The SPIN Town Hall Forum on 8/8/23 (link to watch the forum: https://southlaketx.new.swagit.com/videos/268750) was very well attended, mostly by Southlake neighborhood #10 residents (50+ by my estimate) appearing, speaking, and submitting comments in opposition of the proposed special use permit for a helicopter pad at 2000 Greenwood Dr. All of the residents who submitted comments and spoke were opposed to the permit and covered all of the potential negative aspects of a helicopter pad in such a densely populated area. There were even multiple residents testifying about their own personal experiences as witnesses of fatal helicopter crashes. 

There were so many impactful comments made, but I would like to highlight a couple:

At 19:46 in the video, Dr. Ashish Sareen, a Lockheed Martin Fellow who designs helicopters, noted that there have been 623 crashes of the Robinson R44 (the helicopter described in the potential permit application), 212 of which were fatal.

At 44:30 in the video, Former Southlake mayor John Terrell, present at the Town Hall Forum to discuss another item on the agenda, urged the applicant to withdraw the application based on the comments he had heard from the concerned residents. In his opinion, he could not imagine the city council approving such a permit in the face of the opposition voiced at the meeting 

I am embarrassed that during my opportunity to speak, although I brought up the points I made in this petition, I forgot to mention the petition and the 500+ signatures that were collected in opposition in 5 days. The signatures collected as of 12:30 pm on 8/8/23 were sent to the city, but I am informed by Madeline Prater, business manager, planning and development services, that there is no need to present them to the city council unless the applicant decides to move forward and formally submit the application to the city. If that does happen, an updated list of signatures will be passed on to the city council. Hopefully, however, further action will not be needed based on the overwhelming negative response to the proposed permit.

In the meantime, this petition will stay open until we hear about the applicant's decision about formal submittal.