Regarding Drainage
April 25, 2005
Much as been said about the proposed Lifestyle Center to be developed across from Uptown Blvd., in between FM 1382 and Pleasant Run. Many of the residents in Bent Creek and Bentle Branch are understandably concerned about the impact the development will have on their neighborhoods.
One concern is drainage. How will the new development alter drainage in the area and how will it affect Bentle Branch Creek. In an effort to meet the concerns of the residents, the developers agreed to not allow the Lifestyle Center to impact the water volume in the West or East branches of the creek.
Lately, there appears to be some confusion and concern that this promise will not be kept. Let me assure you, the development will not be allowed to proceed until the city is satisfied that there will be no impact on the creek. To their credit, the developers are not waivering from their promise.
Last Friday, I sat in on a meeting the Mayor and city staff had with representatives of the developer and a number of engineering companies. Despite all the technical engineering terminology, one thing is clear. They have kept their promise, and in some cases, exceeded it.
The drainage plans for the West branch not only keep the Lifestyle Center from impacting the creek, they also reduce the amount of water that will flow from the development. It appears we might be able to achieve as much as a 40% reduction in water volume in the creek from the Lifestyle Center to the convergence of the West and East branches. From that point to Duncanville, there could be as much as a 20% reduction.
On the East branch, the on-site drainage the developers have planned will keep the Lifestyle Center from making the volume any worse, just like they promised. The city is also looking at additional upstream improvements that would actually reduce the volume in the East branch, just like in the West.
All the engineering details and approvals have not been completed, but everyone involved is working well together. The Mayor, being an engineer, understands the issues involved and is working with the developer to keep the promise.
Dan Haydin and Cliff Shaw
April 24, 2005
I support Daniel Haydin and Clifford Shaw for re-election to the City Council. I have worked with these men for the past year, and know them to have a heart for Cedar Hill.
Challenge Your Candidates
April 19, 2005
In case you haven’t noticed, it’s election season again. You can tell because all those political signs are back, littering the street corners throughout the City.
A disturbing trend in politics is the tendency of candidates to misrepresent their experience or involvement in the City. We see this trend in all levels of government, but perhaps it is more pronounced in local elections.
Before I ran for City Council, I was active on the City’s economic development board. I served on the board for three years, the last of which I was the president. I was also the chairman of a Citizen’s Bond Review Committee, and the chairman of the campaign to pass bonds for a new government center, library expansion, and road improvements. I was active in the Chamber of Commerce, and volunteered as Treasurer for Keep Cedar Hill Beautiful. I even went to City Council meetings for more than a year before I ran for office. In short, I took it upon myself to become educated about Cedar Hill and its particular issues.
Unfortunately, not all candidates are informed or involved, and what’s worse, they don’t seem to care. They haven’t served on any boards. They don’t volunteer in any civic organizations. They don’t even attend City council meetings. How can a candidate honestly expect to represent citizens without any experience with or knowledge about the workings of the City?
Even more disheartening than an uninformed candidate is a disinterested candidate. If they don’t care enough to be involved prior to the campaign process, they are not going to care when the election fanfare fades away. Do you really want a candidate who doesn’t care enough to be involved?
Some candidates try to hide their inexperience by focusing on a single issue. By appearing informed on a single issue, their hope is that their lack of experience and knowledge on all the other City issues is not evident.
Cedar Hill is not a single issue City. Each council member must be informed about public safety, code enforcement, economic development, transportation, public works, planning and zoning, and finance, just to name a few.A candidate who focuses only on a single issue does the City and its citizens a disservice.
Thomas Jefferson said, “Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” When it comes to candidates, the opposite is also true.
During this campaign season, I encourage each voter to examine the qualifications of the candidate. If they claim to be a “community activist,” ask them what activities they have participated in, and judge for yourself if their experience qualifies them for City Council in Cedar Hill. If they spend most of their time talking about crime, ask them about their solutions to code enforcement, economic development, and transportation issues.
Challenge your candidates. If you don’t, no one will.
Residents Mull New Ordinances
April 15, 2005
Building standards addressed as public meetings continue
By LOYD BRUMFIELD
News Editor, Today Newspaper
A long list of concerns was raised by members of the citizens advisory committee at the second of a series of public meetings about proposed new city code ordinances April 5.
Committee members, flanked by Cedar Hill City Council members Daniel Haydin and Wade Emmert, addressed storage issues, building maintenance standards and regulations for automobiles and boats at the two-hour meeting at the Cedar Hill Recreation Center.
Code officers Johnny Kendro and Stacey Graves provided overviews of existing codes and a look at proposed new ones.
Several residents said clarifying what’s allowed and what isn’t should be a major focus of the new codes.
“People don’t know what they can or cannot put on their property, and they don’t know who to ask about it,” said Rod Reed, a resident of High Pointe. “Whether it’s in the building code or some other document, people want to know what can or can’t be done.”
Outside storage really isn’t covered under existing city codes, Graves said. The proposed new ordinance specifies what would be allowed and what wouldn’t be.
Under the proposed new ordinances, outside storage of items in public view would be prohibited, including building materials or supplies, chemicals, appliances not designed for outdoor use, outdoor appliances that aren’t installed, tools or mechanical equipment not connected with a residential use, lawn maintenance equipment, motor vehicle parts or accessories, trash and other items that aren’t typically stored outside.
Materials screened from public view, such as by a solid fence, landscaping or a combination of both, are permitted.
While the city has its own standards, individual neighborhoods can also put their own regulations in place through deed restrictions that exceed city codes, Emmert said.
Emmert is chairing a series of meetings about proposed codes, the third of which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19, to address property maintenance and miscellaneous concerns.
Eventually, the proposed new codes will be presented to the city council for action.
Storage took up a large portion of the meeting, including regulations about sheds.
The definition of a shed was bandied about among residents.
“Does the shed have a door? Is it enclosed or does it have three sides?” Haydin asked.
Committee member Richard Hicks asked about materials used to construct storage buildings.
“I want to make sure it’s not constructed out of something that will rot,” he said.
The new codes will address nuisance and sanitary issues, Emmert said, who also addressed the storage of materials.
“What I’m talking about here is large amounts of wood, for example, that becomes rodent-infested; stacking crates so that they are visible from the fence, things like that,” he said.
Lawn mowers must be stored away from public view, Kendro said.
Cedar Hill is still operating under its Uniform Housing Code passed in 1988, Kendro said.
“That’s what we use to determine if a structure is habitable or not,” he said.
Several members of the committee said it was important for citizens to understand the necessity of proper home maintenance.
“One problem with home maintenance here — and I’m the classic example of this — is people come here and they don’t plan to stay,” Reed said. “When I came here, I said I was going to stay two-and-a-half years.
“Now, 18 years later, I’m still here.”
Sheri Borth of Keep Cedar Hill Beautiful wondered about burglar bars.
“They send a negative message,” she said, drawing nods from several others. “People see them and don’t think it’s a safe neighborhood.”
Several people at the meeting asked questions about minimum building standards, such as how can you tell when paint becomes too faded and how can you punish homeowners for violations when the problems very well might have been caused by the builder using poor materials?
“There are no easy answers to those questions,” Emmert said.
Those questions also brought up another subject — esthetics.
Emmert seemed skeptical of whether that should be a city concern.
“The question you have to ask is, are we going to concentrate on structure, or are we going to take on the task — what I think would be a giant task — of looking at asthetics?” Emmert said. “Because that would mean really stepped-up enforcement and that gets into things like personal preferences as well.”
Loyd Brumfield can be reached at cedarhill@todaynewspapers.net.
City Wants Input on New Codes
April 13, 2005
Open forums scheduled to hear from residents
By LOYD BRUMFIELD
News Editor, Todays Newspapers
Cedar Hill has long hoped to update what it considers outdated code enforcement regulations.
Now the city is embarking on a series of public meetings to get input from neighborhood representatives.
The first one was held March 29 at the Cedar Hill Recreation Center, and the second one was held April 5, also at the recreation center.
“Almost everyone who was invited attended,” said Cedar Hill City Council member Wade Emmert, who has been selected by Mayor Rob Franke to head up a citizens advisory committee on code enforcement issues.
“Just about all of the homeowners associations had more than one representative present.”
Emmert hopes to have one meeting a week and hopes to report the committee’s findings within 30-60 days to give city staff enough time to work on proposed changes before they are present them to the council.
Emmert hopes to keep the meetings to about a two-hour length.
“That two hours is spent going through the various homeowners ordinances and addressing homeowners’ concerns,” he said. “We want to make sure our residents’ concerns are addressed and that we use their input as we finalize the new ordinances.”
The city has been studying its codes extensively.
“We’re in the process of revising our codes, and it’s something that’s been needed for quite some time,” Emmert said. “The staff researched it and came back with a completely revised set of codes.”
City council members Daniel Haydin and Clifford Shaw also attended the meeting, along with Senior Code Enforcement Officer Stacey Graves, Neighborhood Services Coordinator Patty Bushart and others.
“We heard good compliments about our existing staff and the way they handle residents’ concerns, but residents have concerns about outdated ordinances concerning dilapidated fences, uncut grass, directional signs, junk vehicles, outside storage — sheds as well as the outside storage of materials — landscaping issues and other miscellaneous issues,” Emmert said.
Current regulations state fences are in violation if they lean to a certain degree, but missing or damaged slats aren’t addressed.
That will probably be changed under new regulations, Emmert said.
Trash, especially loose trash that blows around yards and is never picked up, is also a big concern for residents.
“All the homeowners were passionate about their neighborhoods and what they want their neighborhoods to look like,” Emmert said.
Loyd Brumfield can be reached at cedarhill@todaynewspapers.net.
Welcome!
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.
It is my sincerest goal to be a good steward of the citizens’ trust. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to serve you.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at Wade.Emmert@cedarhilltx.com or (214) 740-3164.