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Highland Village residents sue to block highway
08:49 PM CST on Tuesday, December 11, 2007
By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER and JAY PARSONS / The Dallas Morning News
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A citizens' group in Highland Village has filed suit in federal court seeking to block the extension of
FM2499, a four-lane state highway that they say threatens the area's quality oflife.
The highway, which could be built out to six lanes in the future, has been planned in the area for years,
but that hasn't stopped the development of subdivisions, many of which find themselves just yards from
the proposed route for the highway.
Residents have fought the route, however, saying it comes too close to homes and will destroy the area's
rural charm.
"Highland Village is a quiet neighbor-oriented community that will
suffer from the amplified noise levels," stated a news release
announcing the suit filed by residents calling themselves the Highland
Village Parents Group. "The wildlife and people utilizing the federal
park and wetlands will also suffer. The Defendants recognize the noise
impacts, but completely fail to mitigate for these impacts by not
including sound barriers in the design."
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Document: Read a letter from
the transportation director
about FM 2499
The suit claims that the environmental review process was short-circuited when state and federal
officials agreed to permit a less-extensive review.
"This lawsuit was filed to challenge the arbitrary and capricious and illegal actions by a group of
governmental agencies that had already made their minds up about what they were going to do and then
simply did it, running roughshod over the procedural requirements" of federal law , the suit reads.
The suit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman.
A spokesman for the Texas Transportation Commission, which was among the agencies listed as
defendants, could not be reached Tuesday afternoon.
Last month, Michael Morris, the transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of
Governments, sent a letter to Highland Village residents opposed to the highway. Mr. Morris wrote that
planning on the highway began 22 years ago, and that the property for the road was purchased by
Denton County in the early 1990s. He said no homes were located within 2,000 feet of the property at
that time.
Residents who oppose the road, however, have maintained that developers failed to adequately warn
buyers that the road would come so close to homes that have subsequently been built.
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Highland Village residents sue to block highway I Dallas Morning News I News for Dalla... Page 2 of2
The Highland Village Parents Group is the latest of several coalitions opposing the FM2499 extension,
all insisting the road would cause pollution and harm the quality of life. None have been able to sway
Highland Village city leaders from supporting the project.
In 2003 a group of Highland Village residents formed the Stop 2499 Coalition. That summer, about
1,000 people attended a public hearing on the road project, and hundreds more were turned away at the
door. Most of those in attendance opposed the road expansion.
Stop 2499 fizzled out after the heated May 2004 election in which the coalition's candidates lost bids for
seats on the Highland Village City Council.
Planning for the road has continued. Construction could start next year.
Highland Village resident Susie Venable said she almost gave up after the 2004 election. But then she
decided to walk through and take pictures from the yards bordering the future roadway. The distances
were too close to be safe, she said. "I went out there and I thought, 'Oh, my God, this is criminal,'." said
Ms. Venable, one of the leaders of the Highland Village Parents Group.
Ms. Venable said several members of the group have children with respiratory problems. The roadway
would put them at risk, she said.
The group is hoping for a court injunction that would force the government to do a more thorough
environmental impact assessment. The group made that same request to several agencies and state
officials without success before filing suit. "It's wrong," Ms. Venable said. "It's a mistake. You're not
coming through our backyard. You're not going to destroy the lifestyle in this beautiful lakeside
community."
Ms. V enable said no community should be treated the way Highland Village has been.
On Tuesday, Stop 2499 founder Paul LeBon called the road "a done deaL"
"These people are beating a dead horse," said Mr. LeBon, who is not connected with the group. "Every
't' has been crossed and i' dotted, all the way up to the federaL"
Mr. LeBon said the city's growing retail hub at the FM2499 and FM 407 intersection depends on the
road's extension. That view puts him in the same camp as Highland Village Mayor Dianne Costa, who
Mr. LeBon worked unsuccessfully to remove from office in 2004.
Ms. Costa said the city's air quality would improve when the road extends across the lake. The city
expects traffic gridlock at the FM2499 and FM407 intersection to loosen with FM2499's extension.
"If it's delayed, it's not only going to negatively affect the development out there, it will also affect the
c~ngestion and air quality and everything else," Ms. Costa said. "The key goal in air quality is you keep
thmgs moving - not deadlock, standing still."
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