Industrial facilities like the GAF shingle factory on Singleton Boulevard have been a health and environmental concern for West Dallas residents for years.
City officials met with residents across the street from the factory this week for the first public hearing to discuss rezoning the Singleton and Westmoreland area.
That process will let residents share what they want to see in their neighborhood in the future. But it may not mean industrial plants, like the GAF facility, will be shut down anytime soon.
The hearings were one of two recommendations made in a plan proposed by the Singleton Corridor Neighborhood. The other was to amortize GAF, which is a scheduled closure, but the city of Dallas ended residents’ ability to initiate that process earlier this year.
For West Dallas residents like Delores Burns, industrial use in the area has had an everyday impact on daily life. Burns has lived near the GAF factory for 12 years and can see the tallest buildings on the property from her yard.
"You actually can smell it," Burns said. "And I am so tired, when my grandkids come over, I don't let them play outside."
Burns was diagnosed last year with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. COPD is an irreversible lung condition that makes it hard to breathe and can be caused by airborne toxins.
A GAF spokesperson said in a statement that the company has "a track record of safety and environmental compliance."
"Since announcing plans to close the West Dallas facility in July 2029, we have been supportive of repurposing the land in the future in a way that supports the city’s vision for West Dallas and will continue to work with West Dallas officials on those efforts," the GAF spokesperson said in the statement.
Andrea Gilles, deputy director of Planning and Development, said rezoning and ending current industrial land use were separate processes.
"We will be looking at that property as part of this authorized hearing, just like we'll be looking at all the other properties," Gilles said. "So there may be a separate case that's involved in that, but this will be looking at it just from the bigger perspective from the authorized hearing case."
Rezoning plans proposed by city staff do not include industrial zoning anywhere in the Singleton and Westmoreland area.
But once industrial use has officially stopped in the area, Burns said the city will still have to clean up the area, which could take time.
That’s why Singleton United/Unidos leader Janie Cisneros said it is necessary that the GAF plant closes sooner rather than later. Singleton United/Unidos has worked for years to shut down the GAF factory due to air pollution concerns.
"That land is super contaminated, it needs major remediation," Cisneros said. "That in itself could take a decade, so we're talking about maybe 20 years before we see anything else on that GAF property."
City staff did not go into detail on the environmental process for rezoning industrial sites during the meeting.
Proposed zoning for the area is expected to be a mix of community mixed-use, community residential, and city residential.
The rezoning plan is the product of several community meetings and discussions prompted by the work of Singleton United/Unidos. Cisneros said the authorized public hearings were three years in the making.
"That is the act of so many people and the endurance and the stamina, the love and investment that residents have for this area that has led up to all these little steps that has led up to today," Cisneros said.
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