Clark's ltr. re masonry wall Bible
~r. Jack Clark
President
Oak Bend Estates' Homeowners Association
718 Beal Lane
Coppell, TX 75019
July 31, 2002
Dear Jack,
Thank you for your tireless efforts to gather responses from your Directors and home owners
throughout the past few weeks. This letter is written to document our communication process and to
confirm the Homeowners Association's support for a solid masonry wall separating Coppell Bible
Fellowship's (CBF) property from the home owners' property.
We wanted to outline the reason we asked for the variance, discuss your concerns, and give the results
of this process so we'll be able to look back in years ahead and enjoy our mutual communication.
Our only reason for asking for a variance was to save money. We are required to provide drainage,
sewer, water lines, fire water lines, valve boxes, trees, etc. as if there were three buildings on the
property. By building a living fence in lieu ora masonry wall, we could save approximately $30,000.
After the results of the Director's poll (Point A of the Attachment), we realized your concerns and
tried to address them in a way that would be acceptable to all. We asked for an additional poll of the
home owners that were adjacent to our property for the following: we would build approximately 75
LFT of solid masonry wall from Sandy Lake to cover the first home and a temporary living fence to
cover the rest of the property line to be replaced with a solid masonry wall within 5 years.
After reviewing the results of the second poll (Point B of the Attachment) with our Project Team and
architect, we decided that we would install a solid masonry wall to gain the support of the
Homeowner's Association. We will try to save money in some other place, as we have limited
resources and a very tight budget.
We've informed the City of Coppell to discontinue our variance request for the living fence. We are
proceeding with the process of gaining a building permit.
We trust the discussions regarding the living fence were timely and helpful and demonstrate our
willingness to be a good neighbor. We value our relationship with each home owner and with the
Association as a whole.
In His Grace,
Duke Clark
CBF Project Team Member
cc: Elders of Coppell Bible Fellowship
OakBendEstatesHomeOwnersAssocLtr doc
972-304-8195
P.O. Box 2352
Coppell, TX 75019
www. coppellbible.org
Attachment
A. The results of the poll of the Directors and home owners adjacent to Coppell Bible Fellowship's
(CBF) property taken July 21-23rd.
Those polled were not in favor of a living fence for the following reasons:
· When a shrub dies, the time it takes to replace it would be an eyesore. And if we're not quick
to replace, holes could develop.
· Uniformity of look as the fence ages. One could grow taller than another, etc.
· As the Church grows, parking could become an issue. People could park on their streets and
walk through the living fence to get to the church.
· Worst case, a car could jump through a living fence to get out of a busy parking lot.
· Some had no reason; they just didn't want a living fence.
· First home owner off Sandy Lake stated he was adamantly against a living fence for the
following reasons:
o Non-church traffic during high peak usage of State Road. For example when the ball
fields empty out, people could cut through CBF property to get to Sandy Lake Road
more quickly.
o Rowdy kids are more prevalent on this side of town and could abuse our parking lot by
cutting through and racing, etc.
B. The results of the poll of home owners adjacent to CBF property where the following concept was
presented: A solid masonry fence that covers the first home off Sandy Lake (approximately 75 LFT)
and a temporary living fence covering the rest of the required property line with a guarantee by CBF to
replace with a solid masonry wall within 5 years.
The 8 people (there are approximately 20 homes adjacent to CBF property) polled were not in
favor of the living fence for the following reasons:
Three people stated they would be for the living fence if we would guarantee the solid
masonry wall would be built. Questions were raised that in 5 years we potentially could
have new leadership who may not be committed to building the wall. One suggestion was
to put the money for the wall in escrow.
· Four people were passionately against the living fence.
· One person wanted to see a drawing that would show her view. Jack explained her home
on the Southern side would see trees, parking lot, and the side of our building. She still
wanted to see the drawings before deciding.
· Another concern was raised: Someone could kidnap a child on one side, drag him through
the living fence and get away undetected.
· The first home owner along Sandy Lake said he would go with the majority of other home
owners.
Since the majority of the home owners did not support the living fence, The Homeowner's
Association would not support it.
OakBendEst atesHomeOwnersAssocLtr doc