Dallas Opens Massive Area to Multifamily, Retail Development

After eight years of hand wringing, Dallas City Council approved a contentious rezoning plan for 35 acres in West Oak Cliff, a largely Hispanic neighborhood west of downtown.

The 12-3 vote Wednesday opened the area up to denser development near Hampton Road and Clarendon Drive, but it’s reigniting fears of displacement in one of the city’s most culturally distinct commercial corridors, the Dallas Business Journal reported.

The city-led initiative targeted an area with roughly a quarter of its commercial lots sitting vacant, aiming to attract multifamily and retail development. The measure also bans fast food drive-thrus and caps building heights at 45 feet.

The council acted just in time, according to supporters: a new state zoning law, Senate Bill 840, takes effect Sept. 1, allowing multifamily development on all commercially zoned land in Texas cities. Council Member Chad West, who represents the district, called the rezoning “a long-awaited win” that preserves more local control than the looming state mandate.

Many locals aren’t buying it. Members of La Alianza, a coalition of corridor business owners, argued that the rezoning will accelerate gentrification, driving out Latino-owned restaurants, auto shops and salons. Residents likened the move to past rezonings in Bishop Arts and Trinity Groves that transformed — and, in their view, erased — the character of long-established communities.

Attorney and resident Christine Hopkins said rezoning would invite luxury housing that’s out of step with the working-class neighborhood. But West said that existing businesses will be grandfathered in, with new rules applying only if they expand or relocate.

The council adopted two of La Alianza’s three requests — reducing height limits and a ground-floor retail requirement — but stopped short of creating an anti-displacement task force. West said he’s working with City Manager Kim Tolbert to form one.

The rezoning won backing from five of six neighborhood associations in the area. William Roth, one of three council members who voted no, said he’s worried about residents losing influence over the future of their neighborhood.

— Eric Weilbacher