Cottonwood Bend North

Between March 2024 and October 2024, the Community Enhancement Department facilitated a Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative in Cottonwood Bend North that included a neighborhood survey, meeting, workday & celebration, and screening improvements along E. Bethany Dr. Tab #1 is dedicated to that process.

** Note: Updates are posted from most recent to oldest. Go to the bottom of the page and scroll up to view the updates in chronological order.

Neighborhood Workday & Celebration - October 19, 2024

A big “THANK YOU” to all those who volunteered on Saturday. We had nine Cottonwood Bend North residents working alongside about a dozen City of Allen employees. What did your neighbors accomplish?

Before the workday

• There were 140 tree related code violations that needed to be addressed.
• One neighbor helped another neighbor clear debris. The company that cut the neighbor-in-need’s tree left the debris in front of the gas meter in the alley and it could not remain that way for the three weeks leading up to the workday. The City provided a pass to the Custer Road Transfer Station and the resident helper borrowed a trailer and took care of it on a Saturday in September. The one receiving the help was very appreciative.
• The City’s Live.Love.Allen. volunteer program, which is largely made up of faith-based organizations, helped trim and clear debris for four residents who requested help on large tree trimming projects.
• It’s estimated that at least another 119 residents trimmed their own trees and put the debris in the alley leading up to the workday.

On Saturday

• Teams of neighborhood volunteers and City Staff cleared all five alleyways using two residents’ personal pickup trucks and three City of Allen Code Compliance pickup trucks.
• Two employees from the City’s Parks & Recreation Department assisted four residents in need by trimming their trees and two trees along the trail on Ashwood Dr. and chipping the debris in their chip truck as they trimmed.
• The City’s Community Services Department provided two employees, their grapple truck, and two 30-ton CWB dumpsters for the workday. The employees driving the grapple truck were instrumental in picking up debris in the alleys and taking loads to the Custer Road Transfer Station to ensure there was room in the dumpsters for the remaining debris.
• All combined, it’s estimated that the workday cleared 24 tons of debris! That’s the equivalent of six elephants!
• By the end of the workday, 128 of 140 code violations came into compliance. The remaining 12 were non-responsive throughout this process and will require additional action from Code Compliance. Those notices will be issued this week.
• We ended with lunch sponsored by the Allen Community Development Corporation (CDC) and lawn games provide by the City's Parks and Recreation Department. A good time was had by all!

Way to go!

Update: Workday Prep - Instructions for Saturday, Oct 19

Please meet by the staging area at 8 a.m. to sign the volunteer waiver and get your assignment for the day (see map below). City staff will be ready to get you signed in starting at 7:45 a.m. We have narrowed down the project list to three categories:

1. Staging area: manual labor of moving limbs to the dumpers.
2. Brush pick-up in the alleys: This will require a truck or trailer, driving alleys, picking up large debris and putting it into trucks, then unloading it at the staging area.
3. Tree Trimming on individual properties: There are currently 3 small jobs to be completed. We may add a few more trimming jobs if others respond, but for now three are confirmed. The Parks crews will have pole saws with them for higher limbs.

The City crews will have the chip truck, grapple truck and dumpsters on site, but it’s unknown if the grapple truck can maneuver the alleys, so we will need residents with trucks to get the debris back to the staging area. We can also use some of the Code Compliance trucks, but we cannot transport residents in them. We will have the Keep Allen Beautiful tool trailer on site, which has gloves, trimmers, vests, shovels, wheel borrows, etc.

Lunch will start around 11:15 a.m. The city is providing pizza, and generous residents have donated water/soda and cookies. We’ll also have our portable speaker and some lawn games to put out during lunch time for a little mini-block party fun!

NOTE: Based on the weather forecast, it should be clear and cool, but if storms roll in, please use your best judgement. We are looking forward to serving alongside of you and putting faces with names! THANK YOU for investing in your neighborhood.

Update: September 2024 - Neighborhood Property Assessment

One component of our stabilization program is conducting a Code Compliance sweep in the neighborhood. We found that 128 properties (45% of the neighborhood) have trees that are in violation of the City’s property maintenance code. On Friday, September 13th, Code Officers placed courtesy tags at these properties asking that they be brought into compliance. This process will move from courtesy tag to a notice of violation with the potential for additional action if not addressed.

We’re Here to Help

Recognizing that all this tree trimming will result in a considerable amount of debris, we are proposing a Neighborhood Workday on Saturday, October 19th to make the debris removal easier for residents. For a few hours in the morning City staff can provide dumpsters, a chipper truck and grapple truck (a truck designed to pick up tree debris) to streamline the process. This offer is for all residents in the neighborhood, whether you have a tree violation or not. However, we cannot justify allocating this level of resources without a commitment from residents with violations to participate.

We’re ALSO Here to Celebrate

The screening wall and entryway signage is set to be replaced along Bethany Dr. in late September to early October, so this is a great time to celebrate that improvement and come together as a neighborhood. We need a minimum of 30 households with tree violations to agree to participate in the proposed workday by the end of this month before we move forward with scheduling. If there is enough interest, then we will schedule the event blending it part workday and part celebration. The workday would be from 8 a.m. to noon and then a free lunch provided by the city after that.

Below is a map of the staging area for the workday and a tree trimming diagram

Project Update - May/June 2024

The screening wall and entryway signage is set to be replaced along Bethany Dr. in late September to early October.

This wall has been repaired several times over the years and has mismatched brick. Additionally, the entryway signage is difficult to read when driving by. This project will make the wall more uniform and replace the entryway signage to match the Cottonwood Bend South signage across the street. A new monument sign will be installed at Ashwood Dr. to further identify the neighborhood. The location of the existing screening wall to be improved is shown in yellow below and the location of the new monument sign in green.

Neighborhood Meeting - March 21, 2024

A BIG thank you to the 22 people who attended the neighborhood meeting. It was a great turnout, especially considering the rainy weather. If you were not able to attend or want a refresher, the presentation is attached below.

In summary, Staff from the Community Enhancement Department gave a brief presentation explaining what the department does, past neighborhood stabilization projects, and potential projects to be completed in Cottonwood Bend North including screening wall repair/replacement along Bethany including the monument signs. After the presentation, residents were invited to give their input in three different areas — visual preference for signage options, committee sign up, and future needs within the neighborhood. A summary of the results are as follows:

Visual Preference

Two different styles of signage were displayed. Each resident was given three dots (votes) to indicate their visual preference. Of these two options, the favorite at 32 votes was to match the signage across Bethany Dr. at the entrance of Cottonwood Bend South. This was a good first step and will help City staff, along with additional input from the resident committee, to make the final selection.

Committee Volunteers

Eleven residents volunteered to serve on the resident committee. These residents will meet with City staff at key points to help plan a workday, block party, and provide feedback as the entryway and screening wall project progress. This is an open group, so please feel free to reach out to enhancement@cityofallen.org and join in at any time.

Future Needs

• Remove manhole in sidewalk (located on Ashwood Dr.)
• Enhance greenbelt: No playground, just pretty plants.
• Plant more trees in the greenbelt along the trail.
• Brick wall all the way across the Bethany Rd. side to make it look consistent.
• Brick wall and neighborhood signs along the Jupiter Rd. side.
• Make the neighborhood entrance wall the same as the entrance wall in Cottonwood Bend South.
• More lights on Ridgemont and Cottonwood Bend Dr.
• Plant trees along Bethany Road on the southside of the wall (like Cottonwood Bend South).
• Repair sidewalks on Holly and Willow Dr (soil erosion prevents walking).
• More lights on English Oak St.
• Repair pothole on White Oak St. (the patches they put don't last).
• Speed bump on Cottonwood Bend Dr.
• Sidewalk repairs throughout.
• Alley conditions behind 801-817 Ashwood Dr.
• Playground with rainbows in the greenbelt.
• Dog mural painted along the Ashwood walking trail.
• Sidewalk improvement along Ashwood Dr (along the greenbelt).
• Remove the Bradford Pear trees on retaining wall.
• Add entry signage along Jupiter Rd. Treat fire ants along greenbelt.
• Organize a cleanup of the creek bed next to Ford Park.
• Widen jogging trail adjacent to Cottonwood Creek on Ashwood Dr.
• Reroute the existing sidewalk to go under
• Bethany Creek bridge as it exists on the east side sidewalk.
• Ask Oncor to fix leaning electrical poles throughout the neighborhood.

Next Steps

If you signed up to be on the Resident Committee, City staff will be in touch soon to schedule a kickoff meeting.

Neighborhood Survey (Pre-Public Meeting)

In February 2024, City staff launched a month-long, online survey including two open ended questions:

1. What is your neighborhood’s greatest asset?
2. What could be done to make your neighborhood a better place to live?

All residents of Cottonwood Bend North are invited to take the survey before our neighborhood meeting March 21, 2024. The primary physical improvements for Cottonwood Bend North neighborhood were enhancing existing entryway signage and screening walls along Bethany Dr.