Hunt County tables proposed Lake Tawakoni zoning update after public concerns over notice and classifications
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Summary
After a presentation from consultant Friese Nichols, Hunt County Commissioners tabled a proposed update to Lake Tawakoni zoning to allow more public education and re-notification; residents raised concerns about mailed notice, surprising zoning labels on agricultural parcels and sound-level language.
A consultant presented proposed updates to county zoning that would apply within 5,000 feet of the Lake Tawakoni take line, and the Hunt County Commissioners Court voted Nov. 25 to table the ordinance for additional public outreach and clarification.
The unnamed Friese Nichols representative, who led the presentation, described the update as a modernization of a zoning document in place since 1991 and said the proposal would reduce zoning districts from 15 to 12, revise sign and development standards, expand enforcement provisions and include provisions for parking, landscaping, screening and floodplain standards. "This project was to update that zoning that's currently been in place since 1991," the presenter said during the briefing.
Judge Bobby Stovall and multiple commissioners emphasized the growth pressures facing the region and said clearer outreach was needed. Stovall noted that state law requires specified notice steps and that the county had relied on publication for initial notices, with mailed notices required later in the process. "We had to do it by publication to get people out to get their comments," he said, adding that 13,000 notices would be mailed under the current process.
Residents who spoke during the public comment period said the county's outreach had not reached many landowners and questioned zoning labels shown on maps. Wayne Milton, who lives on Contee Drive in Quinlan, said he had not been notified of meetings and that his property appears as "live commercial" on the draft map despite being residential: "I've lived there 20 years... That don't make no sense. I'm a residential area." Diana Turner said a 30-acre property she referenced was proposed as heavy industrial despite longtime agricultural use.
Several residents and commissioners urged more education, additional public hearings and clearer mailed notice before the court took final action. Commissioner Monroe volunteered to lead a precinct-level re-notification and outreach effort with staff. The court voted to table the item and to have commissioners and staff return with a communications plan and any recommended edits arising from the public hearing.
Next steps: the county will re-notify affected landowners, reconvene precinct-focused outreach with staff from the planning team, and return the item to the court for further consideration once communication gaps and proposed clarifications (including sound-level language related to agricultural exemptions) are addressed.
