Council approves Mountain Blue plan development; neighbors contest 10-foot screening wall

Keller City Council approved a plan‑development zoning change for Mountain Blue, a proposed single‑lot estate on about 10.6 acres at Lambert Lane, directing staff to remove a previously shown retaining wall from the final exhibits.

The action lets the property owner construct a primary residence and five accessory structures — including a clubhouse, gym, gatehouse and a possible detached accessory dwelling — and to install a perimeter screening wall up to 10 feet high (12 feet adjacent to the entry gate) while otherwise following the SF‑36 base standards for lot size, lot coverage and setbacks.

Supporters told the council they preferred one large, privately managed lot to subdividing the acreage into multiple houses. Several neighbors asked for greater clarity about the fence materials, landscaping, the future accessory dwelling’s location, and stormwater and grading plans. Leslie Sager, a nearby resident, said she was “opposed to certain elements of the project” and asked the council to clarify whether the proposed wall would be a solid masonry structure and how landscape buffering would be handled. Linda Brown Schmele, who lives adjacent to the east property line, described the proposed barrier as a “Berlin Wall” and said she worried about sight lines and water flow if a retaining wall were installed.

Staff told council the retaining wall shown on earlier exhibits had been removed and that the applicant will be required to submit drainage and utility plans and to meet development standards when the final plat and building permits are submitted. Staff also said perimeter screening adjacent to public rights‑of‑way will include evergreen plantings to soften the wall’s appearance and that fencing on the non‑street sides will be required to conform to the Unified Development Code (UDC).

Council members said they had reviewed the detailed materials and the public comments, and several asked the applicant to continue working with neighbors on the fence design and landscaping. Council voted to approve the PD zoning change with the condition removing the previously shown retaining wall; the motion carried unanimously.

What happens next: the applicant must submit required civil and drainage plans, and all building permits and inspections will be required before construction. The PD establishes the maximums and development standards the council approved; final design details for the wall, landscape plan and locations of accessory structures will be implemented at permitting and on the final plat.