Will East Dallas Lose What it Loves Most as Developers Make Moves?

Besides White Rock Lake, why do people move to East Dallas? A popular answer to that question is “the trees.”

East Dallas is known for its lush canopy of elms, live oaks, pecans, and ash trees. In the area near the spillway at White Rock Lake, where Ash Creek and White Rock Creek converge, the trees are tall and the foliage so dense that many of the uppermost branches are tangled together, interwoven so tightly that they offer the cooling relief of shade to the area.

If White Rock Lake is the crown jewel of Dallas, then the trees of East Dallas are the setting that makes the crown jewel truly shine.

The loss of any tree is challenging for an ecosystem, but the removal of several can be devastating. That’s what Rebecca Boatman had hoped to avoid when she petitioned the City of Dallas and the Dallas City Council — that the developer who was seeking a zoning change would be stymied in any effort to remove much of the historic canopy of trees that shade the banks of the creek.

While you can’t fault Boatman for trying, the city gave the go-ahead to rezone the site, which was formerly a very contentious mobile home park near the Enclave at White Rock, an upscale gated community. Initially, developer Jim Moore had planned to build 26 zero-lot-line luxury homes near Ash Creek and Highland Road. To do that, the developer would have to take almost all of the mature trees.

Think of it: the reason most people move to East Dallas would have been completely removed from this development.

But Boatman was relentless in her effort, not unlike the East Dallas citizens who organized against development on the other side of Ash Creek and White Rock Creek — a multi-story mixed-use development opposite the Garland-Gaston-Grand intersection. She built a Facebook group and stayed engaged throughout the process.

While the city did approve the rezoning request, there were a few caveats. One, there are to be fewer homes — down to 23 from 26. Second, four trees will be saved from the axe. Third, several homes will be shorter on the side of the development that is nearest to the Enclave.

It’s not what Boatman wanted, nor were the residents of Barbaree Boulevard happy about it. And considering all of the concrete being poured right next to a creek that floods fairly regularly, we’ll have to see what happens.

As Dallas grows and more vacant lots are developed — such as the one right off of Highland Road priced at more than $1 million — this won’t be the last time that the city’s urban canopy will be threatened. The question is whether the city will do what’s necessary to save our city’s trees and the character of our neighborhoods.