A feud is brewing between Dallas and Irving over services for the Cypress Waters development off Interstate 635.
The commercial and residential development is going up in a remote piece of Dallas surrounding North Lake, sandwiched between the cities of Irving and Coppell.
According to Dictionary.com, a "feud" is: "a bitter, continuous hostility, especially between two families, clans, etc., often lasting for many years or generations."
Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne said the disagreement between the normally cordial neighbors of Irving and Dallas over dense development plans for Cypress Waters dates back about a decade.
"And for nine years now, Dallas has understood that they're going to have to provide services to this area," Van Duyne said.
Cypress Waters' location near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has helped Dallas make big corporate relocation deals, including Zales, recently poached from Irving. But the Irving mayor claimed there are no hard feelings.
"This has nothing to do with feelings or not. It comes down to finances," Van Duyne said. "One-hundred percent of the revenue is going to Dallas, but Coppell and Irving are going to have 100 percent of the impacts."
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Over strong objections from neighboring Irving and Coppell, Dallas allowed the 1,000-acre development to one day include 4.5 million square feet of office space, 150,000 square feet of retail, 10,000 housing units and 30,000 residents – about as many people as all of neighboring Coppell. The project is within the Coppell Independent School District, which faces a tremendous influx of new students from Cypress Waters.
Dallas predicts the project will eventually generate $8.8 million a year in property taxes based on $1.1 billion in assessed value, with sales tax revenue on top of that.
But Dallas faces a $37 million shortfall in the upcoming general fund budget this fall. The bigger city is now asking smaller Irving to help provide utility and fire service to Cypress Waters.
"Governments need to work together," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said. "We've got to be able to break down silos and say what's good for citizens of Irving and what's good for citizens of Dallas."
Rawlings said Irving would be paid for service it provides.
"We're interested in purchasing services at a fair rate that's great for the citizens of Irving. If they don't want to do that, we'll serve it ourselves," Rawlings said.
The Dallas City Council heard a Cypress Waters update Wednesday.
Dallas City Council Member Carolyn Arnold was especially unhappy about the investment and attention so far from her Southern Dallas district where many old parts of Dallas need improvement.
Rawlings said new taxes and revenue benefit all Dallas neighborhoods.
"And we want to make sure we've got growth plans in place for each and every one of them," Rawlings said.
Van Duyne said the city of Irving wants a better deal than what's been offered.
"We fully understand being regional and we're supportive of that," she said. "We just want to be sure that we have the resources to take care of our own residents."
