City of Colleyville denies housing development plan on 14 acres of trees

COLLEYVILLE, Texas - The city of Colleyville denied a developer's request to build a housing development on 14 acres of Cross Timbers Forest.

The decision came after the mayor and city council received hundreds of letters in opposition to the plan.

Tim Waterworth is a financial advisor who has lived in Colleyville for 25 years. He is now also a co-founder of Save Colleyville Trees. 

"My wife kind of drug me into it. The neighborhood received a notice about zoning," he said.

Once Waterworth earned more, he decided to join the effort to save the 14 acres with 190 heritage post oaks. They are slow-growing drought-resistant trees, some of which are estimated to be 160 to 280 years old.

Waterworth says not only are the trees important to the environment, but Colleyville's comprehensive plan also calls for the city to retain its country feel. 

"Over the years, we've become fully developed, lots of residential space, and we don't have the parks we need," he said.

Waterworth wants the city to purchase the land and turn it into a nature preserve with a park and trails.

Curtis Young is the architect of a home development project called The Bluffs. He spoke to city council members earlier this month. 

"We've explored that idea and are told the city has no interest in doing that," he said.

Young showed plans for high-end homes that could work with the sloping terrain on the land.

"We are trying to do this in the best way possible," he said.

Colleyville Mayor Bobby Lindamood said the city received about 500 messages from residents who opposed the plans. He said while he supports property rights and knows there is a need for housing, in the end the plans did not justify changing the zoning.

"We know that a lot of people are moving in, and God bless them. We're glad they're here," he said. "But we will hold to those standards. That's what I was elected to do was to hold of those standards of the zoning."

It's not clear what will happen to this land now. 

Young said that the landowner is disappointed at the city's decision, and he is exploring his options. 

The city manager says the city has not expressed any interest in buying the land.