Coppell Chronicle Vol. 3, No. 29
Policy on Short-Term Rentals Put into Practice • Coppell to Keep Helping Commuters via Lyft • Correcting the Record on Coppell ISD Taxes • Fireball Brought Droves of First Responders
OK, one more time, with feeling: Create an alarm on your phone or tie a string around your finger or do whatever you have to so you don’t forget to avoid the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Belt Line Road next weekend. DART’s Silver Line contractors are going to shut things down between 6 a.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Sept. 18.
When I shared that graphic on Nextdoor, one commenter said the area shaded in red makes it look like the contractors are going to build a Pizza Hut.
Policy on Short-Term Rentals Put into Practice
Last spring, the Coppell City Council created more work for themselves by approving an ordinance that says they have to consider every application to operate a short-term rental in Coppell. This Tuesday, they will be tasked with that job for the first time.
The applicant is Lorna Bell, who has been renting out a spare bedroom in her house on Kaye Street for several years. Her listing on Airbnb identifies her as a “Superhost” because her guests have given her an average rating of 4.98 on a scale with a maximum score of 5.
“Lorna was an excellent host,” one guest wrote last month. “Very friendly and willing to assist with everything we needed. We will definitely stay there again soon.”
Senior Planner Mary Paron-Boswell’s report on Bell’s application says Coppell’s Code Enforcement and Police departments have recorded no issues with her property, and she’s up to date on her hotel occupancy taxes. During the Planning and Zoning Commission’s August hearing on her application, Bell further touted her good standing with the city. She said Katie Crawford, a project coordinator for the Community Development Department, recently asked her to host visitors from Thailand and the Philippines.
“I am so pleased to even be recognized in this way,” Bell said.
The only person who signed up to speak during the August public hearing was Maurice Devidts, a fellow Kaye Street resident who said he didn’t know Bell but supported her application nonetheless.
“I have a real estate background, and I also am a landlord, so I really don’t see a downside to this,” he said.
The commissioners agreed, as they unanimously endorsed Bell’s application to continue operating her short-term rental. However, another aspect of her case was outside their purview. Bell wants the council to waive the required fee for her permit, which would cost her about $500.
The public hearing on Bell’s application is one of five such hearings on the council’s agenda this week. Three of the other cases were covered in the Aug. 20 edition:
That edition included a fourth article called “Plan for ‘Fortress’ Wall Fails to Pass Muster.” That was the only case that didn’t receive support from a majority of the commissioners last month. Consequently, the applicant has opted to not proceed to the City Council at this time.
Coppell to Keep Helping Commuters Via Lyft
Coppell is set to continue subsidizing Lyft rides for commuters who use public transportation to reach jobs in the city.
The program managed by the Denton County Transportation Authority provides rides from six transit stops just outside the city limits. A commuter pays the first $2 of their Lyft fee, and the city covers the next $15. Any costs beyond $17 are the commuter’s responsibility. This flyer promoting the program shows the locations of the six transit stops.
The city spent about $23,200 on the program between the beginning of October and the end of July. The total cost since the program began in 2019 has been $108,000. That’s not a bad deal, considering the original budgeted amount was $100,000 per year.
During the City Council’s Aug. 22 work session, Director of Community Development Mindi Hurley shared these ridership statistics:
Fiscal 2020: 1,392 rides
Fiscal 2021: 2,277 rides
Fiscal 2022: 2,281 rides
Fiscal 2023: 2,300 rides (projected total based on actual numbers through July 30)
Hurley reminded the council that the Lyft program was initiated at the request of businesses that operate warehouses on the west side of Coppell. Most of their employees don’t live here, so the subsidized rides are a good recruitment tool.
“Whether the staff ends up using it or not, it helps them in attracting staff, because they’re able to offer that as an option,” she said.
In response to a question from Mayor Pro Tem John Jun, Hurley said seven businesses were participating when the program began, but that number has more than doubled as businesses across Coppell have signed on.
None of the council members asked which businesses are participating, so I did. Hurley provided me with this list of 17:
AAA Texas
Allied Universal
Amazon
The Container Store
Coppell ISD
CSC Service Works
Dallas College Coppell Center
Gordon Food Service
The Laundry Room
McKesson
Norwex
Samsung
Spectrum
Staples
Tom Thumb
Triumph
YKK AP America
Council Member Don Carroll, who’s about to become the chair of the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition, said this transportation problem isn’t unique to Coppell. He said it’s also a challenge for workers in larger cities.
“They still have trouble with first mile/last mile issues of getting to the actual business from the bus stop or train stop,” Carroll said. “So it’s not just because we don’t have public transportation.”
A one-year extension of the agreement between Coppell and the Denton County Transportation Authority is on the agenda for Tuesday’s council meeting.
Correcting the Record on Coppell ISD Taxes
I’m certainly no financial expert. Whenever my family goes out to dinner, I tell everybody to pipe down while I try to calculate a 20 percent gratuity. Due to this lack of expertise, I have asked Coppell ISD Chief Financial Officer Diana Sircar to let me know if she ever sees a mistake in this newsletter. She recently took me up on that for the first time.
In last week’s edition, I reported that Coppell ISD trustees approved a tax rate of $1.0535 per $100 of assessed value. “That’s 16.38 cents lower than last year’s tax rate and the district’s lowest tax rate since 1993,” I wrote. “Of course, thanks to rising property values, most taxpayers’ bills will still go up.”
I included that final sentence out of habit. After I published it, Sircar pointed out that I’d failed to account for the expected increase in the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000. That change is subject to a statewide referendum in November, but Sircar and her staff prepared the district’s budget on the assumption that Texas voters will favor a reduction in their taxes, and I’d deem that a pretty safe assumption.
The average home value in Coppell ISD is $450,000. Sircar told the trustees it would take a 27.5 percent increase in market value for the owner of such a home to not see a savings. But an increase like that is impossible due to a state law that keeps a homestead-exemption property’s value from rising by more than 10 percent in one year. Sircar tried to illustrate this via a comparison based on a $200,000 home.
In other tax news:
• The Coppell City Council approved a tax rate of 49.1818 cents per $100 of valuation on Aug. 22. The other cities that overlap with Coppell ISD have yet to finalize theirs. The Irving City Council held public hearings on Aug. 31 and Sept. 7 regarding a proposed tax rate of 58.91 cents; the council is scheduled to adopt it this Thursday. The Lewisville City Council will conduct a public hearing on its budget tomorrow, followed by a Sept. 18 public hearing on a proposed tax rate of 41.9079 cents. And the Dallas City Council has scheduled a Sept. 20 public hearing on a proposed tax rate of 73.93 cents.
• On Friday, the Board of Directors of Denton County Levee Improvement District No. 1 approved a tax rate of 16.9 cents. If you live east of Denton Tap Road and north of Denton Creek, then you reside in that district. (That board also approved putting a bond proposal on the November ballot.)
• The Northwest Dallas County Flood Control District Board of Directors has scheduled a public hearing on their proposed tax rate of 27.565 cents for 11 a.m. on Sept. 19 at 777 Fairway Drive. I don’t fully understand the boundaries of that district, but I believe it encompasses the Northlake Woodlands subdivision, aka the Bird Streets.
Fireball Brought Droves of First Responders
TV newscasts will often include a story only because it includes a dramatic bit of video. I’m following suit this week because I just can’t get over this footage:
That enormous fireball was recorded on Clementine Drive, a street within the Bridges at Las Colinas, a subdivision that is part of Coppell ISD. Clementine backs up to Oncor’s electrical substation on the northeast corner of Belt Line Road and State Highway 114, where a fire started two Sundays ago.
I requested a copy of the Irving Fire Department’s report on the Aug. 27 incident, and reading that report was how I learned Irving has three fire stations in the 75063 ZIP code. The initial response came from Fire Station 9, which is on Jetstar Drive, about a mile and a half west of the Oncor substation. Backup was provided by firefighters based at the much more visible Fire Station 12, which is next to Pinstack on Interstate 635, as well as DFW Airport firefighters. (The third fire station in 75063 is on Cimarron Trail in Valley Ranch; its staff weren’t involved in this incident.)
The report says 26 first responders in 12 vehicles responded to the blaze, which took three hours to contain. The initial call to 911 was made at 7:08 p.m., and firefighters from Station 9 arrived at 7:16. After confirming that the fire had not spread into the Bridges neighborhood, they waited for Oncor employees to show up and turn off the flow of electricity.
“When they arrived, they moved to the fence line to verify the equipment,” the report says. “Fire was noted on the ground around the equipment. Soon the equipment arced. This intensified the fire and ruptured other devices appearing to leak oil. A large fireball erupted.”
The fireball triggered the call for backup. Once Oncor confirmed there was no more electricity flowing into the station, DFW firefighters used foam to extinguish the blaze. The scene was cleared at 10:26. An Oncor spokesman told me anybody who lost power had it back on within a few hours.
Hit and run: Also on the public-safety beat, the Coppell Police Department wants to talk to anyone who may have witnessed a hit-and-run accident on Friday morning. At about 6:40, a Toyota Camry cut across several lanes of 635 near Belt Line and collided with an 18-wheeler, according to the 18-wheeler’s driver. The Camry’s driver then tried to run across the interstate, but she was hit by another vehicle that did not stop. She was still alive when Coppell Fire Department paramedics took her to a hospital.
Chronicle Crumbs
• All Coppell Community Experiences facilities will be closed from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Wednesday for a staff appreciation event. This includes the Biodiversity Education Center, the Coppell Arts Center, the Coppell Senior and Community Center, The CORE, the Cozby Library and Community Commons, Rolling Oaks Memorial Cemetery, and the Wagon Wheel Tennis and Pickleball Center.
• Due to a software upgrade, Coppell’s Citizen Self-Service portal for utility billing will be unavailable on Thursday and Friday. If you pay your water bill online, you will be required to reset your password after the upgrade.
• Over Labor Day weekend, someone on Facebook reported that the Pharmacy Plus in Coppell would be shutting down; this report was supposedly based on something an employee of the Pharmacy Plus in Southlake said. When I called the local store to confirm, I was told that the Southlake location is taking over compounding for the entire chain, but you can still pick up your compounded prescriptions at the Coppell location, where non-compounded prescriptions will be filled as normal.
Community Calendar
Patriot Day: The City of Coppell will mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a ceremony featuring the Coppell Fire and Police Color Guards, along with the Fire Department Bagpipe and Drum Corps. It’s scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow outside Town Center.
Four Day Weekend: The acclaimed improv comedy troupe will return to the Coppell Arts Center for their monthly engagement at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Cheer Bingo: The Coppell High School cheerleaders will host their annual fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday in the CHS Commons.
My Personal Journey with Mental Health: Coppell resident Tom Ryan, who wrote a book called I Am Crazy: 8 Ways to Kick @#! with Mental Illness, will speak at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
DART Ice Cream Social: Nice timing — immediately after reopening the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Belt Line Road (assuming there are no delays), Archer Western Herzog and DART will host an ice cream social from 5 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 18 at The Sound at Cypress Waters.
Back to (Home) School Party: The Cozby Library and Community Commons will host a networking event for homeschooling families at 1 p.m. on Sept. 19.
September Paint & Sip: Fungus Among Us: Kate Shema of Createria Studios will guide participants through the creation of a mushroom painting between 6 and 8 p.m. on Sept. 20 at the Coppell Arts Center.
Art, Sip & Stroll: The Coppell Arts Council’s annual fundraiser in Old Town will feature a headline performance by Downtown Fever - An Emerald City Band. The festivities will begin at 6 p.m. on Sept. 22.
Kaleidoscope: Sept. 22 is the deadline to turn in a vendor application for Coppell’s festival of color, culture, and music, which will happen from 3 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 in Old Town.
Vocal Majority: The a cappella chorus that has performed all over the world will bring their voices to the Coppell Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 23.
Intuitive Eating: Dietitian Kathryn Martinez — whose motto is “There’s always room for ice cream and chocolate” — will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 to discuss why finding pleasure in food is so important to having an eating plan that you can stick with for life.
The Mousetrap: Theatre Coppell will stage nine performances of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery in the Wheelice Wilson Jr. Theatre at the Coppell Arts Center, starting on Sept. 29.
Old Town Coppell Car Show: The Coppell Historical Museum plans to showcase vintage vehicles between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sept. 30.
Sunset Social — Music in Old Town: A band called The Wonderfuls will perform at 7 p.m. on Sept. 30, when a few food trucks will cruise into Old Town Coppell.
Hit Like a Girl: The Coppell Police Department will offer a free self-defense class for women from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 14 and 21 at Life Safety Park. The class size is limited, so registration is required.
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Thank you!