Parks board recommends 9.35 acres, pond remediation for Eden Ranch development

The Flower Mound Parks Board voted unanimously to recommend that the town accept 9.35 acres of parkland from the Eden Ranch residential development and require remediation of the site’s central pond to town standards.

The recommendation, made during the board's Aug. 6 meeting, asks planning and zoning and town council to accept the acreage and a park development fee totaling $233,184 and to require the developer to dredge and refurbish the pond so it meets the town’s standards for public parks and aquatic health.

The board and staff said the parcel sits in the central conservation area of Flower Mound and could be used as a passive, conservation-focused park with trails, shoreline access and educational programming. John Haber, the town’s parks, trails and landscape manager, told the board the developer was offering the town a park area substantially larger than the 2.82 acres minimum allowed under a 50% reduction for conservation subdivisions; the total offered acreage, including areas in the scenic buffer, is 9.35 acres.

Jamieson Pinson, a planner with McAdams, and developer Tyler Adbourne described the site as a conservation-oriented park centered on an existing pond and said the plan leaves room for parking, shoreline access, and trails. Pinson said the pond’s historical aerials show little change in the pond’s outline over decades and that shoreline and depth improvements could make the water body appropriate for public use. ‘‘There are ways to improve it,’’ he said, noting staff had asked for excavation and depth information to support fish and aquatic life.

Tyler Adbourne confirmed that one of the smaller ponds on the property was fed by temporary pipe lines placed by a prior owner but said the large pond that would be part of the park ‘‘has never once had water put in’’ by the current ownership. He told the board he is willing to work with staff on dredging and water-level improvements and to grant acreage beyond the minimum dedication so the town has management control of the buffer.

Board members pressed staff and the developer on pond health, longevity of water levels, and stormwater flows. Parks staff and board members noted Rudacille and Leonard & Helen Johns parks as local precedents for shoreline access and deeper water necessary to sustain fish during Texas summers; staff said some ponds require at least parts with six feet or more of depth for reliable fish habitat. The board discussed options including targeted dredging, raising a dam, and using bentonite or other sealing methods as standard pond-restoration tools.

The motion approved by the board recommended that planning and zoning and town council accept the 9.35 acres, require remediation (dredging and refurbishment) of the pond to town standards, and collect the park development fee of $233,184. The board’s recommendation passed unanimously.

Board members and staff said future steps include a master-planning process that would define trails, vegetation, parking, and the role of equestrian corridors. Staff told the board they expect the town and the developer to resolve final design details, including separation of equestrian trails from hike-and-bike routes and any required culvert or trail underpasses at Route 1171, during subsequent review phases.