PD161-CS 970613 (2)Co ll's coundl
votes to rezone
disputed woodland
By Todd Bensman
~a~ Wrfler o! ~e Dallas Mon~ng News
COPPELL -- The City Council ap-
proved a zoning change Thursday
that would allow the sale of a dis-
puted tract of woodland despite the
protest of neighbors who wanted to
save its trees.
But it was unclear if the pending
sale of the property would go
through because of conditions the
council placed on the developer.
The action left none of the parties
satisfied.
On one side was longtime resi-
dent Elsie Edwards, 77, who wanted
a zoning change for her land that
will allow her to complete her pend-
ing deal with a housing developer.
Her neighbors wanted to stop her to
preserve the trees on the property.
In response, Ms. Edwards had
vowed that if stopped, she'd clear-
cut the entire property.
Caught in the cross fire Thurs-
day night, the City Council voted 5-1
to approve the zoning, averting the
clear-cut of the land. The decision
came after 11 p.m. after the council
wrangled over a compromise that
would leave a buffer of trees be-
tween a housing development and
neighbors, create easements and
save specific trees that are especial-
ly prized or historic.
The council's attempt to forge a
compromise followed a public meet-
ing at which both sides dug in.
Jeanette Auerbach, who has led
the fight against the zoning change,
told the council that Coppell has
little land like Ms. Edwards' left,
and that cities make mistakes when
they allow development on valu-
able pieces of land.
"Today we ask the citizens of
Coppell to stop it here."
Tim Sorenson, Ms. Edwards' at-
torney, painted a picture of a small
group of "rich neighbors" who
were seeking to force a poorer
neighbor (Ms. Edwards) "to bear
the cost of their aesthetic values."
He 'repeated her threat to cut
down every tree on the property to
raise cash for his client.
"This should generate a plethora
of rea~lily available firewood. They
will have to settle for amber waves
of grain," he said, referring to the
prospect of planting hay on the
property. "My job is to protect my
client."
Ms. Edwards attended the meet-
ing, but did not sit through Ms.
Auerbach's remarks.
"I gotta scream. I gotta scream. I
gotta get outta here. I can't stand
her. She's trying to take over every-
thing," she said. "We want to go in
there and start cutting trees."
Paul Broadway, Ms. Edwards'
grandson, said that it was arrogant
of neighbors to say the trees on his
grandmother's land were beautiful
while sitting on land that used to
have similar trees on it.
He vowed to cut down the trees
Please see COPPELL on Page 39A.
"Where were these homeowners
when they were cutting trees on
their land?"
Wally Gruens urged the council
not to be "bullied or rushed into
getting rid of one of the last exam-
ples of greenery left in Coppell.
"Land is a great asset in Coppell.
Let's do the right thing."
The land in question was the last
15-acre piece of the family's original
1908 homestead. The plats and zon-
ing change from agricultural to res-
idential would allow the builders,
Stratford Manor Development, to
clear much of the biologically di-
verse Edwards forest and fill in
flood plain along Denton Creek for
31 houses.
_ Ms. Edwards' new neighbors,
who built $300,000-plus homes in
the nearby Cambridge Manor Es-
tates, argued that the council
should delay voting until better al-
ternatives can be found.
Their fight, which included sty-
mied efforts to lure federal and
state intervention, had been fueled
by concern for preserving property
values as much as increasingly rare
wild parkland.
On Wednesday, Ms. Edwards,
through her attorney, threatened to
mow down every tree on the lot if
the council acted in any way to that
might upset the delicately timed
land sale.
Neighbors called the threat "eco-
terrorism."
Ms. Edwards is among the last of
the landowners who inhabited Cop-
pell long before a housing boom
turned the city into one of Dallas
County's highest income suburban
bedroom communities. The clash
between newcomers and longtime
residents has highlighted the diver-
gent outlooks that exist in an area
undergoing rapid suburbanization.
The controversy started in
March when Ms. Auerbach and Tra-
cey Garman, whose newly con-
structed custom homes back up to
the Edwards property, learned of
the pending sale and housing devel-
opment plan from Ms. Edwards'
grandson.
The Dallas Morning News
Coppell officials
hear dispute on
wooded land
Continued from Page 37A.
himself.
"Either everybody loses or some-
body wins," he said of the situation.
Mark Wolfe, a former mayor of
Coppell, warned the council not to
take the family's threat lightly.
"What they say they will do, they
will do. They are people of their
word."
Residents who spoke to the coun-
cil were equally as divided.
Shannon Mickey, said Ms. Ed-
wards has "a God-given right to sell
or retain her own land.