North Lakes Preservation group grew in response to a proposal to develop 15 acres of land adjacent to North Lakes Park and the North Lakes neighborhood.
This area is vital to Denton’s green infrastructure and should be preserved.
How it all started.
Proposal S22-0010.
In 2022, Investcor (an Austin, TX development company) submitted a proposal to the city of Denton’s Planning and Zoning Commission to obtain a special use permit (SUP) to convert approximately 15 acres of land bordering North Lakes Park and the North Lakes residential neighborhood into a dense, multi-family housing complex. The densely-treed land contains several environmentally sensitive areas, is home to a wildlife corridor, connects to Denton’s watershed, is on a flood plain, and encroaches on the riparian buffer.
The Neighborhood Meeting.
The City of Denton asked the developers to inform neighbors within 200 feet of the property. Investcor hosted a ‘neighborhood meeting’ on Sept. 22, 2022 to share its vision for converting the densely treed area into “lifestyle” apartments. The handful of residents who attended shared concerns about how this would impact the neighborhood and the environment.
We heard nothing more for 18 months as Investcor submitted multiple versions of its proposal to the city.
Neighborhood Meeting - Take 2.
In March 2024, residents within 500 feet of the developer’s property line received notification of another “neighborhood meeting” - a meeting that the city of Denton asked them to hold. This time, we spread the word so more neighbors could attend. A member of Planning and Zoning and a City Council member were present as well, all hearing widespread dissent. The developer seemed agitated, at one point telling a resident he’d never want to raise his children in this neighborhood. The comment was not well-received.
A Call to Action.
That night, we realized Investcor and its project engineers (Kirkman Engineering) were committed to steamrolling its proposal through local government without regard for the community or ecosystems it would affect. We could not let this happen. Six of us gathered to brainstorm and come up with a plan.
We started by reaching out to Kirkman Engineering to obtain a copy of the 200-page traffic assessment they promised to share. Upon request, the project manager said she could not send us the report while it was under review by the city.
Not true. We found it on Denton’s freely available eTRAKiT site, which provides details on all projects under review by the city. We just had to do a project search for S22-0010.
Learning More.
We read each version of the proposal along with blueprints and assessments, the tree inventory listing the 574 trees they planned to ‘remove’ and the 410 trees (mostly in the ESAs) they said they would ‘preserve’.
We learned about their request to reduce the riparian buffer along Pecan creek, something that helps control flooding, erosion, and sedimentation in addition to filtering stormwater runoff and pollutants, protecting the tree canopy, reducing the urban heat island effect, and preserving habitat and wildlife corridors.
We learned that their traffic assessment (approved by planning and zoning) found no need to address the increased congestion and associated risks for pedestrians, bicyclists, or vehicles due to increased population density.
Coming Together. Staying Together. Holding Our Leaders Accountable.
What started with a few neighbors sharing our concerns grew into a strong community force committed to preserving what makes our neighborhood and this tract of land so special.
Following neighborhood opposition, Proposal S22-0010 now has the status of “closed” by Denton Planning and Zoning. Investcor seeks to sell the property, and we’ll keep our eye on any new developments.
We have walked, talked, learned, coordinated, collaborated, and we will continue the effort to ensure that Denton’s development projects are responsible, sustainable, ethical, and in sync with the communities they impact.
North Lakes Preservation Group is here. Join us!