November 17, 2025

By Mary Beth Gahan

The Flower Mound Town Council will consider a site plan, tree removal permits, and an offer for money instead of park space for the last phase of Montalcino Estates on Monday night.

Centurion American Development Group has submitted a site plan to build 18 home lots – each at least an acre – on a 72-acre parcel between Tour 18 and Furst Ranch on the west side of town. The plan does not include public park space.

The planning and zoning commission recommended approval for the site plan last week, with only Todd Bayuk voting for denial.

Developers in the town of Flower Mound are required to pay $1,388 per housing unit to be used for park development, as well as dedicate park space to be given to the town. Centurion American Development Group will pay the town $24,984 in fees, but is asking to give an additional $22,680 in lieu of donating space for a public park.

The town uses a formula for monetary donations if a development is smaller and does not have as much space for a park, or if it’s not a location the town believes is best for a park, according to John Habern, Flower Mound’s park development manager.

The entire Montalcino Estates development is 468 acres, but was developed in smaller phases.

The council approved rezoning of the land for Montalcino Phases III and IV in 2023 with some pushback from residents concerned about wildlife, environmental protections, a rushed plan. Phase III,  which has 42 residential lots, is currently under construction, according to the town’s planning data.

In phase III, the town accepted $54,180 instead of park space dedication, as well as $59,684 in park development fees.

The calculation of how much land a developer must give to the town for a public park is 3.36 acres for every 100 housing units. In phase IV, that’s .0648 acres. But in a conservation or cluster development, like in Eden Ranch or Montalcino, the acreage is cut in half.

If the developer asks to give money instead, the park dedication acreage is multiplied by the fair market value of the land as decided by the town and developer. When phase III went through the process in 2023, the fair market value was deemed to be $75,000 per acre. Two years later, the town and developer still put the land for phase IV at $75,000 per acre.

Centurion American did not respond to a request for comment about the price of the land.

When a developer pays money instead of giving acreage for a park, it goes into a special fund that is used to buy park space later on, Habern said. Park development fees pay for the features that are built on top of that land, such as a playground or trail.

In the last few years, Flower Mound used park dedication money to purchase 20 acres near Dunham Road. That land is planned to be used for a sports complex, according to the town’s capital improvement plan.