Neighbors in a historically Black neighborhood say allowing new homes to be built that violate hard-fought zoning rules is a gut punch. NBC 5’s David Goins reports the panel is set to hear another appeal from a builder in the Elm-Thicket neighborhood near Love Field.
A Dallas panel could decide this week if new homes under construction can be completed over the protest of neighbors who say builders are knowingly not following zoning requirements.
On Friday, a city of Dallas memo listed 11 property sites in the Elm Thicket-Northpark neighborhood as “out of compliance.”
The city issued stop work orders on 19 properties earlier this summer after realizing building permits were issued incorrectly based on old zoning regulations.
As of Friday, four applications had been received asking for appeals for variances, four other property owners had taken no action, and one property remained on appeal of a revoked permit.
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Jonathan Maples, president of the Elm Thicket-Northpark Neighborhood Association, told NBC 5 on Monday that neighbors feel a city panel is ignoring their concerns.
The Board of Adjustment hears appeals from applicants who seek a change in a ruling made by a city employee. The panel’s stated mission is to follow the meaning and spirit of zoning ordinances enacted by the city council.
In October, a majority of the 5-member panel voted the city made a mistake in issuing a red tag / stop-work order on a home at 6801 Tyree Street, saying the builder shouldn’t bear the cost of the city’s permitting error.
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“We felt like this was a gut punch,” Maples said.
Maples addressed the Board of Adjustment, Panel A, during the October 22 hearing and said builders knew of the updated zoning and chose to build beyond the new zoning requirements regarding lot size, height and roof style.
“You have every right to build whatever the zoning says you can build. But if something's wrong, you're supposed to fix it,” Maples said.
During the October hearing, the Board of Adjustment voted to reverse the stop-work order on the Tyree home, which will allow the builder to adjust the height and roof style to conform to the current zoning requirements.
Maples anticipates the panel has already indicated its possible preference to allow a home at 6529 Victoria Avenue to be completed, even with a height more than ten feet above zoning requirements for a roof.
The panel held over that case from October for a hearing set for Tuesday, Nov. 19.
Maples maintains the message the panel could send in its decisions will be heard by other neighborhoods too.
“What happens in Elm Thicket will happen in other communities,” Maples said.
