Coppell Chronicle Vol. 3, No. 43
Dumpster Location Leads to Frosty Relations • Senior Living Rejected Near DART Bridge • Coppell ISD Goes on Shopping Spree • Code Violators Given 90-Day Deadlines
Patrick Svitek, the primary political correspondent for the Texas Tribune, maintains a publicly accessible spreadsheet of candidate filings. I was perusing that spreadsheet on Monday evening, a couple of hours after the filing deadline for the March primaries had passed, because I love a good time as much as the next guy.
The spreadsheet listed more than a dozen candidates who want to succeed U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess in Congressional District 26, which includes the Denton County portion of Coppell. One of those names leapt out at me.
[dramatic pause]
Wait for it.
[overly dramatic pause]
Y’all ready for this?
[extremely dramatic pause]
Dumpster Location Leads to Frosty Relations
The future location of an ice cream parlor is already the site of a cold war.
Coppell resident Diana Ahmad is developing the nearly finished two-story building at 767 West Main Street. Last year, the City Council approved her plans for a pair of apartments above as many as three retail shops. On Tuesday, the council considered Ahmad’s request for a zoning change so she can lease space to restaurants, including one called Mr. Henry’s Ice Cream.
Restaurants require a dumpster, and that’s led to a conflict with the owners of a neighboring property. Ahmad wanted to place a trash bin on her southern property line, right next to where Coppell residents Eli and Ann Dragon, their employees, and their clients park at their Main Street Retirement Planning office.
“I know it’s going to be smelly,” Eli Dragon told the council during Tuesday’s public hearing. “When I look at that back door, and how far they have to drag their trash in order to get over to that dumpster, that’s going to be a mess there. And I know there’s going to be flies and rodents and everything.”
When the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission considered this case last month, they approved the plans by a 5-0 vote, on the condition that Ahmad place the dumpster in the middle of her rear parking lot. (See “Dream of Ice Cream Shop May Melt Away” in Vol. 3, No. 39.) However, the city’s top planner — Matt Steer — subsequently learned that there is an Atmos gas valve in the middle of the lot. Putting an enclosed trash bin on top of it would not be safe.
Consequently, Steer recommended that the council overrule the commission and allow Ahmad to put the dumpster close to — but not on — the southern property line. The revised plans call for the dumpster to be angled away from the Dragons’ property. The closest corner would be 2 feet from the property line; the second-closest corner would be 7.5 feet from the line.
Ahmad said she got Republic Services to adjust the route of their trash trucks — southbound instead of northbound — “because we wanted to go above and beyond to be a good neighbor to the Dragons,” she said. “We have moved the dumpster off our property line, even though that should still be our right to put it there.”
Despite the dumpster’s slight move, the Dragons were not moved.
“The bottom line is, this property, because it has already been built, is not suitable for restaurant use,” Ann Dragon said.
The Dragons reminded the council that they are owner-occupants of their Old Town property, while Ahmad would be just a landlord. However, Ahmad said she and her husband plan to move into their Main Street building after their daughter graduates from Coppell High School. When that happens, Ahmad insisted, they will not be living among filth.
“I’m a very clean person,” she said. “My properties will be very clean. My tenants will be very clean. And that dumpster will be picked up frequently.”
Council Member Biju Mathew asked Steer where else the dumpster could go. Steer said placing it on the north end of Ahmad’s lot would put it near the entrance to Gary and Michelle Cramer’s home above their Let It Shine boutique. Ahmad added that the north end presents conflicts with Oncor electrical equipment.
Council Member Brianna Hinojosa-Smith wanted to know if there were any other options for the dumpster that would allay the Dragons’ concerns. Steer said Ahmad had tried — without success — to get in touch with the owners of Tangerine Salon about possibly sharing their dumpster.
Mayor Wes Mays then offered a suggestion: The council could table the decision while their staff worked with Atmos on moving the valve. “That seems to be the stumbling block, the location of the valve,” Mays said, but Ahmad wasn’t having it.
“We’re almost done with this project,” she said. “There’s no way we can tear up all the ground to pull up all the pipes.”
The mayor immediately replied, “You know, I was just offering something, and I don’t know why you’re turning me down.”
That kerfuffle was rendered moot a couple of minutes later, when Council Member Mark Hill went a different direction; he made a motion to approve the revised proposal as presented. Mathew seconded his motion, and Don Carroll and Jim Walker voted with them. Hinojosa-Smith and Kevin Nevels dissented.
So there you have it. Although the Dragons are certainly disappointed, I’m happy to know there will soon be an ice cream shop within walking distance of my home. Is anybody else eager to sample Mr. Henry’s treats?
Senior Living Rejected Near DART Bridge
The Dragons weren’t the only disappointed people at Town Center on Tuesday. Earlier that evening, the City Council rejected a proposal to construct an apartment building catering to older tenants.
Coppell resident Vijay Borra owns a vacant L-shaped lot along South Belt Line Road, between Bimmer Motor Specialists and a Chase bank. He wants to build a four-story “Lake Breeze” complex there containing 120 apartments that would be restricted to residents who are at least 55 years old.
(See “Senior Living Proposed Near DART Bridge” in Vol. 3, No. 35.)
Borra didn’t speak at Tuesday’s hearing; he was represented by zoning consultant Maxwell Fischer and senior-living expert Rose Saenz. Fischer told the council that his client’s property has some unique challenges. Its south end contains an Atmos easement that cannot be developed, and its north end abuts an elevated portion of DART’s Silver Line tracks, which would have been 82 feet from the apartment building.
Fischer addressed the proximity of the DART trains by showing multiple apartment buildings in Carrollton that are close to the Green Line tracks. Fischer also attributed this quote to Coppell resident John Hoppie, who is a project manager for DART: “At this location, there are no nearby at-grade crossings, so there will be no noise generated by a train horn or crossing bells.”
Council Member Kevin Nevels expressed concerns about the building’s plans not including a commercial kitchen, which meant residents would have to cook for themselves. Fischer clarified that the facility was designed for “active senior living,” as opposed to “independent senior living,” which is a step below “assisted living.” Saenz said the average “active senior living” resident is in their early 70s, while the average “independent senior living” resident is in their 80s. She also said the Dallas-Fort Worth area has the nation’s largest population of active seniors.
If you’re bewildered by all that terminology, you’re not the only one.
“You’re confusing me with the senior living, the active living, the 55, the 70,” Council Member Brianna Hinojosa-Smith said. “I need clarity, because otherwise, I’m not in support of this at all.”
Hinojosa-Smith stated her overarching concern: “Is this the highest and best use for this particular piece of land?” Fischer believes it is.
“What could go here?” Fischer said. “We’ve owned the property for 10 years. If we could have sold it to a retail or commercial development, that would have happened. This is the highest and best use.”
The requested zoning changes call for the building to be twice as tall as the maximum height and to have half as many parking spaces as the minimum amount. The latter stat bothered Council Member Jim Walker.
“To facilitate that independent lifestyle would require that they have cars,” Walker said. “It seems to me that the reduction of the parking spaces renders this a less-than-desirable use, particularly for the demographic that they’re targeting.”
Council Member Don Carroll echoed Walker’s concerns about the density and added, “This is a very problematic piece of property. DART coming through has made it more problematic, quite frankly.”
(Editorial comment: That’s one heck of a statement from the guy who leads the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition.)
Carroll acknowledged that Coppell needs housing options for its aging population, but he doesn’t think Borra’s proposal helps solve that problem.
“It’s really, in my mind, just an apartment complex that’s going to be on this piece of property, and it feels like it’s being shoehorned in a little bit,” Carroll said. “It doesn’t feel like the right answer. I don’t know that I know what the right answer is for that property.”
Following the counsel of City Attorney Bob Hager, Hinojosa-Smith made a motion to approve, even though she didn’t intend to vote for it. In fact, she and the five other council members in attendance all voted against it.
So what happens next? Ten minutes before the council’s vote, Fischer offered a prediction: “I think this site sits here vacant for several more years if this isn’t approved.”
The council took a few other votes of note on Tuesday:
• They approved plans for an overhead pipe rack that will transmit chemicals between AstraZeneca’s main facility on Wrangler Drive and an accessory “tank farm” that the council signed off on in September. AstraZeneca’s Coppell facility is the sole source of Lokelma, a prescription powder that treats hyperkalemia, a condition that occurs when the potassium levels in a patient’s blood are too high. “It’s going to help people worldwide,” Mark Hill said of the drug, “and we should do nothing to encumber its production.”
(See “Plans Call for Overhead Transit of Chemicals” in Vol. 3, No. 40.)
• They approved new water and sewer rates that will heavily penalize those guzzlers who consume more than 25,000 gallons in a month. Jerry Young, a business analyst with the city’s Strategic Financial Engagement Department, said the average Coppell resident’s water bill will increase by about $5.
(See “Council to Consider Raising Our Utility Bills” in Vol. 3, No. 41.)
• They officially declared John Jun’s Place 5 seat vacant and added it to the May 4 ballot, which will also feature the seats held by Mayor Wes Mays, Hinojosa-Smith, Biju Mathew, and Nevels. Jun, who coincidentally missed most of Tuesday’s meeting, will continue to serve on the council until his successor is sworn in. If you’re interested in succeeding him, then mark Jan. 16 on your calendar. That’s when the candidate filing period opens.
(See “Jun to Run for Open Seat in Texas House” in Vol. 3, No. 40.)
Coppell ISD Goes on Shopping Spree
On the 14th day before Christmas, my true love gave to me, 16,000 iPads, hundreds of stadium seats, more than 100 yards of artificial turf, dozens of security cameras, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Wait, did I say “my true love”? I meant to say “the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees.” Last Monday, the trustees approved several large purchases using dollars raised by the school district’s two most recent bond elections — the $249 million proposition that voters barely ratified in 2016, and the $321.5 million package that received wider support last spring. The trustees took a series of unanimous votes on the following items, each of which begins with its maximum cost:
$1,662,680 to Hellas Construction for the new turf and track surface at Buddy Echols Field.
$190,000 to Sturdisteel for new seats at Buddy Echols Field.
$5,300,000 to Apple for 16,000 iPads with three years of support.
$3,200,000 to Educational Service Solutions for an iPad service kit bundle.
$350,000 to DFW Security for the installation of integrated surveillance cameras and door-access solutions at Coppell High School.
$2,600,000 to VGI Technology for similar security measures at the district’s three middle schools, its remaining secondary campuses (New Tech, CHS9, and Victory Place), and two administrative buildings.
Code Violators Given 90-Day Deadlines
The owners of two Coppell properties have 90 days to get their houses in order.
On Thursday evening, the Coppell Building and Standards Commission — an alter ego of the city’s Board of Adjustment — issued a demolition order for the unfinished structure at 551 Arbor Brook Lane. If it isn’t knocked down by mid-March, the city will pay someone to demolish it and then bill the owner for that expense. The commission also gave the longtime owner of 308 Parkview Place three months to finish refurbishing her home. If she fails to meet the same March deadline, she will be fined $100 daily.
Thursday’s hearings were run by Chief Building Official Steve Schubert, who said a building permit for the Arbor Brook Lane property was issued in September of 2021. He said the framing work failed an inspection in July of 2022.
“Since that date, there has not been any visible progress on the construction site,” Schubert said.
Despite that lack of progress, the city has been in touch with the owner, Vincent Benitez, who is employed as a project manager with a firm called Fast-Trak Construction. (Irony!) Schubert displayed a Nov. 16 email from Benitez in which he declined to provide consent for an inspection of the property. Benitez supposedly had photos documenting its condition that he would present at the hearing.
Benitez did not show up on Thursday, when Schubert displayed pictures that city officials took last Tuesday, after they obtained a warrant. Those pictures showed discolored wood that was starting to rot “all throughout the home, no matter where we went, every single area,” Schubert said.
Not only is the unfinished house unsightly, it’s also dangerous, Schubert said. Support beams are exhibiting signs of mold and mildew. Meanwhile, teenagers can’t resist the temptation to explore the property. A couple of them were trespassing in the structure as recently as last Sunday, he said.
Schubert said Coppell resident Terry Holmes of Holmes Builders intends to buy the property, but a sale would have no bearing on the demolition order.
“We aren’t picky about whom it is that carries out the order, so long as it is done in the next 90 days,” Schubert said.
The commission then moved on to the Parkview Place home, which was built in 1986 and purchased by Sybil Wilkes in 2004. Schubert laid out various code violations cited since the summer of 2022, including rotted eaves and siding, leaks in the roof and a skylight, a failing balcony, and large cracks that are indicative of foundation issues. He said the roof, balcony, fascia, and eaves were repaired this month, but Wilkes still needs to address the problems with her foundation. She also must have the eaves and fascia painted, and a large tree branch and some discarded construction materials need to be removed.
Unlike Benitez, Wilkes did show up on Thursday. While wearing a mask, she told the commissioners she suffers from long COVID and has lost two jobs since the pandemic began. She has been staying with friends in Fort Worth while dealing with her medical and financial issues. Wilkes pinned some of the problems with her Coppell property on shady contractors who failed to fulfill their obligations. Nonetheless, she intends to comply with the newly imposed deadline.
“This is my home, and I am very sorry that it has gotten to this state,” Wilkes said. “This is not indicative of who I am, and this was not my intention to just let things fall into such disrepair.”
Chronicle Crumbs
• After I published “Lewisville ISD Declines to Change Boundary” in last week’s edition, I was informed that Lewisville ISD trustees rejected a similar petition last year regarding 17 homes in Coppell’s Westhaven neighborhood. Those homeowners wanted to be annexed by Coppell ISD, which encompasses the other 200 or so properties in their subdivision. During that September 2022 hearing, a Lewisville ISD administrator said the tax impact of those 17 homes is $113,656. When making a motion to adopt a resolution disapproving the petition, Trustee Katherine Sells said the petitioners did not submit information needed to verify that their petition had been signed by a majority of the registered voters in the affected territory. She also said, “Any educational or social impact of the requested detachment and annexation would not be positive or negative to any significant degree and is not sufficient to outweigh the negative economic impact posed to LISD.”
• In October of last year, I reported that a Shipley Do-Nuts logo had been added to the leasing flyer for Coppell Market Center, the shopping center anchored by Market Street. In September of this year, I reported that a “notice of lock-out of commercial tenant” had been posted before Shipley could move into the space previously occupied by Subway. Today, I am reporting that the leasing flyer has been updated again to indicate that space has been reserved for a “dirty sodas” shop called Swig.
• In early September, I reported that a trio of giant skeletons was already haunting Oak Grove Lane two months before Halloween, and one of them had been in place since July. With that in mind, I thought it was interesting that the Carrollton City Council recently added a section on holiday decorations to the “Nuisances” chapter of their Code of Ordinances. Per the language approved by a 5-2 vote on Dec. 5, holiday decorations may be placed no earlier than 45 days before a holiday and must be removed no later than 30 days after the holiday. Violators will be charged with a misdemeanor.
• Near the end of Tuesday’s Coppell City Council meeting, Mayor Wes Mays praised the Community Experiences Department for their efforts during the Dec. 2 holiday parade and tree-lighting ceremony. He specifically marveled at the drone show that followed the ceremony. See more pictures on Facebook.
• Channel 11 aired a story last week on Coppell High School students helping kids at Cottonwood Creek Elementary write letters to Santa Claus.
• A few items from the police beat: Coppell High School graduate Brook Rollins was recently named Lewisville’s next police chief. He’s a deputy chief with the Arlington Police Department, where he’s worked for more than 20 years. … The Irving Police Department is touting a new pay scale that will have officers earning nearly $107,000 after five and a half years of service. … Officer Joe Boyd has retired after 15 years with the Coppell Police Department. His last assignment was being a school resource officer at the Coppell High School Ninth Grade Campus, where he gave free Slurpee coupons to kids who could answer local trivia questions, such as “Who is the mayor of Coppell?” and “Who was the previous mayor of Coppell?” The freshman who lives in my house (and occasionally proofreads this newsletter) obviously had an unfair advantage. Boyd will be honored during a ceremony scheduled for 3 p.m. on Jan. 5 at the Cozby Library and Community Commons.
• People are saying that our Dairy Queen might be permanently closed. To be honest, I’m just about out of bandwidth on that business. Tracking its trials and tribulations would be a full-time job. Maybe it will reopen; maybe it won’t. Either way, bring on Mr. Henry’s.
Community Calendar
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: At 2:30 p.m. today, Theatre Coppell will stage a final performance of this Christmas comedy at the Coppell Arts Center.
Santa on Havencrest: Santa will listen to kids’ Christmas wishes in Danny Vrla’s yard each evening through Saturday.
Knit Wits gift wrapping: In exchange for a small donation, the Coppell Senior and Community Center’s group of knitting/crocheting/sewing enthusiasts will wrap your gifts between 1 and 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday.
Geocache Treasure Hunt: Discover how to utilize GPS on your personal mobile device to locate hidden treasures throughout the trails of Coppell Nature Park between 10 a.m. and noon on Wednesday. Registration is required
Meditative Drawing: No art experience is necessary to attend this class scheduled for 2 p.m. on Jan. 13 at the Cozby Library and Community Commons, but registration is required.
Darren Nicholson: The Grammy-nominated bluegrass musician will perform at the Coppell Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 13.
Thank you for all the drama news and good news! I enjoy your stories!
I’m sorry that our Dairy Queen is struggling. It has been a part of COPPELL forever! I wish they had fixed the drive-thru. I know the lack of a drive through option deterred me from stopping there for food.
You need to take a look at 300 Greentree Court! I think you will find it memorable!