The Plan Commission is scheduled Oct. 15 to consider a zoning change request for the southeast corner of Greenville Avenue and Longview Street, just of the Lower Greenville retail and restaurant strip.
The requested change is from residential to Community Retail zoning. It appears the applicant intends to provide additional parking for existing uses along Greenville Avenue.
However, the adjacent Greenland Hills, Lower Greenville, Belmont and Vickery Place neighborhoods traditionally have opposed zoning changes from adjacent residential zoning to provide additional parking for bars and restaurants along Greenville.
The neighborhoods don’t appear to have taken a formal position on this application, but meetings are occurring and the subject is being discussed.
Speculation is that if the zoning request is approved, another similar request might follow – this time affecting the northeast corner of Greenville and Marquita, already the subject of two hotly contested zoning battles during the past few years.
Now that the Lower Greenville shopping and restaurant area is perceived to be regaining its economic health, more intensive proposed uses, along with the zoning change applications that will be sure to follow, are increasingly likely.
PRIVATE SCHOOL APPLICATION: Also Oct. 15, the Plan Commission is scheduled to consider an application for a Specific Use Permit for a private school on Fairview, south of Gurley, near the East Grand/Beacon area.
More specific details weren’t available at press time, but if you are interested in the area or in this application, call City planner Richard Jensen at the Dept. of Planning and Development.
CITYPLACE APPROVALS: The recent zoning amendments affecting Cityplace Tower and the surrounding Cityplace property will be considered Nov. 11 by the City Council. The proposal should receive a favorable reaction from the Council following its unanimous approval by the Plan Commission.
My prediction is the Tax Increment Financing district, which the applicant requested, also will be passed in an effort to fund the required bridge, street and infrastructure improvements.
HOLLYWOOD/SANTA MONICA APPEAL: It appears Oct. 15 will be a busy day for the Plan Commission: The group will be considering a homeowner’s appeal in Conservation District No. 6, the Hollywood/Santa Monica Conservation District.
No details are available, but it appears the owner of a property in the 600 block of Monte Vista Drive wants to alter his property beyond what is allowed under the Conservation District regulations.
It appears the City’s director of the planning and development department ruled the proposed changes were not permitted under Conservation District regulations, and the property owner appealed.
We’ll have a further report in next month’s column.
DRY OVERLAY EFFORTS: Updating our continuing coverage of neighborhood efforts to pass a “dry overlay” district in portions of Old East Dallas, you will recall from last month’s column that the issue was scheduled to be voted upon at the City Plan Commission Sept. 24.
However, as has been the case every month, further developments have changed the political landscape for this community effort to control liquor-related uses through land-use regulation.
A week prior to the scheduled Plan Commission vote, it was realized that a similar dry overlay proposed for a large area of Oak Cliff – also set for consideration the same day – had to be postponed.
City staff explained the public notification process for the Oak Cliff district had been flawed and that no public hearing could be held without proper notification. The result: The controversial East Dallas dry overlay would have been considered alone by the Plan Commission.
Since most of the Plan Commission appears skeptical, if not outright hostile, to the dry overlay effort, overlay supporters believed forcing a Sept. 24 vote might kill the plan.
As a result, it was agreed the East Dallas dry overlay would be “held under advisement” – that is, delayed – until Nov. 19, the same day the Oak Cliff district will be considered.
The new hearing date also occurs after the mid-October date the Texas Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality of the City’s attempt to enforce a dry overlay district in the South Dallas/Fair Park area.
The court’s ruling is likely to have a major impact on the future of dry overlay districts.
I would cautiously predict the court will uphold the City’s ability to use its zoning powers to regulate these uses, but as with any litigation, unpleasant surprises can, and often do, occur.
Stay tuned.
ROSS AVENUE LANDMARK: On Sept. 24, the Plan Commission was scheduled to consider historic landmark designation for the Ross Avenue Baptist Church, 5201 Ross near Moser. At press time, little opposition was expected to this proposal, which will give the building an added measure of protection against future demolition or radical architectural change.
Contact Jim Anderson, the City’s history planner, for more information.
