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Skate park must clear another hurdle; senior housing project coming soon
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
It’s been about 10 years since discussions on a skate park in Flower Mound really got going.
And it’s going to be a little while longer before the project finally moves forward.
The Flower Mound Town Council on Monday voted to table an item that would have awarded the construction on a 14,000-square-foot skate park to Grindline Skateparks Inc. in the amount of $282,750.
Currently, the plan calls for the skate park to be located at The Heritage Park of Flower Mound, which will be near the intersection of Spinks Road and Garden Ridge Boulevard.
Specifically, the skate park, which is planned to be a lower-scale facility for beginning skaters, is proposed to be located about 200 feet north of Fort Wildflower, the community-built playground that is supposed to be complete this fall.
It’s also set to be located about 70 feet away from a 100-seat pavilion.
Some council members questioned if there would be a better place for the skate park.
Councilwoman Jean Levenick was concerned about how a concrete facility like that would fit into the park.
“I think that takes away from the intent of what Heritage Park was supposed to be,” Levenick said.
She also asked if there are other parks that the skate park can go. The PALS Board will examine that possibility.
“It’s not centrally located,” Levenick said, adding that many of the children who would use that facility don’t live in that area. “Maybe there is a better option.”
Levenick said one option could be Gaston Park, though she said others should be examined.
Councilman Bryan Webb opposed sending the plan back to the PALS Board, saying the project has been 10 years in the making.
“If we move forward today, this could be available for the kids by next spring,” Webb said.
The skate park was part of the 2002 bond package approved by voters. However, funding issues and location decisions have kept the park from moving forward. The exact location within the tract has moved twice.
Gary Sims, community development director, said the park has always been planned to go in or adjacent to what will soon be Heritage Park since residents were told that’s where it would be in 2002.
However, officials now believe that it can go elsewhere as long as it gets constructed.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Mark Wise questioned the interest in the skate park since it was approved by voters 10 years ago. But Sims said it ranked No. 5 in the 2009 residential survey of most-desired park amenities.
The PALS Board is set to see the item in September, and the council will likely revisit the item in October. If the skate park is moved to a different location, it is not expected to change the cost.
Also Monday, the council approved an amendment to the land development regulations to expand the single-family detached residential district (SF-5) to areas designated as high density in Specific Plan Area (SPA) 6.
SF-5 allows development on residential lots of 5,000 square feet or greater. Previously, that was limited only in SPA 11, an area on the southeast part of the town where the Orchard Flower senior housing project will be, and in the Denton Creek area, where the Canyon Falls mixed-use project will be in west Flower Mound.
The expansion includes approximately 20 acres at the northeast intersection of Chinn Chapel Road and Dixon Lane, just south of the future Academy Sports and Outdoors.
That change is expected to pave the way for a for-sale home project that will likely be an age-restricted community, though the minimum age limit has not been determined.
Preliminary discussions call for an approximate 90-lot subdivision in a gated community. The project is also expected to have an amenity center.
A master plan change, a zoning change and a preliminary plat will be submitted to the town to continue the process.
An official application has not been submitted yet, so there are still several unknowns, such as the price of the homes and who the homebuilder will be.
An application is expected to be submitted later this year.
Once complete, Flower Mound will have another age-restricted community as Orchard Flower was approved in April.
Orchard Flower, which will be located at the northwest intersection of Flower Mound Road and Old Orchard Road, is a 27.3-acre development that will feature 102 residential lots with a typical size of 50- and 60-foot widths.
Grenadier Homes will be the homebuilder. Most of the homes will be one-story.
Also Monday, the council tabled a vote on changing the name of W. Windsor Drive.
The change was proposed to eliminate confusion since the W. Windsor project will extend the road to FM 2499, putting it in close proximity to Windsor Drive on the opposite side of FM 2499. The fear was that two separate streets with similar names would be confusing.
The town’s Transportation Commission ranked “Windsor Park Drive” as its favorite name for the road. Out of 65 residents in that area surveyed, four responded and supported “Windsor Park Drive.”
But council members want those residents re-surveyed to make sure they understood that another option is not to change the name at all. Some council members, such as Mayor Pro Tem Kendra Stephenson, said “Windsor Park Drive” doesn’t eliminate confusion.
In addition, Bridlewood Golf Club opposes a name change all together. General manager Matt Brost said a name change would cost his golf club $32,000 in changing its address on all of its brochures.
The council is set to revisit the item Sept. 4.
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