Joppa residents want to rezone their southern Dallas community to limit industrial polluters and bring in much needed development. After years of sounding the alarm over the environmental issues in their community, residents in the mostly minority community finally have City Hall support for the change.
A Dallas city plan commissioner told residents during Saturday’s Joppa Fall Festival that the city backed the idea of creating a planned development district for the area.
Caleb Roberts, the executive director of Downwinders at Risk, told KERA that the zoning tool offers “a la carte” zoning options that fit the needs and desires of a specific community.
“For an area like Joppa, that has the history it has, you need a little more wiggle room in those conversations,” Roberts said.
That means allowing industrial uses like cabinet makers, plumbers and electricians but not others, like batch plants and lead smelters.
District 7 City Plan Commissioner Tabitha Wheeler Reagan told residents during the event that most areas of Dallas have planned development districts.
“…But Joppa does not have one, which often leaves you…having to go with the basic Dallas code,” Wheeler-Regan said during the event. “We want to help change that, and you all to be able to create a planned development on what you all would want Joppa, and the surrounding areas, to be.”
The planned development could include commercial real estate, different types of housing options and would allow for strict design standards. Those standards could limit industrial polluters from setting up shop in the historic Freedman’s community.
“As we look at the industrial uses that are allowed, and those that are safe, we would also go in and…restrict any that are unsafe,” Wheeler-Regan said.
Wheeler-Regan also apologized for District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s absence. Bazaldua represents Joppa but was not in attendance due to “pressing issues in the city of Dallas driven by outside organizations.”
“I do apologize for him…he had every intention in the beginning to be here,” Wheeler-Reagan said and cited three upcoming city charter propositions that elected officials have said could significantly change how local government operates, as the reason for the absence.
Bazaldua did not immediately respond to KERA's request for comment about supporting the rezoning effort.
The historic Freedman’s Town is a residential peninsula in a sea of industrial uses.
That includes the Union Pacific rail yard that runs nearly an entire side of the community, the TAMKO shingle plant that greets visitors at the only entrance into Joppa and the former site of the Austin Bridge and Road asphalt plant.
Joppa residents have said for years the combined industrial operations have polluted their air and harmed their health. Last year, after residents and environmental activists launched an extensive campaign, the Austin Bridge and Road asphalt plant shut down.
KERA reported at the time that while city officials said they were trying to work with residents who were concerned about the plant’s emissions, the city paid millions for building materials to the company that operates the plant.
Now that Joppa residents has the support of City Hall, the next step in the rezoning process is getting community members together on design standards, boundaries and development options. After residents come to a consensus on that, Dallas officials can step in and start crafting the potential change.
Roberts said having the city’s support is a new occurrence for his group and Joppa residents.
“The proof is going to be in the implementation,” Roberts said. “As we get together and we do something, do we continue to have that support from the city?”
Regardless of what the city says now, Roberts said Downwinders and the community will be pushing for that support throughout the entire zoning process.
“Downwinders doesn’t believe anything is done until it’s done and then you got to still protect it,” Roberts said. “It is a turning point, but not the end goal.”
The potential rezoning effort could also send a message to potential polluters nearby and across the city. Robert’s group is also campaigning to close the TAMKO shingle plant, which sits just outside of Joppa. Singleton United/Unidos, a West Dallas group affiliated with Downwinders, is also lobbying the city to close the decades-old GAF factory along the Singleton corridor.
With the city’s backing, Roberts hopes to start the conversation on how to eventually phase out legacy industrial sites can start.
“Its not going to be a silver bullet and their out of there,” Roberts said.
But if residents say they do not want heavy industrial operations near their homes, “those industries are not in the city’s long-term plans,” according to Roberts.
As the process starts, Joppa residents say they are feeling hopeful for the future — and for having the city behind them.
“It’s a long time coming, it’s bringing joy to the community,” Justice for Joppa Co-Chair Emmanuel Davis told KERA. “Having your elected officials and appointed officials to be on the same page that you are is [indescribable].”
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.