Over the last few years East Dallas has been at the center of numerous land use debates. Is a grocery store appropriate in an area zoned residential? Is a car wash an appropriate use in a historic district? Is a parking lot, located between two single family homes, appropriate land use? The purpose of this article is not to debate any of the issues related to a single case, but to explore how we might be able to avoid some of those protracted and divisive battles.
East Dallas is unique in a number of ways. The area is among one of the oldest residential sections of the city with the least amount of change. We have a number of historic districts – Swiss Avenue, Munger Place, and the Wilson Block are probably the best known. In addition to historic districts, East Dallas is home to two conservation districts – Lakewood and Hollywood/Santa Monica. We also have three specialized Planned Development Districts – Gaston Avenue, Bryan Place, and Henderson Avenue. Each of these districts has strict standards for development within their defined boundaries.
The desire to preserve our history and protect our community, along with the simultaneous pressure to change, causes conflict. We are close to downtown and therefore desirable. The close proximity of residential and commercial properties has sparked many debates and the occasional fist fight. People move to East Dallas to live and work, but they also worship, shop and dine here. Recently, the conflict between residential and commercial uses even led the City Council to impose a four month moratorium on building permits and certificates of occupancy in the Lower Greenville Avenue area.
All of these circumstances support the need for the City of Dallas to do a land use plan for East Dallas. North Dallas has a plan, South Dallas has a plan, East Dallas needs a plan. This would not be a large planned development district similar to the one for Oak Lawn, with specific requirements for building setbacks and heights. It would be more general in nature, suggesting appropriate patterns of development, compatibility of uses, identifying areas for future growth, and clarifying our position on stable neighborhood areas. A land use plan is necessary to define OUR philosophy of growth and development.
How do we see our neighborhoods in the future? If we can define East Dallas as a whole rather than a collection of parts, hopefully, we will get into fewer scraps at City Hall. A richly diverse and complex area such as East Dallas needs the focus of its residents positively channeled. The enormous amount of energy and resources dedicated to a single zoning fight could be used to clean up and revitalize the entire area.
