Planning commission recommends seven‑lot subdivision at 500 East Bob Jones Road amid neighborhood opposition

The City of Southlake Planning and Zoning Commission on April 3 recommended approval of a zoning change and concept plan for a seven‑lot residential development at 500 East Bob Jones Road, sending the proposal to City Council with conditions after a multi‑hour public hearing.

The applicant, developer Jody Boyd, told the commission the project is intended to match the area’s long‑standing land‑use guidance for low‑density residential and that lots will be about an acre each. “As you can see, low density residential future land use plan, calls for that,” Boyd said, adding the homes will use septic systems and city water and that the developer would require homebuilders and buyers to plant “five, 6‑inch trees on every house.”

Neighbors who attended the meeting urged the commission to deny the rezoning or to tighten conditions. During public comment residents cited concerns about drainage and fill, construction traffic and safety, light and noise, wildlife corridors and the change in neighborhood character. Melissa Reichem, who cited the city’s own planning materials, read language describing the Grapevine Lake and adjacent Corps of Engineers property as “an outstanding ecological, educational, and passive recreational asset” and called the site “environmentally sensitive.” Samuel Jones, whose home is across the street, said the proposal “does not fit the character” of the area and warned it would “double” the number of houses in the immediate block.

The developer presented a concept plan showing an internal street and seven lots, and said the existing home on the site would remain as Lot 1. Boyd said the property generally drains to the east and northeast toward Corps of Engineers land and Lake Grapevine and that he does not expect runoff to flow across Bob Jones Road into neighboring yards. “It simply falls away from the road,” Boyd said. He also promised to preserve existing pipe‑and‑cable and rail fencing along Bob Jones where practical and to require tree plantings that the developer said would maintain habitat for deer and other wildlife.

Commissioners asked for and won a number of commitments and clarifications before recommending approval. Conditions captured in the commission’s recommendation include retaining or matching the existing perimeter fencing along Bob Jones, requiring that Lot 7’s house face Bob Jones Road (not the new internal street), limiting construction hours, requiring tree plantings on each lot, and asking staff to provide additional information about existing water pressure and drainage capacity for the neighborhood. The commission also asked that driveway stacking and gate placement be designed so that delivery vehicles and gates do not block Bob Jones Road; sidewalks were left for later discussion and could be deferred depending on neighbor preference.

Multiple residents urged the city to require more detailed on‑site grading and drainage work up front and pressed for limits on truck routes and construction hours. Neighbors reported visible past grading on nearby sites, cited a history of variable water pressure, and asked the city to confirm whether soil conditions and elevation would require substantial imported fill to build house pads.

The commission’s recommendation will go to City Council; the staff and the chair said the earliest possible council hearing would be April 15, 2025, with any second reading likely to follow at a later council meeting. The developer acknowledged some items — for example, detailed pad grading and the exact number of yards of fill — would be resolved through engineering and later site plan and permitting steps.

Actions and next steps from the April 3 meeting will be part of the public record sent to council; residents were encouraged to attend the council meeting to comment on the proposal.