Over the past couple of years, the pond at Sherman Drive and Hercules Lane had become a body of water enjoyed by people in and outside of the Sherman Crossing neighborhood in northeast Denton. They would linger on the walkway near the pond and marvel at the family of beavers, the Canada geese and other wildlife that had come to call it home.<\/p>\n
The area had become \u201cwonderful and a little nature preserve with 12 different species of bird, fish, the beavers, really diverse,\u201d said Ricky Barnett, who lives nearby and took his children to enjoy it like other nearby neighbors.<\/p>\n
But it was a little nature preserve that shouldn\u2019t have been. It was designed to be a detention pond, which temporarily holds stormwater, but it was acting as a retention pond, which retains stormwater.<\/p>\n
The homeowners association management had it drained in early July, leaving fish dead, a family of Canada geese \u2014 a federally protected bird<\/a> \u2014 without a home, and beavers without their food supply after neighbors say drones were used to spray and kill the vegetation.<\/p>\n In a July 10 email, Nathalie Leifeste told the Denton Record-Chronicle the pond was being drained \u201cand the consequences for the local ecosystem are heartbreaking.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether the decision came from the City or the HOA, the lack of foresight and regard for animal welfare is deeply troubling. We live in a community that should be able to balance maintenance with humane, ecologically responsible actions.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, the HOA board and the HOA management company, Vision Communities Management, sent a message to residents that they are not making independent decisions but instead complying with city requirements.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite allegations posted on various social media platforms and through email, there have been no acts of negligence with respect to fish or other wildlife at the pond,\u201d according to the email.<\/p>\n The HOA board met with residents on Thursday evening via Zoom to discuss the pond, the city\u2019s requirements, the challenges they\u2019ve faced and the steps the board is taking \u2014 including exploring alternatives and solutions.<\/p>\n VCM couldn\u2019t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re basically stuck on this game where the city wants to blame the HOA, and the HOA blames the city,\u201d Barnett said. \u201cWe\u2019re worried about some kind of solution. I don\u2019t care whose fault it is because I don\u2019t want to see fish flopping around in the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n Surprise draining<\/p>\n In late February, Erica Garland, who lives in the development, had taken photographs of the pond shortly before and after the pond drain in February. Garland had been enjoying the little makeshift nature preserve like other locals. A board member, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he had even offered to install a solar-powered water fountain in the pond and wanted to install seating and lighting around it for neighbors to enjoy.<\/p>\n The pond is located on a lot east of the Sherman Crossing development and across the street from an apartment complex. The HOA first appeared five years ago; most of the homes were built in 2021 and 2022.<\/p>\n Garland said the neighborhood \u201cfreaked out and came together\u201d but that she didn\u2019t make a big deal because she figured that people were just doing their jobs. She contacted the HOA management and said she was told the HOA was receiving threats of fines from the city every day that the pond retained water \u2014 a claim denied by Dustin Sternbeck, the city\u2019s chief communications officer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe told the HOA about the wildlife, and they acted like they didn\u2019t know and hated it,\u201d Garland said. \u201cFortunately, it was in the spring, and the [pond] immediately backed up again.\u201d<\/p>\n The wildlife remained and, as Garland pointed out, \u201cnature fixed what people screwed up.\u201d<\/p>\n Five months later, the pond contractor drained the pond again.<\/p>\n A few days after the drainage, Garland, who serves on the city\u2019s zoning commission, was \u201c1,000 percent furious\u201d about it because this time she knew the HOA management company was aware of the wildlife. She was upset that the beavers and Canada geese had been impacted. She said they had watched the goslings hatch.<\/p>\n Garland said the pond held only a couple of feet of water and drained fine over the retaining wall and under Sherman Drive into big culverts that run through the city.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no issue with flooding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The anonymous HOA board member said HOA president LaQuita Fisher and VCM knew about the wildlife and that they needed a beaver trapper and wranglers since there were thousands of perch in the pond. He said he told them multiple times and that Fisher \u201chas been very roadblocking and doesn\u2019t want to work with anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Fisher couldn\u2019t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n Neighbors turned to social media to share their concerns and photographs of the impacted wildlife. They shared their story with Lil\u2019 D TV, which reported that the HOA had spent $70,000 so far draining the pond. They also contacted District 2 City Council member Brian Beck, who represents their area.<\/p>\n Beck heard from several people about the pond. He said he had been in contact with senior staff and development services as well as environmental services to find a solution. He said staff were looking into his questions but called the process \u201cslow going right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Anecdotally, Beck said he didn\u2019t recall the pond \u201cever emptying back to dry\u201d and mentioned that if not maintained, habitat builds up and the maintenance that follows is destructive to the wildlife.<\/p>\n Last week, Garland questioned Fisher about maintenance on Facebook and stressed that neighbors understand the difference between a detention pond and a retention pond.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we don\u2019t understand is the lack of attention this area received for years which caused the situation we are currently in,\u201d Garland wrote. \u201cAt this point, most of us do not care who is to blame but what we do care about are the people, birds, fish and wildlife that are now being impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, the HOA board and VCM offered another reason why the detention pond had been retaining water in their statement to residents: \u201cThe concrete drain out had been vandalized. The drain has been compacted with rocks and mud, not caused by any wildlife but by humans.\u201d<\/p>\n Aerial tech<\/p>\n Shortly after the early July pond drain, neighbors began noticing the vegetation that had once created a lush little nature preserve to provide food and shelter to wildlife had turned brown and looked dead around the detention pond.<\/p>\n \u201cThey sprayed poison from drones to kill it without telling the residents that it happened, and I walked my kids over there after they did it,\u201d Barnett said.<\/p>\n Garland said she learned about the spraying during her meeting with Fisher.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should have known,\u201d Garland said. \u201cThey let us know when they are spraying for mosquitoes. They didn\u2019t give us that opportunity to make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Garland said she was told the poison was safe and biodegradable but pointed out that \u201cthey also say Roundup is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n The anonymous HOA board member pointed out that the pond contractor had sprayed herbicides inside a living, working ecosystem.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s sickening,\u201d the board member said. \u201cI drive by it, and I don\u2019t get it. I don\u2019t understand why they would take that away.\u201d<\/p>\n