After weeks of deliberations, revisions and back-and-forth between developers, city staff and Southlake residents, a proposed 270 apartment development met its end on Tuesday evening when the Southlake city council voted unanimously to deny the application.
Originally submitted to the city in late December, the Cooper & Company development would have built 270 apartments on 7.28 acres south of the police and fire headquarters building on Division Street, according to the agenda. With apartments ranging between 1,000-1,250 square feet, the original proposal would have built 350 residential units in sizes ranging between 850-1,000 square feet.
Cooper & Company President Frank Bliss says in a letter that these amendments were made in response to feedback received from the S.P.I.N. and Planning and Zoning commission meetings, which were held earlier in January and February respectively.
“The best downtowns have people living in them,” Frank says during Tuesday’s council meeting. “We think the downtown residences, just like town square itself, provides another great opportunity to build a stronger community, build a stronger downtown and build a stronger school district.”
The majority of attendants did not feel the same, however. More than 100 people filled the council chambers to capacity and spilled over into the overflow room to voice their opinions about the development. One of many residents that provided a public comment against the proposal was former Mayor Pro Tem Randy Williamson, who says the commercial district zoning already provides many development opportunities that don’t have high density.
“I could stick my hand in a bag and just draw out a number of reasons why I’m opposed,” Randy states. “When you put in 270 [apartments], that’s roughly 600 automobiles added to our city. That’s a massive amount of traffic to add to our streets.”
City of Southlake
Despite one public speaker after another lining up to voice opposition to the development, not everyone in the chambers was against the proposal. Resident Joe Kienast voiced his lone support for the project, citing Cooper & Company’s outstanding work on developing Southlake Town Square over 20 years ago and felt this new development would have added to the city’s value.
“Cooper & Stebbins has brought a lot to Southlake,” Joe expresses. “They deliver on their promises – and I think they would have delivered on this promise.”
The city council ultimately voted 7-0 to deny the application. Frank says he’s looking forward to taking Tuesday’s vote and discussing the next step with Cooper & Company. Whatever that next step may entail, Mayor Pro Tem Shawn McCaskill says he looks forward to what other proposals Cooper & Company may submit in the near future.
“I really believe in his team and their ability to come up with something better for this piece of property,” Shawn says. “Whether it’s months or years down the road when we have something else pop up, I’ll be really glad to have that opportunity in the future.”
Deputy Director of Public Relations Pilar Schank says the applicant can either re-present the proposed development to the council in at least another six months or submit another consideration sooner that fits the commercial district zoning. The city’s land development code shows several other uses the developers may consider, including shops, retail stores and amusement centers.
“The residents have spoken loud and clear on this,” Randy says. “You’ll never go wrong listening to your residents.”