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Councilor Moore hosts town hall after residents raise concerns about Eastman Hills grading and drainage
Summary
Garland city staff summarized project approvals, inspection practices and design standards for the Eastman Hills subdivision; residents pressed staff on a steep, newly graded slope behind several homes, erosion in swales and what will happen to retaining walls and buffers.
Councilor Moore convened an informational town hall on the Eastman Hills development in Garland to answer residents’ questions about grading, drainage, buffers and compliance with approved plans. City Manager Mike Bess and Assistant City Manager Crystal Owens explained that staff had been asked to assemble technical teams to review inspections and to provide clarity about what the city can and cannot change once plans meet the Garland Development Code (GDC) and the project’s planned development (PD) approval.
"My intent tonight is to try and give you as much information as we have that is available, and then to try and answer whatever additional questions that you might have once the presentation is complete," Assistant City Manager Crystal Owens said during the presentation. She reviewed key approvals for PD Z‑18‑37, noting mass grading and Phase 1 infrastructure permits and the project requirements that include a 75‑foot landscape buffer, a 15‑foot no‑disturb zone and 35% open space.
Residents focused much of the discussion on a steep area adjacent to Bluff View and five lots that neighbors say look to have been filled early, creating a visible slope they described as a 25‑foot 'mountain' behind homes. Staff acknowledged that the contractor had done some phase‑sequence work earlier than expected in one area, said retaining walls are being designed, and reiterated that walls over the city’s threshold require engineered plans and building inspections under the city’s technical standards and the 2015 International Building Code.
Councilor Moore and staff committed to follow up: staff will provide copies of referenced studies and case numbers to residents who request them, transportation staff will re‑review the traffic analysis, and the councilor scheduled a follow‑up town hall for the 26th to continue the conversation. The session closed after roughly two hours.
