Bonham -- In what may have been the most important public meeting since commissioners court convened in Jacob Black's cabin in 1836 before Fannin County was even officially organized, Lower Bois Creek Reservoir Zoning Commission held its first meeting to begin studying how to strategically zone a 5,000-foot buffer zone around the 16,526-acre reservoir to be constructed by North Texas Municipal Water District.
In the 178-year history of Fannin County, nothing has ever changed the local landscape on a scale that compares to this $1 billion project. And in a county where selling bois d'arc seeds was once the number one business, construction of what many believe will be an economic engine of historic proportions is on the horizon. North Texas Municipal Water District expects to start work on Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir in 2016.
It will be the first reservoir built in Texas in 35 years.
Fannin County also has an historic opportunity to safeguard this process; no lake in the State of Texas has ever been zoned before it was built.
Senate Bill 525, a product of the 82nd Texas Legislature, grants Fannin County zoning authority over "the area within 5,000 feet of where the shoreline of the Lower Bois d’Arc Creek Reservoir would be if the reservoir were filled to its storage capacity."
Fannin County has the option of making the width of the buffer zone anywhere between 0-5,000 feet.
The public meeting Wednesday was the first time most local residents had a chance to see what that looks like on a map.
Effective zoning could stimulate economic development to broaden the tax base while also promoting water quality.
The initial meeting of Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir Zoning Commission detailed what will be an approximate one-year project to carefully plan and then implement zoning regulations. An anxious, inquisitive overflow crowd filled the County Courtroom and spilled out into the hallway.
Phase one will be the development of a comprehensive plan and is expected to take seven months. Possible locations for everything from boat launching docks, marinas and parks will need to be scrutinized in high-water conditions and low-water conditions. Learning from what other lakes experienced during a multi-year drought and then record floodwaters could prove invaluable.
Phase two, the implementation of zoning restrictions, could require another five months.
The task is daunting and the zoning possibilities are endless, but the local zoning commission will have the benefit of being assisted by one of the top engineering firms in Texas, Freese and Nichols. Consultants with Freese and Nichols will begin drafting zoning documents and maps. The local zoning commission will then have at least two meetings to study, amend and approve the draft. The next step in this process would be a public meeting at which Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir Zoning Commission would recommend the final document to Fannin County Commissioners Court. If commissioners court backs the plan, the final step would be a public hearing to adopt the zoning ordinance.
The public meeting Wednesday was moderated by Dan Sefko, Daniel Harrison and Chelsea Irby, all employees of Freese and Nichols.
Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir Zoning Commission is comprised of (in alphabetic order) Fannin County Judge Spanky Carter (chairman), Gary Fernandes, David Johnson, Dustin Knight and Bob McCraw.
Judge Carter advised the overflow crowd that the local zoning commission understands it is imperative to retain the pristine countryside and rural charm of Fannin County while planning for future recreation and development.
"There is no reason we can't get it right," said Carter. "We are way ahead of the curve."
The next public meeting of Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir Zoning Commission will be in October.
