PD-15 Authorized Hearing Committee Members Announced and Minor Bombshell Drops

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Updated: PD-15 Authorized Hearing Committee members

UPDATE: In the immortal words of the Miss America pageant, “If for any reason Miss America is unable to fulfill her duties…” Astute readers will see that Preston Tower representative Mary Schulte has bowed out and been replaced by Robert Bowling.

Yesterday afternoon, the people selected to be part of the PD-15 authorized hearing committee were posted. Kudos to council member Jennifer Gates for keeping her promise to exclude those opposed to the authorized hearing process, who would likely seek to sabotage the proceedings from within.

You will note that the towers have two representatives on the committee. This was done in recognition of the land mass of PD-15. Roughly the towers and the four low-rises each sit on six acres and and so there are four representatives for each camp. This makes for an interesting group. Within the PD, neither side can outvote the other, so collaboration will be required. Also, the three “wild card” members from Preston Hollow East Homeowners Association and two neighboring buildings are just that, wild cards. How will they feel about the various development plans and options?  I think the pulse of the group will be taken in the first few meetings.

City Planning and Zoning

City staff has also been busy updating and adding a couple of documents to their collection (posted here). To quell questions about the authorized hearing process, a flow chart was posted outlining the steps the authorized hearing will take. Please don’t assume that the numbers somehow equate to a timeline.

Right-click, “view image” for full size image or use link below to download a copy.

There’s nothing new in this document, it’s just a cheat sheet for those wanting to better understand the process. It goes into detail of what each step entails as the committee navigates the process.  Feel free to download your personal copy suitable for purse or billfold.

City Staff Drops a (Minor) Zoning Bombshell

The image above is a close-up of the current PD-15 development plan. In the past we’d been told that because of the limitation on dwelling units per acre that buildings could only replace what they had (unless they got unanimous permission to utilize the 60-ish surplus units OR updated PD-15).

Unlike the rest of PD-15, tract 2 (Diplomat) has no specified height limit

But what city staff are now saying in their FAQ document is that building height is also capped because the development plan lists the heights of the buildings in PD-15 … except one. While Preston Place lists three stories and both Royal Orleans and Diamond Head Condos list two stories, the Diplomat, sitting on tract 3 doesn’t list a height. City staff interprets this as meaning that only Diplomat has the ability to go above its existing two-story construction.

I called this a minor bombshell because ultimately it’s meaningless as even with unlimited height, Diplomat is still limited by the dwelling unit cap and floor-area-ratio (4:1).

Getting Your Say

Regardless of whatever is decided by the (open to the public) committee, it still requires any changes to go through the typical zoning process. Property owners within 200 feet of PD-15 will be notified of the changes and receive a form to mail back to the city to “support” or “oppose.” Should there be more than 20 percent opposition, any action by city council would require a super-majority of 75 percent of council members to vote “yes” (12 votes). That’s a pretty high bar.

For Pink Wall, and especially PD-15 residents, it’s imperative that your HOA insert language into your HOA documents that enables individual units to vote. Otherwise, it’s your HOA board that makes the decision for everyone — they don’t even have to ask their owners. Not very democratic, but there you are. An attorney could draw up the appropriate language in an hour I’d guess.  If your HOA balks at doing this, you know their decision has been made and you’re likely in trouble.

Doom And Gloom

If the committee’s proposal goes down in flames, everything stays as-is. This means that the four low-rises would have to come to an accommodation to divvy the 60-ish surplus units. Before you get giddy at the prospect, understand that if Preston Place’s current offer is for $18 million based on the ability to build 220 units (the prevailing rumor), at 80 units (current 60 + their land-based allotment of the surplus), the cost of their land drops to $6.5 million. Instead of their homes being valued at roughly $300,000 each, they’d be worth $109,000.

Diplomat’s one-acre parcel that A.G. Spanos wants to build 120 units on would essentially drop 80 percent in value on an allotment of 25 units (existing 15 + 10 allotment of surplus units).

This would have a negative impact on PD-15 and the rest of the Pink Wall. No developer is going to buy the impaired land and construct million-dollar townhomes. One only has to look at the failure of the Park Hollow development to see no one is making that mistake anytime soon.

The quality of the resulting projects would not add to the value of remaining complexes. Developers wouldn’t give a penny to neighborhood enhancements. The resulting minimal construction wouldn’t attract city attention to existing problems. Sure, there’d be less density, but at what overall cost?

Ray of Light

On the upside, this doomsday doesn’t have to happen. What’s great about the timing here is that the PD-15 committee are very unlikely to be feeling their way in the dark. It behooves developers to have their plans nailed down and present their best to the committee for specific approvals. Otherwise, a future developer is stuck with whatever the committee decides. It’s a cinch this process isn’t going to be reopened anytime soon after this process is complete.

I, for one, look forward to seeing what will be proposed and what solutions (and money) the developers and the city can come to the table with to help solve some of the area’s problems. If they’re awful, I’ll vote “no,” but if they’re great, wouldn’t that be great?

Note to developers: Bring your “A+” game.

 

Remember:  High-rises, HOAs and renovation are my beat. But I also appreciate modern and historical architecture balanced against the YIMBY movement. In 2016 and 2017, the National Association of Real Estate Editors recognized my writing with two Bronze (2016, 2017) and two Silver (2016, 2017) awards.  Have a story to tell or a marriage proposal to make?  Shoot me an email [email protected]. Be sure to look for me on Facebook and Twitter. You won’t find me, but you’re welcome to look.

 

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Jon Anderson is CandysDirt.com's condo/HOA and developer columnist, but also covers second home trends on SecondShelters.com. An award-winning columnist, Jon has earned silver and bronze awards for his columns from the National Association of Real Estate Editors in both 2016, 2017 and 2018. When he isn't in Hawaii, Jon enjoys life in the sky in Dallas.

9 Comments

  1. Anoomous on May 23, 2018 at 8:16 pm

    Jim Palipinto has a daughter living in Diamond Head and a mother who lives in the Athena and can not effectively represent Diamond Head; particularly since he has voiced his biased opinion which is not favorable for Diamond Head. He should be removed from the committee. I feel confident he did not disclose this on his application.

    • Jon Anderson on May 23, 2018 at 8:21 pm

      Your concerns should be brought to council member Gates. CandysDirt.com has no control over the makeup of the committee. Of course, you’d need to reveal yourself to do so.

  2. Linda L Sessions on May 29, 2018 at 6:37 pm

    Why weren’t the representatives assigned by land area? The Athena and Diamond Head appear to have approximately the same amount of land but the Athena is given twice the representation on the committee. Preston Towers has twice the area as Royal Orleans and The Diplomat but Preston Towers only has one vote. Since this is a land use decision why isn’t representation given by land area not population?

    • Jon Anderson on May 29, 2018 at 6:45 pm

      I know under the right lighting I look like Jennifer Gates, but I’m not. 🙂
      .
      As I said, overall the towers have the same representation as the low-rises (4 each) and that both “camps” have about he same land.

  3. Dr. Timothy B. Jones on May 30, 2018 at 1:50 am

    Jon, what is the Park Hollow development failure you speak of? I’m not familiar with that project. Thanks!

    • Jon Anderson on May 30, 2018 at 11:28 am

      Park Hollow is the row of buildings on the northern side of Bandera opposite the Edgemere senior facility. It began as overpriced condos, hit the recession, and converted the unsold units to rentals. Until very recently, it’s been notoriously difficult to fill.

  4. Paul Kester on May 31, 2018 at 5:20 pm

    The value of Preston Place units would not be $109,000.00 if the proposed projects are voted down.
    In turn the units would not be valued at $300,000.00 if the proposed projects are approved.
    Those values represent land value for either alternative. The value of units would incorporate
    insurance proceeds for the build out of individual units in addition to land value.
    It seems that the issue being avoided is that Preston Place may have been under insured as to
    the value of reconstructing the shell. If that is the case, who is to blame?
    If it is not the case rebuild and be made whole.
    Value A) $109,000.00 plus insured value of individual unit.
    Value B) $300,000.00 plus insured value of individual unit.

    I am open to learn of underinsured properties suffering total loss of structure where interest was shown by City of Dallas.

  5. Paul Kester on May 31, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    Simply to clarify prior to any misunderstanding.
    Individual units and shell are separate for insurance purposes.
    Shell is responsibility of the HOA.
    If shell was under insured then reconstruction may be impossible.
    Only after shell is rebuilt may the individual units be built out with the individual owners insurance proceeds.

  6. Paul Kester on June 1, 2018 at 7:23 am

    Much has been written regarding the aged population behind the Pink Wall.
    Always a convenient foil for those seeking supposed progress.

    2010 US Census
    Behind the Pink Wall
    Population: 1802
    Average Age: 36
    Homesiwners: 72%

    Aged or not perhaps each owner seeks to preserve the value of their property.
    Preston Place and Diplomat are seeking a subsidy from those properties in proximity.
    Interested to know how values of properties adjoining the Laurel have been affected.

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