On Tuesday, the Coppell City Council meeting was filled with debate over the construction of a new affordable senior living facility, and pleas to expand the city’s pickleball facilities.

Roers, a real estate development and investment company based in Minnesota, had plans to construct a 9.9 acre, four-story high-density living complex to house residents 55 and older as well as other working class professionals in Coppell.

The building would offer one and two bedroom apartments, with two people allowed per unit, requiring at least one resident to be 55 or older.

Roers has embarked on 10 projects around Texas, three of which have been finished only recently.

However, this use of land brought concerns too many Coppell residents that were living within 200 ft.

They mentioned how the new densely packed building would worsen commutes and increase traffic during school hours. Additionally, they also mentioned how pollution from the construction would further impact life in their community.

This eventually convinced the board to reject the land use proposal.

“I think the citizens of Coppell made it quite clear about their lack of appetite for high density housing, especially for a $40 million project not paying any property tax,” councilman Mark Hill said.

The proposal was also rejected because it was thought not to align with Coppell’s land use policy and future vision.  

“The fact that we are having to shoehorn it [high-density senior housing] into an urban residential neighborhood classification shows that this wasn’t something contemplated as an appropriate land use for this community,” councilman Jim Walker said.

Citizens also came to the meeting to encourage the council to expand pickleball facilities. These residents hope to see expanded pickleball facilities at Wagon Wheel park.

Another concern is the overcrowding of these pickleball facilities due to residents of other cities flooding into Wagon Wheel due to cheaper pricing, displacing Coppell citizens.

“I’m not sure what we wanted for city facilities is for our citizens to be on the waitlist and have out of city, non taxpayers, get in front of our citizens who paid,” former mayor Candy Sheehan said.

Residents also claimed that these pickleball facilities could generate new revenue for the city as well as provide a sense of community among pickleball-playing adults of all backgrounds.

The council also approved the construction of a new fire station in a currently under-serviced area between the two existing stations, and also approved the construction of new Charity and transitional housing.

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