LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND RURAL

Some people call Colleyville the “Highland Park of Tarrant County,” says Colleyville Chamber of Commerce vice president Pat Marshall, but developer Larry Cole says the bedroom community seems at times “more like Lebanon.”

Wedged between Hurst and Southlake, the fast-growing rural community boasts the highest average income ($52,612) in Tarrant County. Not surprisingly, says Jeff Woodruff, editor of the Colleyville Citizen, few service and retail business owners can afford to live there.

Those who can afford the $150,000-plus price tags for new homes can rest assured no mobile home park or apartment building will find its way into the community-at least if the city fathers have their way. And their way is to tack a half-acre zoning requirement to all residential property, a device, Woodruff says, that keeps developers out. Cole, who developed Tara Plantation in Col-leyville, claims that “ordinances are selectively enforced.”

Last year, the battle nearly reached a legal showdown when city councilmen passed an ordinance requiring Cole to pay half the cost for paving roads in the community. The next day, a city councilman switched his vote, the ordinance didn’t pass, and the two sides reached a compromise allowing Cole to build 200 houses of varying sizes on 100 acres, with nine acres devoted to a park.

The same compromise has settled a dispute surrounding a 300-acre development where Cole has agreed to add a 29-acre park and 6-acre lake.

Rather than sticking its head in the sand and ignoring growth, the city has made an effort to open doors to developers who are willing to abide by Colleyville’s strict zoning ordincances.

Colleyville City Manager Dick Ballenger says new subdivisions are now on the drawing board and commercial development will most likely follow.

The battle is already starting to cool and a balance has been achieved, says Cole, even though the City Council remains divided on the growth issue, It’s an issue neither city fathers or the community can ignore. With Dallas coming from the east and Fort Worth from the west, says Woodruff, Colleyville is in the way. In addition, the city’s 7,500 population is expected to triple by 1990. “Someone has to plan to control this growth, because it’s coming whether the city wants it or not,” says Woodruff. “Right now, there’s not a . five-year plan a three-year plan or even a plan for next year.”