Summary: The City of Willow Park finally had a conversation with the residential neighbors of the Willow Park Church of Christ; Citizen were concerned about the Willow Park Church of Christ rezoning from residential to commercial; the City is proposing to use a Planned Development Zone to address most of the Citizens' concerns.
Latest Update: Tuesday, 06 February, 2024
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Results of Q&A Town Hall, WP Church of Christ rezoning from residential to commercial. Use Planned Development Zoning to implement Citizen changes.
*1 Further chronological details of this rezoning at Willow Park Civics Blog > Index for Willow Park Church of Christ rezoning from residential to commercial.
The City of Willow Park, Q&A Town Hall held last week (31 January 2024), addressed the concerns of Willow Park Citizens about the rezoning of the Willow Park Church of Christ. [WPC Audio]
The Church [*2], in the middle of an older Willow Park residential zone , and the prospective buyers Aledo Legacy, LLC [*3] have petitioned the City to rezone the Church's one-acre lot from “Class II: Residential: ‘R-1’ Single-Family District” to “Class III – Business: ‘O’ Office District.” [*1]
The Aledo Legacy LLC, partners are Stacy Lynch and Tom Moore of Lynch Legacy and Jerry Stocken of Stocken Construction [*3]. The Aledo Legacy LLC wants to purchase the property from the Church and to turn the Church building into a mixed-use office building with about fifteen (15) offices to lease.
In attendance at the Town Hall were the following:
• Bryan Grimes, City Administrator
• Toni Fisher, City Planning and Development Director
• Randy Law, City Building Official
• Chawn Gilliland, City Council, Place 2
• the pastor of Willow Park Church of Christ and local resident
• three (3) Aledo Legacy LLC representatives, Stacy Lynch, Tom Moore, and Jerry Stocken
• and about fifteen (15) Citizens of Willow Park.
The concerns of the local neighbors and other Willow Park citizens, voiced during Town Hall [*4] include the following:
• safety of children
• commercial parking
• lighting and signage intrusive to neighbors
• commercial activities that might negatively affect the ambiance and values of the surrounding residential area
• neighbor notification of future changes
• no current renovation design prepared by the developer including number of offices or redesign of the outside of the building.
• In addition, there were several Citizens in attendance who considered ANY zoning change from any residential zoned neighborhood as unacceptable and unwanted.
In summary, the neighbors around the Church -- and most Willow Park Citizens -- felt blindsided by the short and limited notice of a significant change in their neighborhood. In addition, the original proposed business rezoning change in the middle of their residential neighborhood had a significant lacked of data for Citizens to consider proposed changes.
All three of the Aledo Legacy LLC partners spoke of their business and personal ties with Willow Park and of their commitment to maintaining the residential nature of the neighborhood surrounding the Church.
Toni Fisher, City Planning and Zoning Director, presented the following handout in .pdf and explained the Planning and Development Department Process and the zoning ordinances concerning residential, commercial, and Planned Development. [*1]
The result of the discussion between the City, the proposed Developers of the Church and lot, and the Willow Park Citizens resulted the following:
• A request by Citizens for detailed set of plans and drawings from the Developers and for more advanced and more detailed updates from the City.
• The Aledo Legacy LLC developers indicated they were in agreement with most of the Citizen requested changes and details.
• The City recommended for the Church development, a Planned Development Zone (PD) instead of Commercial Business Zone. [*1]
A PD is used "for the purpose of land uses which may require special controls to avoid interference with existing or planned uses." and would give the City the proces to address the concerns of the Citizens.
Research and Sources
[*1] City of Willow Park Municipal Code
• 14.06.006 Residential: ‘R-1’ Single-Family District” / in .pdf.
• 14.06.004 Class I - Special Purpose: "PD" Planed Development District / in .pdf.
• (a) Use regulations.
• (1) The “PD” Planned Development District is a specialized zoning concept which has two specific uses:
• (A) To set aside large parcels of land to be used for the development of mixed uses or special uses which will require approval of the planning and zoning commission and city council.
• (B) To produce an overlay district to be used in conjunction with an existing base zoning district regardless of size, for the purpose of land uses which may require special controls to avoid interference with existing or planned uses.
• 14.06.013 Class III - Business: “O” Office District / in .pdf.
• "Banks, financial institutions;
• Blueprinting or photostatting (not greater than 2,500 square feet);
• Caterer or wedding service (no on-site food preparation);
• Real estate offices;
• Professional offices (architectural, drafting, engineering, accounting, legal, insurance, medical and dental clinics);
• Artist’s studios; Museums, libraries, fine art centers, and similar cultural facilities;
• Special exception uses after recommendation by the planning and zoning commission and approval by the city council;
• Installations owned and operated by the City of Willow Park, Parker County, the State of Texas or public utility companies, which installations are necessary for the public safety, governmental services or the furnishing of utility services including, without limitation, communications towers and water towers, are permitted in all zoning districts."
[*2] Willow Park Church of Christ
• 721 Ranch House Road, Willow Park
• Corner of Ranch House Road and Sam Bass Drive
• Willow Park Church of Christ, 721 Ranch House Rd, Willow Park, TX 76087, US Facebook
[*3] The Aledo Legacy LLC, who wants to purchase the property from the Church, is planning to turn the Church building into a mixed-use office building with about fifteen (15) offices to lease.
• Aledo Legacy, LLC Bizapedia
ALEDO LEGACY, LLC is a Texas Domestic Limited-Liability Company (Llc) filed on January 13, 2017. The company's filing status is listed as In Existence and its File Number is 0802625180.
The Registered Agent on file for this company is Allen L Stidger and is located at 6750 Locke Avenue Suite 201, Forth Worth, TX 76116. The company's principal address is 5177 East Ih 20 Service Rd North, Willow Park, TX 76087. [Lynch Legacy Realty Group, 5177 E Interstate 20 Service Rd S, Willow Park, TX 76087]
The company has three (3) contacts on record. The contacts are Aaronmiller LLC from Aledo TX [Bizapedia], Lynch-Evans Family Trust [Lunch Legacy] from Weatherford TX, and Stockon 5 Construction from Weatherford TX. CorporationWiki
[*4] Concerns of the Church's local neighbors and other Willow Park Citizens, voiced during 23 January 2024 Council Meeting, Agenda Items 2 and 3
Concerns listed in the Citizen petition, detailed in Willow Park Civics Blog > Message from home owners on rezoning WP Church of Christ from residential to commercial at 23 January 2024 Council Meeting.
Increased Business Traffic
Uncontrolled bright lighting shining into the neighborhood
Bright and Moving Electronic Signage
Parked service vehicle and trailers
Overnight/Weekend parking of vehicles
Unsightly Dumpsters
Possible Wedding parties (traffic, noise and lights)
No current renovation design prepared by the developer including number of offices or redesign of the outside of the building.
Neighbor notification. Only neighbors within 200 feet were notified by City letter, but the rezoning change would affect many more neighbors; need for rezoning change posted on sign in front of property that is requesting the rezoning. In addition the City meeting agendas are only posted at 6P of the Friday previous to the City meeting.
Safety of children in the neighborhood and at the Cross Timber Baptist Church preschool. No way to manage the types of office(s) that will occupy the commercial office building.
Office cameras that may surveil neighbors.
Offices that may be in use 7/24.
Additional traffic will be new additional traffic not familiar with area.
Change in neighborhood ambiance and purpose, which will affect property values.
Owners and occupants future sales to new owners. The City suggested the process of a Planned Development, which may require a Special Use Permit, to manage the uses of the commercial office building
Changing a residential zone to a commercial zone will set a precedent for rezoning change, inviting more commercial business to following -- in any residential zone in Willow Park.