Two area residents appealed to the Aubrey City Council to deny a preliminary plat request for three lots from Solid Rock.
Katheryn Skinner and Chris Skinner, whose property is not under Aubrey's jurisdiction but is adjacent to the lots in question, called the application into question because of its claims of permission to use a private gravel road, Maverick Lane.
'I'm a 74-year-old woman,' she said. 'I went for seven weeks with no emergency access, and the only way in and out by foot, so if these people are telling you that they are going to maintain this road and keep it open for emergency access, I would seriously ask that you look into that.'
Chris shared his concerns about the ability of the private roadway to handle the weight of commercial trucks that would pass by his and his mother's properties or even its size being able to accommodate the trucks.
Chris also explained that his family financed a bridge that is 12 and 1/2 feet wide that the neighboring property owner did not offer to help pay for that is the only way in and out of the lots in question.
'The road collapsed, partially due to the semitrucks that were traveling up and down the road, and partially due to heavy, heavy water discharge from the DR Horton development adjacent to us,' Chris said.
He also questioned the zoning request being for rural life instead of a commercial purpose at a location that backs up to homes in the Silverado development.
'The company that is going to be doing this manufacturing business operations produces crushed granite stone, which can produce silica dust, which is a known carcinogen,' Chris said. 'I think the fact that this is indicated for rural life instead of what it's actually going to be used for is particularly concerning, because now those citizens don't know that they would have a reason to object to this.'
Katheryn disputed the claim by Cre8stone DFW that it has permission to use the roadway.
'Someone owns from … the middle of the road east, but I own to the center of the road west, and I have sold no easement,' she said. 'I am legally obligated to give them access to their property, and I'm legally obligated to give them access to emergency vehicles, but no one owns from the center of the road except me.'
Their neighbor, Ted Lewis, spoke of his concern about adding more commercial traffic to an already overburdened and dangerous area at the intersection of Liberty Circle and FM 2931.
'That's a very dangerous intersection, and yet they're pulling semis in there, loaded with rock or whatever, and bringing out flatbeds,' he said. '… It is no longer a rural area if they have a manufacturing company back there.'
Gary Pilant with Cre8stone said the company was told the lot had been used for commercial purposes and traffic previously.
'There's been hundreds and hundreds of trucks going back and forth, and there's never been a complaint that we know of,' he said.
The Skinners and Lewis vehemently disagreed.
Lewis offered that he has the statistics on commercial traffic in that area.
Because the lots are in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, the council's authority is limited, city staff said.
The Aubrey council opted to approve the preliminary plat with conditions 4-1, with Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Perry voting no, following the executive session.
The condition included that the 'civil plans submitted prior to the final plat application must include an offsite access roadway, one that complies with the subdivision ordinance,' council member Mike Browning said.
Also after the executive session, the council voted to approve the purchase of downtown properties that were not identified in the motion.
The council also approved changes to its code enforcement ordinances, including to allow notices to be sent as first-class mail instead of certified mail.
'We've never had code enforcement for a long, long time, and people become used to this as we move forward,' City Manager Charles Kreidler said. 'That's why we're taking the soft approach. 'Hey, this is a problem. We'll give you time.'' The council also voted to approve a contract with Fransen Pittman to serve as the construction manager at-risk for the project to convert the buildings at 204 and 208 S. Main St. to a dark shell space.
Also approved at the meeting was a measure to set park hours to help give the Aubrey Police Department more tools to address loitering and property destruction when the parks are closed with a plan to revisit the park hours if and when the city has more lighted parks.
Chief Richard Brooks of the Aubrey Police Department introduced Rachel Pineda, who is the department's new crime victim advocate who previously managed the domestic violence high risk team for Denton County Friends of the Family.
'I've worked hard on this crime advocate project for reasons, as you can well imagine … this week, and I am convinced that Rachel's going to be the one to help us the best that we can to mitigate these circumstances, provide victims services early on,' Brooks said.
He stayed at the podium to speak about the way his department handled the hostage situation in Foree Ranch.
'I'm extremely proud of the cooperation [between] all agencies that were involved,' Brooks said. 'It's a testament to the commitment to North Texas law enforcement has made to building cooperative relationships. … The amount of resources that were brought to bear was impressive.'
Brooks added that 'the director of the FBI gave us a thumbs up today on how well we did.'
The mayor, council, staff and crowd gave the police department a standing ovation.
