The homeowner wants to place four homes and the helicopter landing area on 15 acres he owns in the town of Double Oak.
DOUBLE OAK, Texas — The Town of Double Oak was established about 50 years ago in Denton County.
“We’re just this nice little 3000 resident hub in the middle of DFW where we have honestly a bit of nirvana,” James Hering, who has lived there for 10 years, said.
The community boasts large lots, lovely homes and the small-town feel that’s getting harder to find here in North Texas. So when a new special use permit request was submitted, Doug Workman replied, “No, thank you. Now, we moved here for a reason. The helipad is literally going to be in our front yard.”
That’s right. A new owner in Double Oak has 15 acres that he wants to put a total of four homes and a helipad on.
“We welcome newcomers,” Hering said. “We welcome new homeowners. What we don’t welcome is putting a helipad right smack dab in the middle of town.”
Hering added, “There were discussions with the potential homeowner and the town council way back in January. Citizens did not find out about this until June, when a notice for the planning and zoning committee meeting was set up.”
WFAA reached out to Double Oak Mayor Patrick Johnson, who sent us a statement which reads in part:
“The Town of Double Oak reaffirms its commitment to open, fair, and consistent land use governance by providing clarification on the zoning change and Specific Use Permit (SUP) process. This statement comes in light of recent public interest regarding a pending application. The Town emphasizes that no promises or assurances have been made to any applicant regarding the outcome of their request. All zoning and SUP matters are subject to a legally defined, public review process that applies equally to all property owners.”
“We’re sure that the city knew long before the residents,” Workman added, before encouraging the city leader to, “Take a drive by. Maybe drive his neighborhood that he represents. I think he could see that there’s more in opposition than there are in favor.”
WFAA also spoke with Ken Frisby, of Frisby Fine Homes, who insists his client is well within his rights to put the helipad on his property. He discussed details from the application sent to Double Oak that included concessions, including the owner only flying the helicopter from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and only using it 8-10 times per year. Frisby argued that the noise at 500 feet is akin to the noise levels of a lawnmower.
Hering insists, “We have no idea how to govern that. We have no idea whether he would stick to that promise so we’re very concerned. We don’t want regular helicopter operations going on above our heads.”
The City of Flower Mound unanimously denied a request from Frisby for a helistop in January, which seems to be for the same homeowner. The request in Double Oak was submitted in June.
“This is the needs of the many being outweighed by the needs of the few or the one, and that’s just not part of the town ethos,” Hering said. “That’s not going to fly, so to speak, okay? We want Double Oak to be a no-fly zone, period.”
The Double Oak planning and zoning meeting is set for August 7.