South Haven Residents Oppose Oncor Tower
Homeowners who don’t want to live next door to a cell tower may be out of luck due to their neighborhood’s unique geography.
Oncor wants to erect a 200-foot tower on land it owns near South Haven, a subdivision of 200 homes zoned to Coppell ISD. More than two dozen South Haven residents testified against the proposal last week during a public hearing at Dallas City Hall. The problem is, none of these people live in, vote in, or pay taxes to Dallas. South Haven is in Irving, even though it is disconnected from the rest of that city; its residents must use roads in Coppell and Dallas to access their neighborhood.
(See “Isolated Neighborhood Stuck in Fast Lane” in Vol. 3, No. 27.)
Oncor owns nearly 100 acres due west of South Haven, and that parcel is in Dallas. Within Big D’s Code of Ordinances, Oncor’s land is known as Planned Development 942. On Aug. 21, Dallas’ City Plan and Zoning Commission considered a proposal to amend the rules for that planned development in a few ways:
“Tower/antenna for cellular communication” would be added to a list of uses that are permitted by right. That list already includes an electrical generating plant, an electrical substation, and a radio, television, or microwave tower.
Language would be added establishing 200 feet as the maximum height for a radio, television, or microwave tower as well as a tower/antenna for cellular communication.
New language would also exempt such towers from Dallas’ regulations about “residential proximity slope,” which normally restrict the heights of structures that are near homes.
The Aug. 21 public hearing featured testimony from 25 South Haven residents; 10 showed up in person, and 15 more shared their views remotely. Their predominant concerns were the tower’s potential ill effects on their families’ health and their properties’ values. Several pointed out that the tower would loom over a park with a playground, and they envisioned it collapsing there.
They also expressed frustration about the construction of an electrical substation that Oncor began months ago. That process has led to traffic, noise, and the clearing of trees. Some of the most passionate commentary came from Pavan Bikki, whose house on Kingfisher Road is the closest to the proposed site of the tower. “We are living in a substation,” he said. His next-door neighbor Kaveri Mulukutla added this: “We deserve better than to be treated as a sacrifice zone.”
Before the hearing began, city attorney Laura Morrison provided some legal advice to the commissioners. She said the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits local governments from banning wireless infrastructure. That law also prohibits local governments from considering radio frequency emissions during their deliberations about such infrastructure.
Despite Morrison’s warning, Commissioner Thomas Forsyth tried to cite a study about emissions that was published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. Other commissioners cut him off, and Chair Tony Shidid redirected the discussion to land use.
In response to a question from Shidid, city planner Liliana Garza said the proposed tower would feature the same type of equipment that’s already attached to a water tower on Oncor’s property. Jennifer Hiromoto, a former city planner who represented Oncor at the hearing, said the equipment on the water tower is 130 feet tall but is not performing as well as it should.
Hiromoto also said the proposed location of the new tower, which is intended to enhance Oncor’s internal communications, is the best location due to the “extensive” network of power lines and transmission lines crossing the property. She later said there were three viable locations, and the proposed location is the furthest from the South Haven homes.
“There were a lot of calculations that were put in place to figure out where this could even go,” Hiromoto said.
Before a majority of the commissioners voted to recommend approval of Oncor’s plans, Vice Chair Brent Rubin said their hands were tied by federal law and guidance from their attorney: “I don’t see any other option but to vote in favor of the motion, so it’s not with any particular joy that I do it.”
Barring any schedule changes, the Dallas City Council should consider this proposal on Oct. 8.
Lakeside Traffic Concerns Commissioners
While running a morning errand last week, I got a firsthand look at the long lines of vehicles waiting to drop kids off at Denton Creek and Wilson elementary schools. Both campuses have taken on new students this semester due to the closure of Pinkerton Elementary and the shifting of some special programs.
Members of the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission envisioned similar gridlock in the streets around Lakeside Elementary as they considered plans for an expansion of the school.
“Neighborhoods are one of our most valued assets in our community,” Commission Chair Edmund Haas said during an Aug. 21 public hearing, “and I think it’s critically important that we don’t negatively impact it, even if it is a school.”
Although Coppell ISD may close one or two elementary schools in 2026 due to declining enrollment and budget deficits, the district is proceeding with a series of refreshes and renovations associated with the bond package that voters approved in 2023. That’s because each building will still be an asset, even if it doesn’t host students. One of those bond-funded projects involves increasing Lakeside’s square footage by more than 25 percent.
Interim Superintendent Doug Williams told the commissioners that Lakeside has not yet been ruled out of the closure debate, which should be decided in early October. But he also said this: “If we do increase the capacity of this campus, it would allow us to have some flexibility with which campuses to close.”
Haas, who happens to be a former Lakeside dad, asked Williams why that school was chosen for expansion when others were designated for simple refreshes. Williams said Lakeside has geographic advantages, given its location on the east side of the district plus its proximity to two major thoroughfares (MacArthur Boulevard and Sandy Lake Road).
Haas made the motion to recommend approval of the expansion plans, with a couple of added conditions: a traffic impact assessment must be conducted, and a traffic management plan must be developed and implemented. His motion was approved 6-0, but the City Council will have the final word on Sept. 9.
“I do have every confidence that our ISD will do what’s right at the end of the day,” Haas said. “They’ve got a harder decision to make regarding schools, et cetera, but I do firmly believe that they’ll meet the requests that we have so that there’s no negative impact to our neighborhoods.”
In other education-related news …
• The Texas Education Agency released its ratings for the 2024-2025 school year, and Coppell ISD received an A, as did every school in the district except for Austin and Wilson elementaries, which each got a B. The interim superintendent discussed these ratings during an appearance on NBC 5’s Lone Star Politics last Sunday.
• Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD proudly touted its overall rating of B, an improvement on its previous C. The other school district serving Coppell residents, Lewisville ISD, also got a B. Coppell’s two charter schools, Coppell Classical Academy and Universal Academy, each got an A, but Manara Leadership Academy, a charter school within the Irving portion of Coppell ISD’s boundaries, got a D.
• An article I published two weeks ago about Coppell Classical Academy expanding to sixth grade featured some unanswered questions, but I have since received some answers. There are 450 students enrolled there this semester, including 30 sixth-graders, and enrollment is still open.
• The Coppell ISD Board of Trustees met behind closed doors for two hours on Aug. 19, when they reviewed applicants to be the district’s next superintendent. They are scheduled to interview some of those candidates on Aug. 26 and 27; those who make the best impressions will be brought back for more interviews on Sept. 2, 3, and 4. All of those meetings will be top-secret affairs, so don’t bother making any plans to attend.
• The Fort Worth Star-Telegram obtained the salaries of 144 high school football coaches through open records requests. Their research showed that 47 area coaches made more than $130,000, including Coppell’s Antonio Wiley, whose reported salary of $138,167 ranked him 21st on the newspaper’s list. Southlake Carroll’s Riley Dodge was the highest paid at $175,000, which put him more than $16,000 ahead of the runner-up, Highland Park’s Randy Allen.
• Coppell ISD is one of 15 employers nationwide to receive the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers supporting members of the National Guard and Reserve. No other school districts were among this year’s honorees.
• Williams wasn’t the only Coppell ISD employee to appear on NBC 5 this month. The station profiled Irma Lazos-Kennedy, who supervises the student journalists at KCBY. What made that story even more special was the fact that reporter Alicia Barrera is a Coppell High School graduate.
Plans Unveiled for New Shopping Centers
About six months ago, I published an article called “Vacant Lot on Sandy Lake Changes Hands.” That story didn’t have any details about what Peak Development Partners was planning for the parcel they’d acquired across from Sprouts, but I did report that their website declared “single-tenant retail is our wheelhouse.”
If that’s true, then Peak Development Partners is moving outside their comfort zone. Last week, I discovered a document that markets the property in question as the “Shops at Sandy Lake.” The plural word “shops” implies that we can expect to see multiple retail tenants on that land.
The image above is from a document created by DBA Real Estate, as is the image below detailing how a retail building and its parking spaces will be laid out. As published by DBA, this image includes the names of the people who own the nearby homes on Wild Plum Drive, but I erased them.
The Shops at Sandy Lake was not the only future shopping center at which I got a sneak peek last week. On Aug. 21, the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing regarding the Pecan Creek Shopping Center, which is being planned for an empty tract on Denton Tap Road. Here’s how its two buildings would be laid out:
That image was attached to the agenda for the commission’s meeting. I found the one below on a website marketing the Pecan Creek Shopping Center to future tenants. Is it just me, or does it look like the trio of women in the middle are about to walk right into traffic on Denton Tap?
If approved by the City Council, the Pecan Creek Shopping Center would be built due south of Grow It Land Designs and Garden Center. One of Grow It’s owners, David Flesher, showed up to last week’s public hearing, because he and his soon-to-be neighbors aren’t seeing eye to eye about a shared easement. I don’t understand that dispute, and I don’t really need to. But here’s something I did understand: The Pecan Creek buildings will occupy land where Grow It customers park their vehicles, and Commissioner John Dobmeier asked Flesher what he planned to do about that. Flesher said Grow It will sacrifice some of its display space to accommodate parking.
Emre Turer also signed up to speak during the public hearing, because his home on Glendale Drive backs up to the Pecan Creek site. He expressed concerns about new businesses creating noise, light, and a proliferation of rodents, but Senior Planner Mary Paron-Boswell pointed out that the Pecan Creek property has been zoned for retail uses for more than 40 years. Or, to put it another way, it was zoned for retail uses decades before Turer bought a house nearby.
The commissioners voted 5-1 to recommend approval of the Pecan Creek plans, with Dobmeier dissenting. They had an action-packed agenda on Aug. 21, when they also tackled these cases:
• They voted 6-0 to recommend approval of a 10,020-square-foot expansion of Fulgent Genetics’ 101,770-square-foot building at 1111 Freeport Parkway. Fulgent operations manager Jason Bonaventura explained that his employer processes tissue samples for cancer detection at its Coppell facility, and the firm has to retain those samples for 20 years “for regulatory purposes.” He said an expansion would allow Fulgent to cut costs related to offsite storage.
• They voted 6-0 to recommend approval of yet another revision to the plans for the Victory Shops at Coppell development on South Belt Line Road. This one was necessary because an unnamed restaurant that was supposed to be 9,095 square feet has been redesigned at 10,540 square feet. Commissioner Sue Blankenship asked whether there is a limit on how many times an approved set of plans can be revised and resubmitted. Apparently not!
• They voted 4-2 to recommend denial of a zoning change that would allow Goodwill Industries of Dallas to convert 1090 E. Sandy Lake Road into a sorting center for donations. That’s the vacant retail space next to Marco’s Pizza. Dobmeier and Ed Maurer cast the dissenting votes. (This blurb was edited after publication to correct an error.)
Everything the commissioners considered on Aug. 21 will be discussed during another round of public hearings before the Coppell City Council on Sept. 9.
Tax Rates Set for Approval This Week
With cities and school districts getting ready for their new fiscal years to begin, our elected officials have begun approving their new tax rates.
The trustees of Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, which includes portions of Coppell and Irving, beat me to the punch by approving theirs last Thursday. But the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees and the Coppell City Council have scheduled their public hearings and votes for this week.
Here’s a look at the proposed tax rates and scheduled public hearings for all cities and school districts that overlap with Coppell or Coppell ISD:
As you probably know, these tax rates are assessed per $100 of a property’s valuation. And the valuation of the home in which you reside will be lowered for tax purposes via homestead exemptions. That said, even though most of our taxing entities are proposing lower rates, rising property values can lead to higher tax bills.
If you want more information in advance of the upcoming hearings, visit these links:
One more thing: People who live in the southeast corner of Coppell also pay taxes to the Northwest Dallas County Flood Control District. Its board of directors meets during normal business hours on Tuesdays, when I am typically not in Coppell. Consequently, I have not been able to attend any of those meetings since Mike Wilcox won a seat on the board last May. If you are a resident of that district, you may want to read the lengthy comment that Wilcox posted under last week’s edition. Among other things, he reports that a vote on the district’s tax rate has been scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sept. 16.
Chronicle Crumbs
• One seat on the dais was empty during last week’s Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. After more than eight years of service as a commissioner, Freddie Guerra has resigned from that volunteer position. That’s because Guerra, who was a City Council candidate in 2024, is moving out of Coppell.
• If you would like to finish Guerra’s term, or serve on one of Coppell’s other boards and commissions, you have until Sept. 9 to turn in your application. Irving residents who would like to serve on one of their city’s boards and commissions have an application deadline of Sept. 12.
• Chase customers were recently notified that the bank’s branch at 1000 S. Belt Line Road will shut down in December. When I confirmed that news with Chase spokesperson Greg Hassell, he pointed out that Chase has four other branches within a few miles, two of which are in Coppell. “We always evaluate our branch presence to best serve the changing needs of our communities and our customers,” he said.
• On Oct. 18, the Coppell Community Experiences Department will host an outdoor screening of either Coco, Hotel Transylvania, or Monsters, Inc. You can help pick the flick by voting in a poll that’s open until Aug. 31.
• The City of Coppell is seeking residents’ input on a refresh of its Vision 2040 plan. If you participate in a survey, you may be rewarded with a T-shirt.
• The Coppell Alumnae Panhellenic Association will award $1,000 scholarships to three active sorority members this fall. The application deadline is Nov. 1.
• Good news for any Coppell residents who’ve been wanting a closer option to acquire a flame-broiled Whopper: On Aug. 19, the Grapevine City Council approved a zoning change that will allow a Burger King to be built at 834 E. Northwest Highway. That’s the vacant parcel between German Car Care and Chicken Express. And if you’ve ever wanted to live right behind a Burger King, I have even better news: The approved plans call for the southern end of that property to be developed as two residential lots.
Community Calendar
Coppell High School Golf Fundraiser: Between 5 and 10 p.m. on Aug. 26, the Raising Cane’s on Hebron Parkway in Lewisville will donate a portion of its proceeds to the Coppell High School Golf Boosters Club.
Tike Adventures - Bat-er Be Ready for Bat Day! The Biodiversity Education Center will host an educational program for youngsters at 10 a.m. on Aug. 27.
Community Dialogue Meeting: The final meeting in a series regarding potential school closures will happen at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 28 at Town Center Elementary. Coppell ISD administrators will unveil their recommendations on Sept. 22, and the trustees are expected to make some decisions on Oct. 6.
Nature 101 - Breakfast with Birds: This program, which is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Aug. 30 at the Coppell Senior & Community Center, is appropriate for children as young as 8, but those children must be accompanied by an adult.
Joining the Coppell Community Garden: If you’ve ever wanted to get your hands dirty at the Coppell Community Garden, then be at the Biodiversity Education Center at 10 a.m. on Aug. 30 to learn what it takes to get involved.
Spotlight on Broadway: The Coppell Community Chorale will perform songs from musicals such as Avenue Q, Hamilton, and Kinky Boots at 7 p.m. on Aug. 30 at the Coppell Arts Center.
Mammogram Poster Girls: Free mammograms will be offered in a mobile clinic parked outside Ole’s Tex-Mex on Sept. 2. Appointments are required.
Coppell Lariettes Spaghetti Dinner: The Coppell High School drill team’s annual fundraising event is set for 5 p.m. on Sept. 5, before the varsity football team’s home opener against Waxahachie.
St. Ann Community Carnival: Coppell’s miniature version of the State Fair of Texas will begin at 5 p.m. on Sept. 5 and conclude at 6 p.m. on Sept. 7.
Sensory Bottles for Adults with Dementia: Sensory bottles can have a calming effect while also sparking memories and conversation. Adults with dementia and their caregivers are invited to create sensory bottles between 2 and 3 p.m. on Sept. 6 at the Cozby Library and Community Commons.
Essentials Before Starting a Business: A representative from SCORE, an organization that offers free mentoring to entrepreneurs, will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 2 p.m. on Sept. 7 to discuss the differences between side hustles and businesses, the merits of creating an LLC, and common reasons businesses fail.
Urban Wildlife: Native wildlife can be seen in Coppell year-round. This workshop set for 2 p.m. on Sept. 13 at the Cozby Library and Community Commons will educate residents on how to live with various species in harmony.
Hazard County: The Texas country band will perform a free show in Old Town Coppell at 7 p.m. on Sept. 13, when a few food trucks will also be on site.
Kangdaniel: The K-pop singer’s world tour includes a stop at the Coppell Arts Center at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15.
Doktor Kaboom! Look Out! Science is Coming! Doktor Kaboom will demonstrate spectacular applications of the physical sciences during two fun shows at the Coppell Arts Center on Sept. 20; a matinee at 2 p.m. and an evening affair at 6 p.m.
Coppell Chamber Golf Classic: The Coppell Chamber of Commerce’s annual golf tournament will tee off at 8 a.m. on Sept. 25 at the Grapevine Golf Course.
We seem to have a lot of open retail space, adding more seems like a bold gamble.
Great job keeping us up to date (as usual) Dan! Thank you!