Honey Grove, Texas -- The Lake Ralph Hall Zoning Commission continues modify the Lake Ralph Hall Comprehensive Plan and, following a public hearing Thursday, August 25, 2022, the Zoning Commission unanimously recommended the Lake Ralph Hall Comprehensive Plan to Fannin County Commissioners Court for possible adoption at a regular meeting October 11, 2022.
Building consensus for the Comprehensive Plan is the first phase of this project. Stakeholder interviews were conducted in August 2021 and the first public open house was held September 2021. The 1st draft reviews were held in March and April of 2022 and the 2nd draft reviews followed in June and July of 2022. With the Lake Ralph Hall Zoning Commission recommending the Lake Ralph Hall Comprehensive Plan to Fannin County Commissioners Court at the second public open house August 25, the project would appear to be on schedule.
The August 25 meeting was held at Honey Grove Library & Learning Center.
The timeline of phase one will fall in place if Fannin County Commissioners Court votes to adopt the Lake Ralph Hall Comprehensive Plan in the fall of 2022.
The goal of the Comprehensive Plan is to guide future development around Lake Ralph Hall and protect the water quality. The Comprehensive Plan is not a zoning ordinance, but rather a community-driven guide for future land use that will likely continue to be modified.
Zoning Commissioner Newt Cunningham expressed concern about the amount of land Upper Trinity Regional Water District owns above the 500-year flood plain and asked if there were plans to work any of it back onto tax rolls. Mr. Cunningham stated that Upper Trinity owns 17% of the land within the 5,000-foot buffer zone around the lake and he inquired what percentage of the shoreline will be owned by the Water District?
The public had several questions about the Shoreline Management Plan and projected land use.
If this project stays on schedule, phase two, which is comprised of property zoning, development regulations and subdivision regulations, would be voted on by Fannin County Commissioners Court in the summer of 2023.
Much of the zoning plan has to be defined and refined, beginning with which zoning option is selected. The entire 5,000-foot buffer (22,082 acres) around the lake may be zoned, or the county may prefer a slightly smaller buffer that follows property extensions (18,081 acres), or perhaps even the complete parcel option (16,120 acres).
