KILLEEN, Texas — Kathy Harkin said she and her neighbors have tried to keep their south Killeen suburb quiet for over a decade. When a developer, WBW Land Investments, wanted to put in houses just West of the community, the City of Killeen tried to create a compromise in 2016.
"The City of Killeen asked me to form together a committee of neighbors. They sent a representative from the city, Dick Young, to meet at my house with the developers' consultant to negotiate the type of housing," Harkin said.
Harkin said the deal was supposed to restrict the houses in the nearby cul-de-sacs, to be only one story, as well as the next two houses down. This would ensure there were not large two-story houses right next to the local neighborhood. She said there were to be only two homes per cul-de-sac area.
After the deal was made, the City of Killeen approved new zoning in March of 2017 so WBW Land Investments could get started on the project. Councilmember Dick Young asked City Planner Tony McIlwain if the developer was bound by the agreement made with the community, even if not all details of the agreement were presented to the council.
"When conversations were had between the property owners and the developer there was much more detail than what I see on the plan than what I see on your concept plan. My question is, can that be changed?" Young asked. "They didn't want three or four houses backing up to each of their lots."
McIlwain told Young that any changes to the plan would need to be approved by the council, and the council approved the zoning.
Then, the houses started to be built.
Most houses built right next to the community were only one story, but some had upstairs rooms and were much taller than one-story homes in the community, though they fell short of being a full two-story structure.
Several houses three tracts away from the community were two-stories, even though Harkin said they were not supposed to be.
Then, however, when 6 News looked at requirements provided to the city by WBW it said only, "North and East perimeter houses to be limited to one story."
6 News also found the "plat", or construction design, for the project and it had four homes per cul-de-sac area instead of two.
Harkin said the agreement was not taken to council the way it had been agreed to, and she is now hiring an attorney to pursue legal action.
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