Prospects for saving the vacant Dr Pepper building at Greenville and Mockingbird continue to improve. The latest word from the Dr Pepper Planning Team, made up of representatives from DART, DalMac, Kroger, City staff and neighborhood residents, is that property owner DalMac has committed to preserve and lease out the existing building rather than demolish it and replace it with a free-standing shopping center, although some additions may be made.
DalMac and Kroger have also agreed to extend the design standards adopted by DART for its Mockingbird Station to their portions of the site. Kroger has chosen a design for its store that will complement, but not visually “compete with,” the landmark’s “classic modern” architecture.
DalMac and Kroger also funded a traffic and parking study for the site, which may call for a shared parking arrangement among the three property owners. There will be a community meeting about the property’s development on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at Ridgecrest Baptist Church, at 5470 Ellsworth.
BINGO HALLS TO STAY: The bingo halls of Dallas appear to be safe for the foreseeable future. Responding to concerns about a bingo operation in one Council District (not in East Dallas), the City’s planning staff brought a proposal to the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee to ban bingo parlors in community retail zoning, which would have potentially closed a number of bingo halls all over the City.
Rumor had it that one multi-hall operator was supporting the proposal, in hopes of eliminating a large part of the competition. After listening to a number of potentially affected operators, ZOAC unanimously voted to recommend no change in existing zoning for bingo halls. It remains to be seen if the staff will advance the proposal shot down by ZOAC to the City Plan Commission and City Council.
DANCING AROUND A ZONING CHANGE: Another potentially messy and controversial change to the zoning ordinance debuted at ZOAC Jan. 27, with a vote scheduled Feb. 10, when the issue of zoning for dance halls is taken up. The amendment, if adopted, would ban establishments with dance hall permits from community retail zoning. An undetermined number of businesses would be made nonconforming, including everything from smaller clubs or bars that happen to have dance floors to the multimillion dollar operations such as Cowboys or the euphemistically-termed “gentlemens’ clubs.”
Balancing neighborhood interests and residential impact with the large business interests and their attendant jobs and tax revenues will without doubt be an extremely difficult task. Especially because of the somewhat controversial image, whether deserved or not, of some of the affected businesses. More details should be forthcoming next month.
GREENVILLE ROUNDUP: As usual, the Lower Greenville area provides plenty of material for this month’s issue. The Greenland Hills Neighborhood Association met on Jan. 27 to discuss the status of Christie’s, recently opened at Greenville and McCommas, across from the Unity Church. City staff in the Building Inspection Department has opined that Christie’s is not a “sexually-oriented business” under the City Code, and thus doesn’t have to be at least 1,000 feet from neighborhoods, churches, or schools.
Many in the neighborhood are not convinced of this and want to hear more about the criteria used to make this determination.
You have probably heard by now that the 1920s-vintage Greenville Avenue Christian Church burned down in late December. The fire, which is said to have begun at two different locations in the building, completely destroyed the abandoned and boarded-up church. Demolition crews showed up with remarkable dispatch and were working within a matter of a few hours to clear the debris.
The Church, which was sited on six single-family residential lots, was a long-standing sore spot between the building owners and the neighbors on both sides of Greenville.
Every few years, another zoning battle between the two sides would erupt, then die down in the face of neighborhood opposition, with the owners wanting a change to more intense commercial uses. The situation was complicated by the fact that the building was under a city demolition order, which was delayed by the need for expensive abatement of the building’s asbestos insulation. The fire, of course, neatly solved that particular problem, while raising new issues, such as, recently observed illegal paid parking on the cleared site.
Next up is an expected zoning change request for the site, which is almost certain to provoke renewed and heated opposition from area residents. With the old building itself now gone, opposing such a change may be a more difficult task for the neighborhoods.
The Greenville/Henderson parking task force should be gearing up soon to begin meeting in the near future. An item called “Greenville/Henderson Modified Delta and Parking Standards” is scheduled for ZOAC briefing May 12, with action to be taken May 26. City staff has recommended that the City Council-imposed moratorium on paving over a head-in parking and Delta parking credit variances be extended until June 23 to give more time to study the issues. Developments on this topic will be reported as they occur.
TRANSITIONAL HOUSING USES: Another upcoming issue of interest to East Dallas residents is how the City will classify and regulate single-room-occupancy residential hotels, or “SROs.” This form of inexpensive transitional housing has seen increasing popularity in other large cities, and is touted by many affordable housing advocates as a partial solution to the dilemma for housing at a level between shelters and more conventional apartments.
A committee of East Dallas and Oak Cliff residents, SRO developers and City staff from several Departments has been meeting to formulate a proposal to go to ZOAC, the City Plan Commission and the City Council to cover SRO uses. The proposal will define the use and specify the zoning districts where SROs will be permitted by right, and perhaps in some with a Specific Use Permit, as well as parking requirements and regulations covering bathroom facilities, fire protection, ingress and egress, and other subjects.
One possibly controversial issue that may arise would involve spacing requirements between individual SROs in an attempt to ensure that they are not unduly concentrated in any one or two areas of the City – for example, Old East Dallas – just because the land might be cheaper or the existing building stock more affordable. Next month’s column should have much more detail on the proposal itself and its prospects for passage.
CORRECTION: Last month it was reported that there was a pending lease for a veterinary clinic at the empty Farm & Home building at 6150 Abrams. There is not a pending lease: the veterinarians opening the clinic, Dixon Bain and Stephanie Chritton, own the building. It was also reported that they wanted to build an outside run to the building. The run will be inside the building. Also, the deed restrictions on the property limit unacceptable businesses from the area.
