The historic Lakewood neighborhood in Dallas could get its conservation district expanded, pending city council approval, after years of back and forth between residents.
Dozens of residents spoke for more than an hour during the Dallas City Planning Commission meeting Thursday night, some in favor and others in opposition.
Expansion of the Lakewood Conservation District was first proposed in 2022. The original proposal would have applied to an area east of Brentwood Drive in the Lakewood neighborhood. During its meeting, the city planning commission approved a revised boundary to exclude some home where residents were in opposition.
Ashley Martin, who owns a home in the neighborhood with her husband, said the rules of the conservation district are too stringent.
"Had we known that the conservation district, had it been in place, or we thought it was going to be passed, we would not have purchased that home," she said. "We would have had our hands tied."
The Lakewood neighborhood is located west of White Rock Lake and consists of Tudor, Spanish Revival, and French Eclectic homes predominantly built between the mid 1920s to the 1940s. Many of the homes were built by Dallas architect Clifford D. Hutsell, who favored the Spanish Revival style.
"Unfortunately, some of these irreplaceable older homes are being torn down to make room," resident Mark Beasley told the planning commission. "Lakewood is a special, exceptional place and deserves to be protected while still allowing for compatible growth and flexibility."
Before the initial Lakewood conservation district was approved in the 1980s, a Hutsell home was demolished to the dismay of the neighborhood, said Alicia Quintans, a preservation architect with the American Institute of Architects.
"If you have conservation district protection before someone gets a demolition permit, it goes through the process of 'Can you demolish it in a district?' and then the city would review it and say, 'no'," Quintans said.
A conservation district is a zoning change designed to protect the physical appearance of a neighborhood. Under this zoning, any development or redevelopment would have to be compatible with the existing neighborhood.
Quintans said establishing a conservation district is ultimately about protecting a neighborhood. It primarily applies to the exterior, front-facing end of homes and ensures homes are within scale of the neighborhood.
Conservation districts currently exist in residential areas in Dallas like the M Streets and in commercial areas like the Bishop Arts District.
Under a conservation district, any changes to the exterior or the structure of a building has to go through a permitting process through the city.
However, the process that contributes to neighborhood preservation in the districts is also the reason for resistance from residents, Quintans said.
"That's kind of like where the pushback also comes from because some people don't want to do that process," she said.
The full Dallas City Council would still have to give final approval to the expanded district.
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