West Oak Cliff community advocates say the city is pushing through a controversial rezoning project without enough input from residents.
They say there hasn’t been enough public participation in planning for proposed changes to the Hampton-Clarendon Corridor, a 35-acre stretch home to numerous auto businesses, retailers and single-family homes.
The rezoning project, part of the larger West Oak Cliff Area Plan adopted in 2022, would focus on increasing walkability, encourage mixed-use development along the corridor, and allow for small multi-family developments.
Jennifer Rangel is an advocate and executive director for RAYO Planning, which helps communities fight for housing and economic justice. She said she’s seen areas like Bishop Arts bring in townhomes that many existing residents can’t afford.
“We don’t want another Bishop Arts,” Rangel said during a webinar last week, one of two hosted by the city’s Planning and Development Department. “We need to make sure that we are also putting housing not just on the corridors and looking specifically at those high opportunity neighborhoods and opening those up, so it's not always the folks that are already on ground zero for displacement.”
"We don’t want another Bishop Arts."
She said some of the automobile businesses in Clarendon are renting their space and don’t own their land.
“We urge this city to also think about what the pathways of land ownership are available for these businesses to be able to afford where they live, because where else are they going to move?” Rangel said.
She said attending the city’s virtual meetings during work hours has been challenging for many business owners and community members. She said many did not know about the meeting, and those who did had challenges logging on to WebEx, the virtual platform the city uses for meetings. She helped the owners of one automobile business tune in but wonders how many were unable to log on.
Another barrier, Rangel said, is language.
“There's a lot of terminology thrown around, when listening to these meetings, like Euclidean zoning for base zoning,” she said.
In an email to Rangel shared with KERA, a staffer said the city has “taken several steps to distribute information about prior meetings. ... While I understand scheduling conflicts may arise during the holiday season, we have made efforts to offer meetings in various formats and times to accommodate a broad range of residents, business owners, and stakeholders.”
The organization Rangel leads, RAYO Planning, has been working collaboratively with the West Oak Cliff Coalition and the Automobile Association of Oak Cliff to influence the rezoning project. They’re circulating a petition in English and Spanish “for an equitable process in the Hampton/Clarendon Authorized Hearing Meetings."
The petition, addressed to City Council member Chad West, asks the city to to schedule in-person meetings in Spanish, to provide a minimum of four weeks' notice before future meetings, and to reschedule an in-person meeting scheduled for Tuesday until after the holidays.
“Nobody's thinking about going to a community meeting right before Christmas or right before their holidays,” said Gerardo “Jerry” Figueroa, who owns J&E Express Auto Service on West Clarendon. “I don't think it's equitable at all. I don't think it's the right thing to do.”
In a letter sent to Rangel, West said it would not be appropriate to cancel or reschedule Tuesday’s meeting, but he offered to have an additional community meeting in January with RAYO Planning, the West Oak Cliff Coalition and the Automobile Association of Oak Cliff.
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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