Southlake Council expresses concern over neighborhood’s density

The Stone Trail Estates neighborhood could add 61 homes on 36 acres along Southlake and Davis Boulevards but the controversial project faces long odds at the City Council.

Nearby opposition has imposed a super majority vote, meaning 6 of the 7 council members would have to vote yes on the zoning change and land-use change for it to pass.

The Southlake City Council got its first look at the project May 17 but chose to table the vote until June 7 when the full council is present.

But Mayor Laura Hill gave developer Paul Spain some homework to do before that meeting to relieve concerns by the Council and neighbors.

As always, density is the biggest complaint, with council members saying they aren’t comfortable with having 60 percent of the lots under 15,000 square feet.

Spain, who developed Winding Creek and Estes Park, also in Southlake, said to make bigger lots, he’d have to cut down on the parks and open space. Currently, the project has about 10 acres of open space.

But council members said they’d rather see a few lots eliminated to cut down on the density, creating even more parks and trails.

The Stone Trail Estates neighborhood originally was proposed with 65 lots but the density already has been reduced by four, Spain explained.

He pointed out that this neighborhood would be in the Keller school district, not Carroll. That lowers the value of the lots and the homes. He estimates the homes will sell for $600,000 to $800,000. The homes will be 3,500 to 4,000 square feet.

"I think my density is pretty reasonable," he said.

Another issue is the neighborhood to the south doesn’t want a connection to the new Stone Trails Estates neighborhood.

Spain said he proposed an emergency access gate for fire and police use only but Southlake staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission urged him to make it a through connection.

The Council also is concerned that it won’t be a custom home builder and the neighborhood could end up with cookie-cutter homes. Spain suggested putting deed restrictions in place to prevent that.

The commission narrowly approved the project with a 3-2 vote on May 5.

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Southlake Council expresses concern over neighborhood’s density."