIther SIde of the SIdewalk to create a canopy effect. In the meetmg, I responded to Mr
AgUIrre's comments to state that we would need to contact the presIdent of the HOA to
determme how declSlons are made by the HOA. Once that was determmed, we would then meet
WIth the HOA at a future HOA meetmg and let the HOA decide whether or not to let us m the
common area.
In my file, I have a petItIon SIgned by the owners of the seven homes that back up to West Sandy
Lake Road statmg that they do not convey any nghts for the purposes of mstallmg a SIdewalk m
the common area of the GeorgIan Place HOA. Because the petItIon IS not dated, I am not sure of
the exact date It was submItted to the CIty However, on November 8, 2005, Mr AgUIrre sent an
emall to me statmg that GeorgIan Place does not want the CIty of Coppell to construct any
SIdewalk wlthm the common area and that the petItIOn prevIously proVIded to my office stands
As I have stated in numerous meetings and at several councIl meetings, the majority of the trees
planted along the south SIde of Sandy Lake Road from Denton Tap Road to Coppell Road are
planted in a straIght hne. To construct the roadway that the voters approved, the maJority of
those trees WIll need to be removed If the sidewalk IS placed wlthm the CIty'S nght-of-way The
only way to attempt to save any of those trees would be to have the SIdewalk go behmd the trees
and encroach mto the common area of the HOA. If you look at ExhibItS 6 and 7 on the Power
Pomt presentatIOn, we show the SIdewalk gomg behmd the trees and we show several trees not to
be removed. However, as I have stated numerous tImes, If the SIdewalk goes m the CIty'S nght-
of-way, the trees wIll more than likely have to come out. We are stIll workmg on prelImmary
plans for West Sandy Lake Rd. and our tImelme IS such that the final plans probably WIll not be
submItted untIl later thIS year or early next year as constructIon IS now scheduled to begm m
2008
No where m my notes or any presentatIOn matenal, have I ever stated that no trees would come
out adjacent to GeorgIan Place. I apologIze If dunng some of our conversatIOns that you may
have come to that conclUSIOn. However, every document m my office and every presentatIOn I
have made shows that the trees adJacent to GeorgIan Place wIll need to be removed and that the
only hope for savmg some of the trees would be to meander the SIdewalk behmd the trees as
shown on the exhibIt attached to thIS emaIl.
Because representatIves of GeorgIan Place have submItted a petItIon requestmg that we not
encroach mto the common area, we are left WIth no alternatIve but to deSIgn the plans to show
the SIdewalk m the CIty'S nght-of-way Therefore, the final plans wIll show a stra1ght SIdewalk
and the removal ofa majonty, Ifnot all, ofthe trees along the south SIde of Sandy Lake.
The other Item m your ema11 was a request for delay of the proJect. As the Apnl 20, 2006 letter
stated, we are only wldemng the mtersectIon at Whlspenng Hills to allow for a dedIcated left
turn lane from Sandy Lake Road onto Whlspenng HIlls so that we can mstall a temporary traffic
SIgnal for safety purposes pnor to the tIme that the Sandy Lake Road constructIon begms Weare
m no way ready to begm the ultImate constructIOn of West Sandy Lake Road. RIght-of-way has
not been acqUIred, final plans have not been submItted, nor approved, and utihtIes have not been
relocated. Tills IS only a prOj ect to prOVIde a safer mtersectIOn at Sandy Lake Road and
Whlspenng HIlls.
If you have addItIonal questIOns, please feel free to contact me at your convemence
Kenneth M. Gnffin, P .E.
DIrector of Engmeer/Pubhc Works
Flle/pcrocker/projects/streets/ST 99-02 W Sandy Lk/Memo April 2006