PD183-NR000412 '~' APR. 1 2
PLANNING & ZONING MEETING: 4/20/00 COUNCIL?~2ETING.
REPLY FOR THE PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION
CASENO.: PD-183, Coppell High School
C and SF-12 to PD-C
The City of Coppell Planning & Zoning Commission would like to receive your comments on this
case in order that it may make a better informed recommendation to the City Council. If you desire
to express an opinion, please complete this reply form and return it to the following address by the
date of the Public Hearing:
City of Coppell
Planning & Zoning Department
P.O. Box 478
Coppell, TX 75019
This reply form in no way affects your right to attend the Public Hearing, and we encourage all
interested parties to attend and comment if they wish.
If you have any questions pertaining to the case, please call the Planning Department at 304-3677.
REPLY
((,~ I am in favor of this plan.
, I am opposed to this plan.
( ) I am undecided about this plan.
My comments are as follows:
Signature:
Address:
Phone#:
Benjamin B. Coe
401 Martel Lane
Copoell. TX 75019
Planning & Zoning Department ~ ~ ~
P.O. Box 478
Coppell, TX 75019
To ~om It May Concern:
We moved to Texas in April of 1999. A~er looking at over six~' homes in the Southlake, Flower Mound,
Coppell, and Lake Lewisville areas, we chose a home in Coppell. We were amazed that, in our search,
developers seemed to do eve~'thing they could to eliminate trees and natural se~ings. Although our home
was a little out of our price r~ge, and bordered Coppell High School prope~~, we decided to buy it
because of the beautiful trees in the greenbelt behind us. Our concerns regarding the proximity of the high
school to our prope~ were mitigated by the fact that the greenbelt provided some separation.
Our first fall in the house was ~aumatic. Four to five days a week we were blasted by, PA systems, li~ts,
band practice, football practice, midnight "donuts" in the parking lot, car al~s~ day & night construction,
etc. We found it necessaw, on Friday nights where there were home football games, to leave the house.
~is past summer, we found out that the area behind Co~onwood Creek would become a p~king lot ~d
tennis coups with all the vegetation removed. Farewell to the owls, herons, egrets, coyotes, and other
criuers who made their homes there.
At the first community meeting, our neighborhood did not oppose the variances recommended for the
parking lot, but asked that the brick wall remain. We were granted that motion. A liule calm returned. We
could do li~le ~Br the wildlife, but at least we felt somewhat protected. At the next meeting, the school
decided it would t~e a new approach and ask for rezoning. At that meeting, we were told that we should
come up with a compromise. Great~ A~er numerous neighborhood meetings and meetings with the
school, the alternatives began to be less attractive. Our question became, "~y can't we have our brick
wall, as it is cu~ently zoned?"
In the midst of the commotion over the new rezoning proposal, my wife and I discovered that we were
expecting triplets. We wondered how our new infants were going to sleep through all the ruckus.
Although a brick wall may not reduce that much noise, we felt that it would ensure some sense of privacy.
At the very least, it would block some of the headlight glare ~om the p~king lot. Now, as the vegetation
has been stripped, and the level of the parking lot area raised, we are left visually naked to the thousands of
people who will be parking and utilizing this area. Ihis is not acceptable~ Headlights, gatherings, and day-
to-day activity are not the kind of atmosphere we should be expected to endure. IfI wanted to live in an
urban area, I would have chosen a home in downtown Dallas~ In addition, because the tennis cou~ will be
public, we feel that it is even more impo~ant that we have some shield from the general public's comings
and goings. A "living fence" will be woefully inadequate for that purpose. The other proposed option, a
metal fence with a thi~y-inch hedge, will let trash blow through, be ineffective as a headlight screen and
will not decrease the line of sight into our backyards.
As construction quickly moves ahead, our worst fears are being realized. The once lovely creek has been
turned into a cesspool. I am quite sure the EPA did not approve the check dams and drainage pipes that
now occupy the creek. The construction is noisy and seemingly non-stop. Heavy equipment 200ft from
your backyard, 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week, is torture. The hardest thing to watch was the shovel
mowing down mature trees that were along the creek. Lets put it this way, if I attend the Arbor Day
celebration for Coppell, it will be to protest.
To date we have no resolution on this issue. Does that mean that, once again, the school does what it
wants, completes the project, and then leaves us to fight for whatever we can get? I picture a completed
project with no fence, then sitting around for the next year or two as we wrangle with the High School over
some acceptable solution.
The High School claims that they want to be a good neighbor. They need to prove it! I have found nothing
positive about being their neighbor. "Let the buyer beware" has new meaning for me now. There is little I
can do to restrict the expansion and noise at the High School except to relocate my family. However, a
simple brick fence would ease the fears and concerns of the neighborhood. It is currently zoned that wax',
approved, and requested by one hundred percent of the homeowners bordering the greenbelt and many ~'ho
do not.
I apologize if this letter is cynical. My first taste of city politics has been extremely aggravating. I would
not have even bothered to write if I did not have a great appreciation for what the city could become and for
the wonderful neighbors that surround us. Please do the right thing. The brick fence is the appropriate
compromise to a number of sensitive problems. We do not think it is asking too much.
Sincerely.~-~
Ben'~nrn~e~~-'~
401 l~TLane
Coppell, TX 75019