By Bill Zeeble, KERA reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-517362.mp3
Dallas, TX – Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter:
Dallas is the nation's largest city without a comprehensive blue print. Over the last 20 months, Dallas Plan department employees worked with members of the city plan commission and additional Dallasites to create a future vision of the city. A plan could help revitalize southern Dallas, encourage economic development, connect residents with public transportation, and nurture numerous neighborhoods. Many in the packed council chamber had been part of a 75-plus member advisory group which offered suggestions to the city plan commission - or CPC. They complained their work was now being ignored. One angry speaker was former Dallas City Council member Larry Duncan.
Larry Duncan, past Dallas City Council Member: After all the neighborhood meetings in churches, and schools, in homes, Just 2 days before the public hearing, all the results of that, all of that was torched.
Zeeble: Duncan said a few days ago, Plan department employees quietly altered the CPC proposal, stressing transportation routes, or corridors, that appeared to cut through established neighborhoods. The change helped prompt the citizen turnout, and drove Janet Stone to tears
Janet Stone: Maybe this is a transportation corridor to you . It's my home. I hope you look at this map. You're running right through my beloved home. Do not do this to our neighborhood. We love it
Zeeble: Both staff and council members responded, saying transportation corridors on a map do not equal re-zoning, and that no homes or established neighborhoods are threatened. After about 25 people spoke against the staff plan in their allotted 45 minutes, those favoring it had their turn, including former council woman Veletta Lill
Veletta Lill, former Dallas City Council member: We can create a sustainable community with good urban design. Simultaneously, the plan is respective of our historic past and of our existing single family neighborhoods. And encourages more efficient land use.
Zeeble; Victoria Loe Hicks, a former Dallas Morning News reporter, used to write about a faltering Dallas that lacked a good plan. She now works for the non-profit Foundation for Community Empowerment.
Victoria Loe Hicks, Foundation for Community Empowerment: This plan will bring rigor, a comprehensive viewpoint, and I think it's very vital for the future of the city.
Zeeble: Perhaps the most passionate advocate for the Comprehensive Plan was council man James Fantroy. He represents parts of Southern Dallas which he says have been neglected since the city's birth
Dallas City Council Member James Fantroy: When I look at this plan, I wrote a little note to myself, and it says At last, at last, thank God almighty, at last we finally get some economic development for the southern part!
Zeeble: Council woman Angela Hunt said that argument missed the point. The debate was about process, she said, and valuing the input from hundreds of citizens
Angela Hunt: Input doesn't mean a damned thing if it's not incorporated into the final product. APPLAUSE. This is the 1st public hearing before this body. /27 And how it is appropriate for us to take a vote on this today is beyond me.
Zeeble: Her amendment to postpone the vote and put back deleted items failed. Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and others argued the time was right for this plan now, and that further delays could hurt Dallas. Only Hunt and Mitchell Rasansky voted against the Comprehensive Plan. Mayor Miller was absent. Acknowledging his side had just lost, Larry Duncan said the only solution would be at the ballot box, when council members come up for re-election. For KERA 90.1 I'm Bill Zeeble