Sunday, April 28, 2024
A proposed subdivision in the Oglesby area could add 592 houses, raising concerns for those who live nearby as well as county officials and those who would have to provide services for the area.
During the Sept. 13 meeting of the Coryell County Commissioners Court, several local residents voiced their concerns and asked county leaders to do what they could to make sure any growth in the area is managed responsibly and to consider impact fees be charged to developers for the intense strain it would put on area resources.
County Judge Roger Miller said no official proposal for the development, which would be located along county roads 267, 268, 272 and U.S. Highway 84, has been presented to the county, but noted if a development of that size were located there, it would immediately become the third largest concentration of people in Coryell County behind only Copperas Cove and Gatesville.
Julianna Blanchard, who lives in the area where the subdivision would be located, said it is a potential detriment to the aquifer which provides water to local residents. She said it would also have a negative impact on "Native American encampments and artifacts.
"With this large of a development, we may need (state agencies) to determine the cultural impacts and the environmental impacts. There would also be impacts to water runoff and discharge."
She said area roads are also not designed to handle the amount of traffic that would be inevitable with that many homes being added.
Blanchard said she is a longtime area resident whose family has owned property along county roads 267 and 268 since the 1930s.
"My philosophy has been to treat the land as a gift from God and to share it with family and friends," she said. "I am deeply concerned about the impact of adding a community of more than a thousand people.
"I understand the demand for housing and the growth in our state, but the Texas Water Development Board, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation, TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) and other agencies can provide guidance to help determine a plan."
Blanchard said one of her main concerns is that roads in that area do have the capacity to safely accommodate the additional traffic that would result from the subdivision.
"The county is responsible for maintaining roads, and there would be four entrances," she said. "The roads are not made for that – you're looking at 1,200 additional cars. County roads 267 and 274 have dangerous curves. There is a blind curve and you cannot see what's coming. There have been many wrecks, including my daughter. There was also a fatality wreck a few years ago."
Blanchard said she has started a small hatchery and that the new subdivision would have a negative impact on that.
"In my retirement, I'm going to raise turkeys, but with all that traffic, it's going to be a detriment to me," she said.
"There is also a bald eagle's nest nearby, and I can't imagine taking that away."
Doug Landrum who resides on County Road 272 near the proposed subdivision read the letter of a longtime resident of the area who was unable to attend the meeting, identified as Jane Pitts.
"I cannot stress enough how important this is," he read. "This could make or break our county."
The letter raised concerns about the lack of water resources, electrical infrastructure, school capacity, and law enforcement to adequately protect the area. The letter referred to several problems caused by significant growth in the Austin area, and stated that the same type of problems could be experienced by Coryell County.
"Are we going to be proactive and grow with grace and dignity or reactive and scramble to protect assets?" the letter stated.
Landrum said he and his wife are paying close attention to the proposed subdivision. He recently attended a meeting of the Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, which helps to oversee the area's water resources, and learned some concerning information.
"If that water level (in the aquifer) goes down, it's not coming back – not for 1,000 years," Landrum said. "My concern as far as our resources is to make this right. Now is the precedent to make the correct decision and to make sure growth is responsible and sustained."
More information on the potential impact of the proposed subdivision, along with comments from Judge Miller and residents of the area nearby, will appear in the Sept. 21 edition of The Gatesville Messenger.
