Government
BY DESTINE GIBSON, MIRANDA JAIMES & CONNOR PITTMAN
32-home project in Grapevine denied A 32-home neighborhood called Grape- vine Springs—located o Northwest High- way—will not be coming to Grapevine after a planned development overlay and rezoning request were denied. The overlay for over 11 acres located behind an existing o ce development was unanimously denied by council and the planning and zoning commission during the Nov. 21 joint meeting because of a large amount of neighbors’ opposition. With the denial, the developer cannot return with the same proposal until at least a year later, but can bring back a di erent proposal. The big picture Several council members and residents voiced concerns about the impact to trees, the overall density with the number of homes within the neighborhood, the use of private streets and privacy concerns. Because of the strong neighborhood opposi- tion, a supermajority vote would have been needed to approve the development.
This concept art shows what a renovation to the current Tarrant County Sheri ’s Training Academy could look like.
RENDERING COURTESY TARRANT COUNTY, KOMATSU ARCHITECTURE
Commissioners back renovation of training academy Plans to renovate the existing Tarrant County Sheri ’s Training Academy were met with com- missioners’ support Nov. 21.
The rst option, which was met with support, included: • Renovating the current academy, located at 1500 Circle Drive, Fort Worth • Using the 41,700 square feet to accommodate classrooms, o ces, training spaces and more • The option to add a ring range O cials estimated the project would cost about $28.54 million. Commissioners are expected to formally approve the project in December. New fossilized species of dinosaur found near lake A volunteer fossil hunter with the Dallas-based Perot Museum discovered a partial lower jaw for a new dinosaur species near Lake Grapevine, according to a news release. The fossil named Ampelognathus coheni marks the fourth instance a dinosaur has been named from rocks in North Texas. The name Ampelog- nathus means “Grapevine jaw” and pays homage to the location of the nd while the species name, coheni, honors the volunteer fossil hunter who made the nd, Murray Cohen. The overview Cohen discovered the nearly 2-inch fossil for the dinosaur, which likely belonged to the animal’s lower left jawbone, in late 2019, said Ron Tykoski, vice president of science and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Perot Museum. Scientists on the Perot Museum sta and Christopher Noto from
A new training academy is needed for meeting and training purposes, as well as additional o ce space, locker rooms and more, according to meeting documents. The overview Representatives from Fort Worth-based architec- tural rm Komatsu shared three di erent options for the new training academy with commissioners. Council approves contingency costs Southlake City Council rati ed $235,000 in construction contingency costs for the Southlake Pickleball Complex project. The amount covers change orders as well as potential contingencies that may arise. The details City sta has issued seven contract change orders totaling $128,503.55 for tasks outside of the contractor’s original scope of work, according to the Nov. 7 agenda item. The tasks addressed construction contin- gencies, such as: • Unanticipated utility relocation and infrastructure work • Additional site elements • Design modi cations to accommodate revised IT operational needs
A 2-inch fossil was discovered near Lake Grapevine.
COURTESY PEROT MUSEUM
the University of Wisconsin-Parkside published their ndings in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleon- tology in October, about four years after the initial discovery. Tykoski said the museum has permits with the Army Corps of Engineers to explore areas around Lake Grapevine that are not accessible to the public. Because of a small sta , the museum also relies on enthusiasts or everyday residents for a number of fossil discoveries.
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GRAPEVINE COLLEYVILLE SOUTHLAKE EDITION
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