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Southlake City Council approves two major projects in northern sector
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@acnpapers.com
Changes are coming to northern Southlake after the city council approved two new projects at its June 1 meeting.
One of the projects is the construction of a new Department of Public Safety facility. The facility will house both the city’s police and fire services.
City officials said the facility is necessary in order to cut down on response times in the city’s northern sector by six minutes, but parts of the plan were controversial. The facility will be built at the intersection of North White Chapel Boulevard and East Dove Road.
Residents who spoke against the project had major problems with the tower, saying it was ugly and didn’t blend in with the surrounding area. The tower was redesigned to help it blend in more with the surrounding buildings, but it was still 16 feet taller than the tallest surrounding house.
The tower would feature a propane system to make flames and theatrical smoke machines like those used by special effects companies. The tower would not actually be on fire, and city staff said the flames would not be visible from outside the building and the smoke should quickly dissipate. Still, the council decided it would be best to not move forward with the tower construction until other options could be looked at.
The shooting range was a concern for neighbors due to the noise created, but city staff assured both the public and city council that the noise and any gases would be contained inside the facility. The range features a triple filtration system as well as noise baffles to keep the sound in the building. City staff said the loudest firearm that Southlake police officers use is rated at 129 decibels, and the baffling will be able to handle noises up to 158 decibels.
Police Chief Robert Finn said the $2.6 million facility will save the city $31,850 annually in training costs and could generate up to $82,250 per year by renting it out to surrounding agencies.
The other major northern sector project passed by the council was the new Southlake North Park. The facility will be located at 160 East Dove Road, adjacent to the new DPS facility.
The main feature of the facility is three large athletic fields that would be used by various sports including lacrosse.
The major problems that neighbors had who spoke against the project was the noise and light that the facility would create. They were worried that their peaceful neighborhood would be disrupted. Residents also voiced concerns about the heavier traffic the park would cause.
At the request of residents, no parking signs will be placed along Dove Road and Ridgecrest Drive. A right turn deceleration lane will also be built at the entrance of the park.
To help deal with the lighting situation trees were strategically placed to help buffer the light, and the lights were also angled so that most of the light will stay on the property. The main athletic field lights will have to be turned off by 9:30 p.m. and all other lights in the park will have to be off by 10 p.m.
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