More than 4,000 residents in Dallas District 13 have formed the D13 Together Coalition, calling for an end to five years of "neglect and harmful zoning" under Council Member Gay Donnell Willis.
The group has asked Willis to vote against any agenda item that threatens the preservation of Dallas City Hall and to delay all August zoning cases in District 13 for 120 days to create a compromise between the neighborhood and developer.
If the zoning cases are not delayed, the coalition plans to trigger a 60-day recall effort to unseat her.
"I listen to and respect every viewpoint—and while the opposition tends to be loud and aggressive, there are many supporters who have contacted me as well," Willis told KERA Tuesday. "The latter weren’t treated respectfully by their neighbors in public meetings, but I want them to know their voice is just as important as the others."
The group announced its formation two days before a critical zoning hearing on Thursday regarding a proposed mixed-use development at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane. The development would be for multifamily, hotel, office, and retail uses.
But the use of the property is not the issue for residents in Preston Hollow — it's the height.
Proposed project plans include buildings 240 and 210 feet high, more than four times the current max height standard for the property. The rezoning request is for an increase those height standards.
Residents gathered at the Northaven United Methodist Church Tuesday morning. Some wore shirts in opposition to the Preston-Royal zoning and others wore red pins that said "54'", the current height standards for the Community Retail District in their area.
The coalition consists of neighborhoods across District 13 like Bluffview, Wimberley Court, Preston Hollow and Melshire Estates.
John Wimberley, with the Wimberly Court Homeowners Association, lives adjacent to a proposed rezoning at 3807 Walnut Hill Lane. The proposed rezoning would allow for 41 patio homes, including thirty 3-story structures, on lots under 2,000 square feet which neighbors say is a fraction of the neighborhood standard.
Wimberley said from the beginning neighbors worked to compromise on the rezoning for it to be two-story single-family zoning with a 5,000 square foot minimum lot size.
"Instead of working as a mediator between the neighborhood representatives and the developer, Council Member Willis instead insisted that all efforts to compromise go directly to the developer," Wimberley said.
The rezoning for Walnut Hill is expected to go in front of the City Council on August 15.
'Neighborhoods first'
Willis, who is on her third term, ran her past campaigns on a "neighborhoods first" promise. On her campaign website, she said smart development includes neighborhood input.
But the disregard some residents have felt over their zoning concerns have left them feeling unheard by Willis.
For District 13 residents like Margaret Chabri, the contrast between the promise of "neighborhoods first" to the non-delivery they experience today has left them concerned.
"People are very concerned about her being closer and more supportive of developers," Chabri said. "As a matter of fact, since we've been working on this project since last fall, Councilwoman Donnell Willis has not indicated any scintilla of empathy or sympathy for our concerns."
Change in both the Preston-Royal and Walnut Hill areas started years ago when the tear down of original ranch style homes began to accelerate, Willis told KERA. She said it was great for the tax base, but not for housing affordability.
Willis referenced Senate Bill 840 which allows multifamily housing to be used in areas zoned for commercial, office, warehouse, retail, or mixed-use without the need to rezone.
"That means no neighborhood engagement to shape a plan or vote at the City Council that can add leverage," Willis told KERA. "So saying “no” to these projects means we all lose our ability to shape them into something workable for the neighborhoods."
Out of the 283 property owners who were notified of the proposed rezoning, 258 responded in opposition.
Doug Hazelbaker, with Preserve Preston Hollow and D13 Together, said everyone in the neighborhood is fine with the multifamily use and maintains the height of the buildings are the issue.
"The growth is fine, the homes are fine, but you don't need to have a three-story home there backing up to the neighborhood," he said.
Forward Dallas 2.0, adopted in 2024, outlines standards for urban design elements in community residential areas, which applies to commercial use and housing. In the guide, it says new development should be "context-sensitive" with building scale, height and massing complementary to existing buildings.
"Attention should be given to building height, orientation, architectural style, and setback to ensure new structures fit into existing neighborhood context," according to Forward Dallas 2.0, which the city spent three years developing.
The applicant for the zoning change is Leland Burk with Burk Interests. Although Burk ran against Willis for her seat in 2021, he has contributed thousands of dollars to her two reelection campaigns, according to campaign finance reports.
KERA reached out to Burk for comment on resident concerns over the project, but did not receive a response back by the time of publication.
Willis said campaign contributions follow strict state laws.
"There are neighbors who oppose these cases who have also contributed to my past City Council campaigns," Willis told KERA in response to whether Burk's contributions were a conflict of interest in her view of the zoning case.
Hazelbaker said there have been individual meetings along with two community meetings — one in October 2025 and another around May — over the Preston-Royal project.
Willis told KERA she has had more than 22 meetings and calls with residents over the zoning cases for Preston-Royal and Walnut Hill. She said those conversations along with hundreds of emails exchanged and requests have shaped the projects into what they are today.
Concerns across District 13
Zoning issues are not the only priorities for the D13 Together Coalition. Another priority for the group is Willis' stance on the City Hall decision.
Willis is one of the nine council members who has consistently voted on moving forward with options for the City Hall site.
During Monday's Finance Committee meeting, she was supportive of changing the voting standards in
Financial Management Performance Criteria No. 20 from a supermajority to a majority.
The proposed changes to FMPC No. 20 specifies that City Council would authorize the addition, replacement, or reopening of facilities and buildings by majority vote.
That would change the current vote threshold from a supermajority — three-fourths of the council — to a majority, which would be more than half.
"I'm puzzled by why this ever had a super majority attached to like new and that sort of thing, because that's 12 out of 15," Willis said. "And when part of our task is to look at real estate and how we might divest or be smart about it, that seems like quite a hurdle."
Preston Hollow resident Katherine Seale said during Tuesday's press conference that District 13 residents demand three immediate pledges from Willis:
- Vote against change to supermajority requirement in the Financial Management Performance Criteria No. 20
- Vote against moving 9-1-1 and emergency operations center from Dallas City Hall
- Vote against abandoning City Hall
"If she does not immediately agree to these three conditions, we will initiate a recall and we will replace her," Seale said.
Any city council member can be recalled, but the process starts with a petition. Notice of a petition has to be given to the city secretary in writing by five registered voters of the council member's district.
The petition would need signatures from 15% of registered voters in the council district. Once the petition has the total required signatures, it has to be filed within 60 days after the city secretary receives notice.
"Hopefully we won't have to initiate it," Hazelbaker said. "Hopefully she will delay those five zoning cases 120 days and get all the parties to work out some sort of agreement that everybody's happy."
However, he said history would not suggest that will happen based on the many months residents have spoken up. Hazelbaker said he's hopeful that having big groups come together will make a difference.
Got a tip? Email Megan Cardona at mcardona@kera.org.
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