Southern Dallas residents are vocally opposing planned construction of a more than 200,000-square-foot warehouse that would sit directly between a church, a county government center and a residential neighborhood. The city denied the permit application — but a Dallas appeals board overturned that decision.
Residents of the predominantly Black and Latino community say the warehouse could bring more traffic, polluting semi-trucks and the potential for more roadway accidents.
And they say a lot of the community’s kids walk to school — Carter High School is located just down the block from the proposed warehouse — and they worry about their safety getting to and from school or the bus stop.
The city’s quasi-judicial Building Inspection Advisory, Examining and Appeals Board voted 5-1 at Wednesday’s hearing in favor of allowing the developer to start the process over. That’s after hours of debate between the city’s attorneys and the counsel for Stonelake Capital Partners, the development group looking to build the warehouse.
The developers attorneys claimed the project has turned political — and the city has stonewalled and conspired against them during the permitting process which lasted over a year. The city says its original decision to deny the permit is based on safety.
Dr. Fredrick Haynes III is the senior pastor at Friendship West Baptist Church — directly next to the project’s site. He has been vocal about his opposition to what he believes is yet another chapter in Dallas’ long history of racist policies.
“This would not be done in any other section of the city that was North of downtown,” Haynes said during the hearing. “If we want to reverse treating our side of town as the economic trashcan, then stand with what the city has already said. We are not trash.”
‘Our children deserve better’
Attorneys for both the city and developers took turns explaining the long back and forth that led the to the permit denial. There had previously been disagreements about the zoning of the proposed site.
The area had been zoned residential up until the early 2000s when it was changed to a planned development.
“This is not a zoning case,” Joel Reese, an attorney representing Southlake, said during the meeting. “The zoning has been there for over 22 years to allow for this construction.”
According to Reese, the developers submitted over 10 proposals for the project — each time being met with more requests from city staff on the design of the project.
That included asking the developers to make sure the driveway entrance to the facility was along Interstate 20 — not on the busy Wheatland Road. But that involved the developers seeking out access to the street from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) — which would cost more than $800,000.
And attorneys claim city staff had been “thwarting” their efforts to get the permit.
One of the consultants working on the project, Lee Kleinman told board members during the hearing that after working to gain access, a TxDOT staff member told him it was their impression that the city “is not supportive of the permit or releasing the control of access.”
“Behind our back, they were telling TxDOT don't approve,” Kleinman said.
Kleinman is a former city council member and now works for Masterplan — a land use consulting group that has dealt with many permitting issues in Dallas. Those include the former Austin Bridge and Road asphalt plant in Joppa and the GAF shingle factory in West Dallas.
Kleinman says the developers stopped trying to gain access to the road and instead submitted a proposal that included the entrance on Wheatland Road.
But city staff rejected the proposal citing a city ordinance that says trucks cannot deviate from a designated trucking route — unless necessary. City staff says the Wheatland entrance does not meet that criterion.
“Regretfully we have not seen a single set of plans that was complete,” city transportation engineer David Nevarez said.
Nevarez says it took 10 proposals from the developers to fix at least one of the issues city staff saw with the proposal. And he says city staff never contacted TxDOT to stop South Lake from getting access to the service road.
“We have no interest in contacting TxDOT to deny their access,” Nevarez said. “We want them to understand that having an access from [Wheatland Road] is not what we believe is in the best interests of the community.”
Lovie Hawkins has lived in the area since 1971 — when Wheatland Road was just a pasture. She says just because it’s legal and zoned for a warehouse — doesn’t mean it should be built.
“Yes, the neighborhood is basically Black and Latino. We are human,” Hawkins said during the hearing. “We expect and we ask for nothing but any way you would treat your own neighborhood…please, please do not do this to the people of that community. Our children deserve better.”
‘Not an ideal thing’
After hours of debate, cross examination and testimony from witnesses, the advisory board discussed the options. But it seemed most members were already on the same page. And they admitted that the project isn’t right for the community.
“It’s not an ideal thing for the residents of that community…but it is zoned that way,” Board member Joseph Slovensky said.
Slovensky says if the board upheld the city decision to deny the permit, the developers wouldn’t “make a dime.”
Attorneys representing the developers rattled off a list of other warehouses that did not have entrances along designated trucking routes. Out of the eight examples presented by the team, only three of them are near residential areas — and only one is near a school.
In comparison, the proposed southern Dallas warehouse site is directly across the street from a residential neighborhood and a youth center. It butts up next to the South Dallas County Government Center and is less than a half mile from Carter High School and Friendship West Baptist Church.
Some board members said the reason for denying the permit was “vague” and “wasn’t consistent” with the testimony laid out by the city. Other members said the whole case was based more on emotions than facts.
“I respect everybody’s thoughts. But again, our job as I understand it is to strictly consider what the code says,” Board member Joseph Di Francesco said. “My job wasn’t to start considering emotions and feelings and any of that. And I don’t know why that was put on me…I just think its totally wrong.”
And they were concerned that a compromise — providing I-20 access — could lead to city staff adding more requirements to the design process.
Residents who attended Wednesday’s marathon meeting say the vote solidifies what they believe is a North and South divide that has haunted Dallas policies for years.
“I have been in that neighborhood since 1971 and I need to be heard and I need to be seen,” Hawkins said. “This is something that would never be next to your house or in your neighborhood.”
The board did not discuss what comes next in the process — only that the city’s decision to deny the Wheatland Road permit had been overturned.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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