The Dallas City Plan Commission made quick work of a public hearing over a development code that some residents hope to use to close a decades-old shingle factor. After hearing a handful of speakers in opposition to their plan, they voted to delay discussions until the end of August.
Janie Cisneros is the leader of Singleton United/Unidos, a West Dallas community group focused on clean air and a healthy quality of life for her neighborhood. Cisneros told KERA the decision was bitter sweet.
"On the one hand I am happy that there wasn't a vote...in favor of the language that's been proposed," Cisneros said.
"But disappointing in that this is pretty important for communities of color who are living next to industrial polluters that are harming us and delaying this...does not help at all."
The process in question is called a scheduled closure — or amortization — and, historically, Dallas residents have been to apply to start it.
Some West Dallas residents and environmental activists have been trying for over a year to use the process to close the GAF shingle plant along Singleton Boulevard.
Dallas officials say that process was upended by a state law signed last year. Some Dallas residents say city overreacted and that its remedy goes above and beyond what state legislators signed into law.
The ordinance drafted by the city's staff lays out a way that individuals other than elected officials can start the amortization process, which also is known as a scheduled closure.
But according to the city, that can happen only if the city’s chief financial officer says there’s enough money in a proposed “nonconforming use” fund to cover any related costs.
“Pay to play is not okay,” Janie Cisneros, leader of the West Dallas community group Singleton United/Unidos, said on Thursday.
“Applications should be accepted from residents regardless of available funds…we have a right to know if a business next door to us is causing harm.”
Residents have historically had the right to file for a compliance date — until the new state law was passed last year. Cisneros said in her community’s case, being able to start the closure process is more than just shutting down an operator.
“Communities like mine in West Dallas are in need of this process to get rid of dangerous polluters wreaking havoc in our communities,” Cisneros said.
A recently study conducted by research rom Texas A&M University found that residents living along the Singleton Corridor in West Dallas were at a significantly higher risk of exposure to harmful air pollutants.
Those pollutants have been linked to numerous negative health effects like asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
The plant’s executives have maintained that the facility’s emissions meet state and federal air quality standards — and will voluntary vacate the area at the end of the decade.
Residents living near the operation have said that’s not soon enough.
Earlier this year, Cisneros sued the city for blocking her application for a scheduled closure. On Thursday, a Dallas district judge decided to delay issuing a ruling on Cisneros’ lawsuit against the city for blocking her closure application.
Judge Gena Slaughter said during a Thursday morning hearing that she needed more time to study the issue before handing down a ruling. Slaughter said the parties could expect her decision in about a week.
While Slaughter deliberates — and a decision from the plan commission at least a month away — the plant will still operate. Cisneros says she is hopeful that the courts will rule in her favor.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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