In the fight to save part of what makes Colleyville such a desirable place to live, opponents of a plan to develop 14 acres located between Pool Road and Wilkes Drive won a major battle this week.
On Feb. 21, the Colleyville City Council denied WillowTree Custom Homes’ appeal to rezone the property from agricultural to single-family estate residential to make way for The Bluffs at Colleyville, a proposed gated community with luxury homes.
Colleyville resident and community activist Tim Waterworth celebrated the decision to preserve the forested plot. Waterworth, who is behind the site SaveColleyvilleTrees.com, sent this message to supporters:
Last night the Colleyville City Council denied the developer’s appeal 6-0 to rezone and develop the 14 acres of Cross Timber Forest at 2417 Wilkes Drive and 6900 Pool Road. Kudos to the City Council for seeing through to the outcome of the proposal. This land’s unique characteristic is a Cross Timbers Forest on land that slopes steeply into the Big Bear Creek watershed. The Council understands what the developer would not say, that the elevations would require significant grading, fill, and retainer walls. Ultimately, a remnant of Eastern Cross Timbers Forest consisting of hundreds of irreplaceable large and mature Heritage Trees would have been lost, and the wildlife habitat it provides decimated.
Thank you to the elected city leaders, P&Z commissioners, and city staff that worked diligently on this case for the past many months. Thank you to the hundreds of concerned and caring citizens that signed opposition letters. Thank you to the many neighbors that showed up at meetings to respectfully let their voices be heard! Thank you to our neighbors that from day one, rejected the assertion, “It’s going to be developed, you might as well get on board.” You tirelessly pushed back, contributing to the movement in your own way, and came together to make a positive difference.
Where does it go from here? Time will tell. But I believe we are closer than ever to the possibility of this land being conserved as a community heritage asset and legacy for future generations.
