Colleyville neighbors fight developer’s plan for homes on heavily wooded land
Sam Hearn and his neighbors like the peace and quiet in their Colleyville neighborhood, which is close to one of the few heavily wooded pieces of land in the community.
They are fighting a proposal from a Southlake developer who wants to build 19 homes on 14 acres at Wilkes Drive and Pool Road. They worry that more than 1,000 trees, some over 100 years old, could be lost. The proposed development is a gated community called The Bluffs at Colleyville. Homes will start at $2 million.
The hilly, vacant land is part of the Cross Timbers forest, where drought-resistant trees grow with deep root systems, which helps reduce flooding and erosion.
Hearn and his neighbors are afraid that they will lose one of the remaining wooded areas.
“This is a really cool ecosystem that is drought resistant,” he said.
Hearn and his neighbors launched a campaign to oppose plans to develop the land called Save Colleyville Trees. They sent hundreds of letters to City Council members and spoke out during meetings.
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously against the proposed development in November, and the council scheduled a hearing during its 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday, when it could vote on whether to approve the development.
Curtis Young, a principal at the Sage Group, an urban design and landscape architecture firm in Southlake, is working with developer WillowTree Custom Homes. He said his firm is working with the city and meeting with neighbors concerned about the project.
“The vast majority of the trees are going to be saved,” Young said.
Young said the former property owner planted around 1,300 trees, most of which are pine trees. The pines really don’t provide a “buffering effect,” Young said.
On Wednesday, workers were cutting down dead trees and clearing away brush, he said.
“Trees are good for development. We go to extraordinary lengths to save trees, Not only do trees make for good development, but they also help economically,” he said.
Young said the development plans to comply with the city’s tree ordinance to preserve 50% of the tree canopy.
Young said he isn’t sure what the council’s decision will be Tuesday night, but he said neighbors have asked Colleyville to buy the property and turn it into a nature preserve. He said his clients would be willing to talk to them.
If the city doesn’t buy the property, he said, he hopes the city works with the developer “on a good faith basis to have the best quality development for everyone.”
Leisa Waterworth, whose backyard backs up to the woods, said she worries about the increased potential for flooding if trees are cut down to make way for the new homes. She fears there will be erosion if the trees are gone. She also said the land is a haven for migratory birds. She described seeing blue herons and other species.
The Cross Timbers is very important in North Texas, she said.
“We say, just because you can, doesn’t mean that you should,” she said. “We need more green space, not more home space.”