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City, homeowners association disagree about eminent domain use
The land in question, outlined in the above map as the "triangle," will be acquired by the city either through an agreement with the Cheyenne Crossing HOA or through eminent domain. Map courtesy of Tom Fabry.
By Anthony Tosie, atosie@starlocalnews.com
At a regular meeting on Tuesday, the Frisco City Council unanimously voted to allow the city to use eminent domain to acquire a small piece of land for its Stonebrook Parkway construction project.
That vote came at the displeasure of the Cheyenne Crossing Homeowners Association, which has been working with the city to sell the 1,202 square feet of land in question, located near the northwest line of the Burlington Northern Railroad.
The core area of disagreement between the two sides actually isn't the full amount of land. Instead, the two sides are at an impasse regarding a right of way plot of land to be used as a buffer zone between the neighborhood and Stonebrook Parkway. That land is about 60 feet wide.
According to Fabry and the homeowners association, the city agreed to a deal last year before providing the HOA with an agreement that wasn't what the two sides had agreed upon.
"We were very frustrated to find out that the city now has decided that they need to take that 1,200 square feet of land through eminent domain -- an agreement we actually reached with them in the early part of 2011," Fabry said. "We're frustrated this has become a political battle when we'd negotiated these points back in August 2011."
The land is home to between 120 and 140 mature trees, Fabry said. Those trees will be bulldozed to make room for a new drainage ditch as part of Phase II of the Stonebrook Parkway construction project -- something Fabry called a "huge sacrifice" on the part of the HOA.
City Manager George Purefoy agreed with Fabry's concerns at the city council meeting and said those concerns were warranted.
"There's going to be a major disturbance to the drainage area," Purefoy explained. "Under normal circumstances we would do some improvements there, so I thought it was reasonable that they have the funds and get control over it and [improve that area]."
Despite the land loss, however, the neighborhood is looking forward to the construction project, Fabry said.
"To make something very clear: the neighbors of Cheyenne Crossing and the [HOA's] board of directors are absolutely enthusiastic about getting the Stonebrook Parkway [construction project] completed," he said. "Right now, we only have a single entry point into our neighborhood; this would give us a second entry point and cut down on cross-neighborhood traffic and give us good access to the Dallas North Tollway."
The city has offered the homeowners association $100,000 for the land in question, which the HOA says it would use to improve the land after construction is complete.
At the city council meeting, Council Member Bob Allen said the approval of eminent domain use is merely a potential avenue for the city if an agreement can't be reached.
"I hear Mr. Fabry's comments, and I hear what staff wants to do, [but] the whole issue of what's on the agenda tonight is giving [the city] a way to move forward," Allen said. "It's [the city's] intention to work through the issue anyway -- and we need to get the road done."
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