Lawtherwood sign located at White Rock Road and Lawtherwood Place. Photo by Renee Umsted.
In 1973, a 38-unit residential development was planned for Lakewood.
The cluster home neighborhood, named Lawtherwood, would be located on a 7-acre area west of West Lawther Drive and north of White Rock Road.
A request to change the zoning of the property was submitted to decrease the minimum lot size. At the time, the zoning allowed for lots no smaller than 7,500 square feet, meaning that 24 or 25 homes could be built. But the builder, Leon Wilensky, wanted to reduce the minimum lot size to 5,000 square feet to build 38 homes.
Not everyone was on board with the request.
“We want to preserve the area of Lakewood, which has been very successful under the present zoning,” one Lakewood neighbor told a KERA reporter in 1973. “We want to preserve this in the way that it stands now.”
The builder told the KERA reporter that he didn’t want to develop the property with its existing zoning, constructing only 24 or 25 homes.
“Considering the very extremely high cost for the land involved, it would place such a high price tag on the final price of each lot after it’s developed that I feel it would put them in sort of an unsellable position,” Wilensky said.
The City Plan Commission recommended approving the builder’s request with a 9-4 vote.
Afterward, neighbors began gathering opposition to the proposed rezoning, collecting about 1,000 signed petitions asking the Dallas City Council to deny the builder’s request.
Learn more in the video below, courtesy of the G. William Jones Film and Video Collection at SMU.
The builder made his case before the council in June 1973, saying he was different from other builders and developers and intended to keep as many trees as possible.
Speakers came in support of and in opposition to the development. Some said it would not preserve the character of Lakewood or promote the stability of the neighborhood. But others said cleaning up the area and building homes for families would serve the neighborhood well.
The council voted unanimously to deny the builder’s request; see clips of that meeting in the video below.
But Lawtherwood exists today, though it’s not a 38-home development. If any neighbors know the history, we’d love to hear it. Email Renee at rumsted@advocatemag.com.
