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Council approves waiver for Prosper ISD detention pond at proposed administration site
Summary
The council unanimously approved a request from Prosper ISD to waive the town's wet-pond drainage design requirement for a detention basin behind a proposed district administration building, allowing a dry (underground) detention design with required screening and buffers.
The Prosper Town Council on March 11 unanimously approved a developer-requested waiver from the town’s drainage design manual that would let Prosper Independent School District use a dry detention pond, rather than a wet pond, for a basin behind a proposed administration building.
Town engineering staff explained the town adopted a drainage manual in February 2017 that generally requires wet detention ponds or underground alternatives, but the manual includes a process for council to consider waivers. Dan Heichman (town staff) described the subject pond as located off Lakewood, north of U.S. 380, and said the parcel is zoned single-family residential and will be buffered and screened from neighboring lots.
PISD representative Doctor Bradley told council the district’s site includes two visible wet-pond features intended as outdoor learning amenities; the green-highlighted pond at the rear of the site, which the district asked be allowed as a dry detention pond, is largely out of public view and would be screened. Engineer Chris Schmidt explained the district prefers dry detention for lower maintenance costs and additional stormwater-storage flexibility; dry detention also improves capacity when adjacent topography or floodplain limits a permanent water-surface elevation.
Councilmembers asked about long-term maintenance and future uses of adjacent land. Town staff and PISD representatives said the district intends landscaping and living screening, and that screening and a masonry wall would separate the basin from nearby homes. Staff also said the pond’s design accounts for a fully developed drainage condition so future buildings north of the admin site could be accommodated without additional detention in many scenarios.
Councilmembers expressed support, with one member noting that the presence of other wet ponds nearby reduced concern about losing a visible water amenity. A motion to approve the waiver passed unanimously. Council action authorizes the waiver but does not change the site’s zoning or final site-plan approval requirements; staff noted the applicant must still meet the town’s erosion-control, landscaping and screening standards and any required construction permits.
