Item 6A (VA
From: Cheryl Fairbanks [mailtoill
Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2016 1:19 PM
To: mavorandcitycouncil@ci.southlake.tx.us
Subject: Objection to Resolution #15-055, ZA15-124 on tonight's agenda
To the Honorable Mayor Hill and esteemed Council Members:
It has come to my attention that a very respected citizen of
Southlake's phenomenal dream home is in jeopardy of being
affected by a negative zoning change adjacent to her property on
Florence Rd. I would like to add some history of her decision to
build at that location in support of my objection to approving this
proposed change.
Mr. and Mrs. Benedict negotiated for nearly one year with my seller
to purchase this 12+/- acres to construct their home. They
patiently waited until the seller was able to agree to a fair offer for
both parties. While they waited, they would look at other property
all over Southlake, Keller and Colleyville with me, but always came
back to this site. This was their vision and they were sure the land
would be their best homesite. There were a number of negatives on
this land, but they have spent more than two years correcting those
(such as removing old eyesores like a mobile home and bringing in
many, many loads of soil.)
At one point, we even looked at the house and barn on Lodestar
with the idea of purchasing it as an additional entrance to their
property on Florence. However, the owner said he'd agreed to sell it
to another party who wanted to build THEIR dream home on it.
They also wrote an offer two different times on a vacant lot
immediately west of their property to ensure that no adverse
structures would be built on it, but the seller sold it to someone
else. That road is named Katelyn and if you drive down it, you'll see
i
that the Benedicts had every right for their concern. If anything,
they have improved the appearanceof the 12 acres much to the
good of surrounding neighbors and their property values.
Florence Rd. has slowly begun to be another street of luxury homes
that is a pleasure to drive by. One by one, buyers have scraped old,
rundown farm homes and built gracious acreage estates. The
Benedicts' home is the jewel of Florence Rd. and probably one of the
most expensive homes in the city. Mr. and Mrs. Benedict are self-
made successes who have worked diligently in a business that
improves their clients' lives and health. She was originally a
hairdresser and he was a milkman. To me, they're one of the most
inspirational couples in our city of successful residents. And they've
done all this while dealing with the constant life and death episodes
of a son who has cystic fibrosis. You'll never hear them complain
about that, though.
When I recently learned that their son's health could be threatened
by this proposed stable, as well as the fact that apparently the
current owners did NOT build their dream home on it and instead
are seeking approval to operate a business there, I was shocked. In
my experience as a resident who first moved to this city in 1981 and
has proudly sold real estate here since I became licensed in 1978,
I've never seen such a proposal in a residential area glide through
and get approval. I encourage you to continue supporting
Southlake's high and protective standards and reject this proposal.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Fairbanks, 817/999-9929
1403 Whispering Dell Ct., Southlake
RE/MAX Hall of Fame, Platinum Club
D Magazine "Best Real Estate Agents in Dallas, 2015" Winner
2013 John Lozenski Award Recipient
Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, Guild Member
Certified Residential Specialist
Graduate,the Realtor's Institute
Roscoe Fairbanks, 817/360-9099, Partner
RE/MAX Trinity, Southlake, TX.
121 Countryside Court,Suite 120—76092
lj19/2016 Ci.southlake.tx.us Mail-Fwd:FW:Objection to Resolution#15-055,ZA15-124 on tonight's agenda /
'CfPI f}F
Richard Schell <rschell@cl.southlake.tx.us>
Fwd: FW: Objection to Resolution #15-055, ZA15-124 on tonight's agenda •
1 message
Holly Blake <hblake@ci.southlake.tx.us> Tue, Jan 19, 2016 at 2:30 PM
To: Richard Schell <rschell@ci.southlake.tx.us> •
Forwarded message
From: Lori Payne <Ipayne@ci.southlake.tx.us>
Date: Tue, Jan 19, 2016 at 1:22 PM
Subject: FW: Objection to Resolution #15-055, ZA15-124 on tonight's agenda
To: Laura Hill <mayor-int@ci.southlake.tx.us>
Cc: Ken Baker<kbaker@ci.southlake.tx.us>, Holly Blake <hblake@ci.southlake.tx.us>
From: Cheryl Fairbanks [mailto.r• -
Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 10161:19 PM
To: mayorandcitycouncil@ci.southlake.tx.us
Subject: Objection to Resolution #15-055, ZA15-124 on tonight's agenda
To the Honorable Mayor Hill and esteemed Council Members:
It has come to my attention that a very respected citizen of Southlake's
phenomenal dream home is in jeopardy of being affected by a negative
zoning change adjacent to her property on Florence Rd. I would like to
add some history of her decision to build at that location in support of
my objection to approving this proposed change.
Mr. and Mrs. Benedict negotiated for nearly one year with my seller to
purchase this 12+/- acres to construct their home. They patiently
waited until the seller was able to agree to a fair offer for both parties.
While they waited, they would look at other property all over
Southlake, Keller and Colleyville with me, but always came back to this
site. This was their vision and they were sure the land would be their
best homesite. There were a number of negatives on this land, but they
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=178(934086&view=pt&search=inbox&th=1525b959r40c5382&sim1=1525b959F40c5382 1/4
1/19/2016 Ci.southlake.tx.us Mail-Fwd:FW:Objection to Resolution#15-055,ZA15-124 on tonight's agenda
have spent more than two years correcting those (such as removing old
eyesores like a mobile home and bringing in many, many loads of soil.)
At one point, we even looked at the house and barn on Lodestar with
the idea of purchasing it as an additional entrance to their property on
Florence. However, the owner said he'd agreed to sell it to another
party-who wanted to build THEIR dream home on it. They also wrote
an offer two different times on a vacant lot immediately west of their
property to ensure that no adverse structures would be built on it, but
the seller sold it to someone else. That road is named Katelyn and if
you drive down it, you'll see that the Benedicts had every right for their
concern. If anything, they have improved the appearance of the 12
acres much to the good of surrounding neighbors and their property
values.
Florence Rd. has slowly begun to be another street of luxury homes
that is a pleasure to drive by. One by one, buyers have scraped old,
rundown farm homes and built gracious acreage estates. The
Benedicts' home is the jewel of Florence Rd. and probably one of the
most expensive homes in the city. Mr. and Mrs. Benedict are self-made
successes who have worked diligently in a business that improves their
clients' lives and health. She was originally a hairdresser and he was a
milkman. To me, they're one of the most inspirational couples in our
city of successful residents. And they've done all this while dealing with
the constant life and death episodes of a son who has cystic fibrosis.
You'll never hear them complain about that, though.
When I recently learned that their son's health could be threatened by
this proposed stable, as well as the fact that apparently the current
owners did NOT build their dream home on it and instead are seeking
approval to operate a business there, I was shocked. In my experience
as a resident who first moved to this city in 1981 and has proudly sold
real estate here since I became licensed in 1978, I've never seen such a
proposal in a residential area glide through and get approval. I
encourage you to continue supporting Southlake's high and protective
standards and reject this proposal.
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=178f934086&view=pt&search=inbox&th=1525b959f40c5382&sim1=1525b959f40c5382 2/4
1/19/2016 Ci.southlake.bc.us Mail-Fwd:RN:Objection to Resolution#15-055,ZA15-124 on tonight's agenda
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Fairbanks, 817/999-9929
1403 Whispering Dell Ct., Southlake
RE/MAX Hall of Fame,Platinum Club
D Magazine"Best Real Estate Agents in Dallas,2015"Winner •
2013 John Lozenski Award Recipient
Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, Guild Member
Certified Residential Specialist
Graduate, the Realtor's Institute
Roscoe Fairbanks, 817/360-9099, Partner
RE/MAX Trinity, Southlake,TX.
121 Countryside Court, Suite 120—76092
Southlake Texas and Surrounding Cities Map
® avust1' This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
Aitt www.avast.com
Holly G Blake
Administrative Secretary-Planning
Certified Permit Technician -Building Inspections •
Planning and Zoning Commission Secretary
City of Southlake
817-748-8621
hblake@ci.southlake.tx.us
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1/19/2016 Ci.southlake.t cus Mail-Fwd:FW:Objection to Resolution#15-055,ZA15-124 on tonight's agenda
•
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6
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January 15, 2016
the Edmondson Law Firm,P.C.
Via electronic mail
Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Southlake
Town Hall
1400 Main Street
Southlake, TX 76092
RE: ZA15-124—Specific Use Permit—Equestrian Riding Stables (the"Stables")
Dear Mayor and Council,
I am writing on behalf of my clients, Vahna and Britton Benedict who own 12.5 acres
immediately adjacent to the property that is the subject of the above zoning request. My clients
are building an estate home of approximately 21,000 sq. feet on their home site. Currently the
Benedicts own a home at 1600 Enclave Ct.in Southlake. They have been Southlake residents since
approximately 2008 when they moved here from Kansas City, Missouri. They are the owners of
Slim4Life Weight Loss Centers with 15 DFW locations (including Southlake), 10 Kansas City
locations,5 San Antonio locations and 5 centers in Jacksonville,Florida. They are business people
who have a clear understanding of what constitutes a business use and what constitutes a residential
use. Unfortunately,the SUP proposed for the ZA15-124,as approved by the Planning and Zoning
Commission at their January 7,2016 meeting,allows a potentially noisy,dusty and smelly business
to be located next to their dream home in a residential area of Southlake.
The Benedicts purchased their property approximately two years ago and the home is
approximately eighty percent (80%) complete. They expect to move into it this spring. Prior to
purchasing the home,the Benedict's friend and real estate agent, Cheryl Fairbanks spoke with the
prior owner of the property that is the subject of the SUP, who indicated that he was planning to
build a home on the property. The land use designation for this area is Low Density Residential.
The Benedicts felt this was the perfect location to build their dream home and had no idea that just
1
two years later they would be at a Planning and Zoning Meeting to defend against a commercial
use being allowed adjacent to their property.
•
The Benedicts attended last Thursday's Planning and Zoning meeting where the applicants
were represented by an individual who did a very good job of misrepresenting the actual facts.
Particularly deceiving was the representative's portrayal of the efforts to speak with the neighbors.
The owners' representative, Mr. Bill Thornton' called Mrs. Benedict regarding the proposed
development. Mr. Thornton told Mrs. Benedict in the conversation that if the Stables application
was not approved, the owners planned to put "a lot of houses" on that land. Mrs. Benedict
interpreted this as a threat. She asked if the Stables would be charging fees for the services and
was told that"fees"would be and are being charged for permission to board horses at the Stables.
Apparently this illegal business has been in operation for more than a year without being properly
permitted by the City.
The Benedicts are the landowners who will be the most impacted and most negatively
affected by the Stables if approved. The riding arena abuts the shared property line. The
Benedict's home's patio and second floor veranda both face east and will face the riding arena.
The Benedicts took the correct steps in researching whether their property was an appropriate place
to build an estate style home. Yet if the Stables' project is approved,they will bear the burden of
dealing with the inevitable dust, noise, unpleasant smells and other undesirable side effects
resulting from a commercial stable operation. Ironically the owner/applicant will not because they
actually reside elsewhere. The Stables were not operating when the Benedicts purchased their
property. If it had been, they would not have purchased it. Further their youngest son has cystic
fibrosis which is a fatal lung disease. If this project is approved, he will not be able to enjoy the
outdoors at his home due to the excess dust coming from the Stables when the wind is blowing in
that direction.
Unfortunately the Planning and Zoning Commission paid virtually no attention to the
concerns of the Benedicts. The Benedicts are hopeful that their elected representatives will
understand the importance of not approving a commercial use in a residential area and protect the
' He also represented the applicant at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
2
property value of the Benedicts and surrounding homeowners whose property values could also
be negatively impacted by this development for the next several years. On behalf of the Benedicts,
I respectfully register their opposition to ZA15-124 and ask you to deny the application.
Sincerely,
ef2t-Q
Debra Edmondson
Attorney
The Edmondson Law Firm, P.C.
3