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June 22, 2010

An open letter to the neighbors of Kessler Plaza

Subject: Davis-Bishop Land Use Study Rezoning Impact

Dear Kessler Plaza neighbor:

A key tenet of the Oak Cliff Progress Coalition (OCPC) is to facilitate communication of proposals of change that will affect Oak Cliff residents. To that end, the OCPC evaluates formal proposals of change by seeking out the opinions of experts and from neighbors to whom those changes will most affect. The OCPC strives to “boil down” the language commonly used in proposals so that every citizen understands clearly how changes may impact an Oak Cliff resident’s life.

The OCPC believes that for proposed changes to be considered progress, those changes must provide benefit to all the impacted parties and not to only those who proposed the changes. OCPC’s guiding principle is one of equitable progress.

The Oak Cliff Progress Coalition is reaching out to the neighbors of Kessler Plaza because your neighborhood will be impacted by the zoning changes that are core to the Davis-Bishop Land Use Study (BDLUS). The effects of these changes will be felt by Kessler Plaza even though the City of Dallas’ rezoning notification requirements did not compel them to include you. Since the rezoning plan will go before the Dallas City Council for approval on August 11, the OCPC believes Kessler Plaza has the right to know how the zoning changes will impact you so that you can be an informed participant in the debate on this issue.

The BDLUS will change the zoning on the Jefferson-Davis shopping center and surrounding business area. This area is designated as Subarea 6A in the plan.

OCPC’s analysis of the BDLUS plan, which involved the assistance of experts on Dallas zoning, has revealed that the proposed changes could result in five-story apartment buildings with multi-level parking structures being developed in the Jefferson-Davis area. While the plan seems to allow only for mixed-use development, the plan does not specifically require it. “Mixed-use” is a term that means a single building can contain residences, retail stores, and/or non-industrial businesses. This plan will allow for that, but not mandate it. Because the plan does not require mixed use, the plan opens the door to the development of large apartment buildings very close to your neighborhood. The OCPC believes that the lack of a mixed-use requirement is a significant shortcoming of the plan.

The OCPC recommends that the rezoning plan be modified to require mix use of all new development. Without this requirement, the plan could result in merely more apartments to the area at a height that has never been the norm for Oak Cliff. The OCPC seeks your input on this.

Five-story apartment buildings will increase the number of people in a compact area. (Zoning experts refer to this as “density.”) OCPC has been advised that the large increase in density to the area will drastically increase traffic in the areas and surrounding neighborhoods. So, your neighborhood will be one that may see an sizable increase in the number of cars traveling and even parking on your streets.

However, unlike many smaller-sized rezoning plans, the BDLUS does not include a study on how the mass rezoning will affect traffic. Similarly, the BDLUS plan does not include a density study, a parking study, or a city infrastructure study. (“Infrastructure” is a term that zoning experts use to describe water, sewage, electricity, gas, etc.) Put plainly, the BDLUS is the Davis-Bishop Land Use Study is essentially a large rezoning plan that did not study any of the effects of the rezoning it would establish.

Experts have told the OCPC that these types of impact studies are expensive to conduct. While conjecture, the OCPC believes that the impact studies were not conducted because the BDLUS was completely privately funded and simply didn’t choose to fund efforts that would put practical limits on their own development opportunities.

The OCPC recommends impact studies on traffic, parking, density, and city infrastructure be made a requirement of this massive rezoning plan because the full impact of the BDLUS is not known. The OCPC believes that impact studies will give the residents of Oak Cliff a better way forward on sustainable progress and expects the Dallas City Council to require nothing less. The OCPC seeks your input on this.

OCPC’s sought out the help of experts in Dallas zoning to guide it in making these recommendation.

The Oak Cliff Progress Coalition wants to see change come to Oak Cliff. However, not all change is progress. The OCPC’s goal is to foster change that’s more representative and equitable to all the people of Oak Cliff. That is how we measure change to be real progress for Oak Cliff. The difference is significant to maintaining Oak Cliff’s distinctive qualities. In fact, it’s so important that we put progress in our name. The OCPC will actively work to be the champion of progress that reinforces Oak Cliff’s diverse character.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincere regards,


Oak Cliff Progress Coalition

oakcliffprogress.org, 214-613-0077

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P.S. The OCPC encourage you to seek out your own information and do your own research on these issues. You have to act now in order to affect change.


Zoning Ordinance Document

The full rezoning ordinance is available as a PDF from the following page on the City of Dallas website. This is the ordinance upon which the Dallas City Council will vote. The latest PDF has the file name of “BishopDavis_ord052010.pdf”

http://www.dallascityhall.com/development_services/authorized_hearings.html

 

Quick Points

  • Subarea 6 & 6A
  • 5-story or 75 ft. tall building are allowed
  • No minimum or maximum lot width
  • Relaxed parking requirements
  • Allowed uses
    • Multifamily and/or duplex housing
    • Bed & Breakfast and/or single family
    • Remote surface parking lot
    • Food store and/or theater
    • Retirement housing and/or community service center
    • Crop production

The new zoning will allow:

  • Density increase (more people in a defined area)
  • No maximum number of dwelling units

The new zoning is not a Planned Development (PD). Therefore, it does not limit apartments to the north of Davis St. as before. It allows apartments to be built on any space within the Subarea 6.


Reference

Davis Street Special Purpose District, May 20, 2010, Zoning Case Z089-219