Transportation Commission delays decision on streetlight outreach policy after lengthy debate

The Flower Mound Transportation Commission on May 13 postponed consideration of a proposed community outreach policy for streetlight installations to its June 10 meeting.

Staff presented a draft policy intended to standardize when neighborhoods are notified, who conducts outreach and how responses are counted. Thomas (assistant director, Public Works/Transportation) told the commission the policy would formalize current practice and identify four scenarios: resident requests in neighborhoods with and without homeowners associations (HOAs), HOA-initiated requests, and town-initiated projects.

Commissioners spent the bulk of the discussion on two procedural points: how the town or an HOA will prove that notices were delivered, and whether a lack of response from impacted properties should be interpreted as support or opposition. Thomas explained the draft treats town-initiated nonresponses as tacit support — after two mailings and a door hanger, a final nonresponse would be recorded as in support — while HOA- or resident-initiated requests would treat nonresponse as a no. Commissioners called that asymmetry problematic and pushed for a more uniform approach or for the town to take responsibility for outreach in all cases.

Commissioners also pressed staff for detail on two technical thresholds in the draft: the presentation said community outreach would be required when a proposed streetlight is within a 50-foot radius of a residential street, while staff defined an “impacted property owner” as a property partly or wholly within a 100-foot radius of a proposed fixture. Commissioners requested the policy be clarified and simplified and discussed proof options including certified mail, door hangers or posted signs.

During the discussion a commissioner asked how individual ballots would be counted; Thomas replied, "No, it's, 1 vote per house." Another commissioner said the process as written ‘‘is a lot of work for staff’’ and asked why the town could not perform all notifications to ensure uniform proof of delivery. Thomas said staff proposed the mixed approach because resident-led outreach has historically been used and because staff resources are limited.

Following the discussion, a motion to postpone adoption and return the draft as a workshop item (date certain: June 10, 2025) passed in a roll-call vote. Commissioners recorded as voting aye were: Commissioner Clark; Commissioner Landry; Commissioner Mulder; Commissioner Hughes; Commissioner Morriere; and Commissioner VanDoo. The motion passed.

Staff said they will return with a revised draft that tightens language on proof of delivery, clarifies the radii and notification thresholds, and offers options for a single, simpler procedure or a two-track approach (town-initiated vs. others) for the commission to consider.

The commission did not take final action on the policy; the item will be revisited at the June 10 meeting.