Cities contract for drainage study
November 18, 2004
By HERB BOOTH / The Dallas Morning News
Cedar Hill and Duncanville have hired Halff Associates to determine what impact future development would have on Bentle Branch, a stream that flows into Ten Mile Creek.
Lee Sanborn, a Cedar Hill resident, said that’s not enough. Mr. Sanborn, who lives in the Bentle Branch area, said he and his neighbors have requested a moratorium on development near the stream until the study is done and the city knows what it’s working with.
“We’re a 20- to 22-year-old community. A lot of us were hoping to retire here,” Mr. Sanborn said. “The flooding … needs to be addressed.”
Dallas-based MGHerring Group announced last week that it would build Uptown Village, a 700,000-square-foot outdoor retail mall, near Bentle Branch, which is west of the intersection of Pleasant Run Road and U.S. Highway 67.
Cedar Hill Mayor Rob Franke said the summer downpours flooded some areas along Bentle Branch and the city determined that area should be its chief drainage priority. It is spending $200,000 on the study.
“The retail project could be a part of a solution to the drainage problem,” Mr. Franke said, adding that a residential development under current zoning would not have to address drainage. “Before we dedicate city dollars to something like drainage, we want to make sure we’re not just fixing someone’s back yard. We want to be fixing a bigger problem.”
Cedar Hill City Manager Alan Sims said the drainage issue has to be resolved before any of the retail project is allowed to proceed.
“We need to find out what’s wrong and what can be done to solve the problem,” Mr. Sims said.
Duncanville City Manager Kent Cagle said his city was interested in participating in the project because the water from Bentle Branch flows into Duncanville, where it joins Ten Mile Creek.
“It will tell us what’s going into Ten Mile Creek,” said Mr. Cagle, who added that Duncanville’s share of the study was $108,000. “During the floods, we had some aerial sewer line crossings washed out and some people with water in their homes.”
E-mail hbooth@dallasnews.com
or call 214-977-7613
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My name is Wade Emmert and I am a Council Member for the City of Cedar Hill. This web site is a way for me to share with you some of my thoughts about issues important to the City.
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