Duncanville City Council Rezones 42 Acres, Updates Comprehensive Plan For Nature Preserve

Duncanville residents made it clear this week that they want blue herons rather than Pappadeaux, a trail system rather than an apartment complex, and a circle of tree stumps to gather for the study of plant species rather than a college campus.

The Duncanville City Council rezoned 42 acres and updated its comprehensive land use plan to reflect a designation for a nature preserve.

“We got what we came for,” Duncanville resident Mari Vega said after the meeting ended around 11 p.m. Tuesday. “It is an ongoing thing, but it’s a major milestone.” 

The Duncanville Nature Conservancy Inc. was formed last year with the primary objective of preserving a 42-acre tract of land donated by former resident Bob Ladd in 1998.

Supporters of the nature preserve say the Ladd property at 609 W. Danieldale Road, unofficially named the Charles F. Ladd Nature Preserve, will protect wildlife or plant habitat and other natural features while providing nature trails and park-like features for community gathering space. Those on the other side of the matter said it could be used for profit-generating development. 

Because the land was donated for “the promotion or advancement of cultural, artistic, or educational objectives,” the pro-conservancy crowd hoped it would be a slam dunk, garnering more than 1,800 signatures petitioning for rezoning to seal the deal. But because the donation documents also used the word “primarily,” the city had the option of developing up to 49 percent of the property, The Dallas Morning News reported in March 2022. 

Showdown at Duncanville City Hall

Nature conservancy supporters crowded council chambers Tuesday night, pleading for specific language in an ordinance that isn’t open to interpretation years later. 

The original proposed language written by City Attorney Robert Hager left the door open for things like an amusement park or college campus. Resident Emily Bridges said that’s not what the DNCI envisioned. 

“When we speak of an education area, we are talking about tree stumps in a circle and allowing kids to have magnifying glasses looking for baby frogs, checking out nature,” she said. “When my children ask if they can have a piece of candy I say, ‘No, you cannot have a piece of candy.’ I don’t say, ‘I don’t intend for you to have a piece of candy.’ I think [the language] needs to be tightened up just a little bit.” 

The Duncanville Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the use be limited to a “nature preserve,” and Councilman Jeremy Koontz asked the council to strike any other intended uses, a motion that ultimately prevailed. 

“Get rid of everything you changed and go back to what Planning and Zoning recommended,” Koontz told the city attorney, who said he wrote the proposed language based on what he thought the council requested. 

In order to designate the land for a nature conservancy, four things had to happen, explained Senior Planner Nathan Warren. Those things, all of which were approved Tuesday with some amendments, include:

• Opportunity Area 8 must be removed from the future land use plan.
• “Nature preserve’ must be defined and added to the comprehensive plan zoning ordinance as a land use. 
• “Nature preserve’ must be defined and added to the comprehensive plan zoning ordinance as a zoning district.
• The area must be rezoned from planned development to the newly-established “nature preserve” zoning district.

Watch the Duncanville City Council meeting here. Discussion about the Ladd property (items 5B, 5C, 5D, and 5E on the City Council agenda) starts at the one-hour mark. 

Pro-Nature Conservancy

Mari Vega has lived in Duncanville for 17 years and said that even though the land was gifted 20 years ago, most residents became aware of its potential as a nature conservancy two or three years ago. 

Some elected officials and their supporters have touted apartment complexes and “McMansions,” Vega said, adding “That’s not acceptable.”

“If you develop any part of it, it’s going to trash the whole thing,” she told CandysDirt.com. “[We’re creating a] heat sink as we keep putting concrete over everything. This whole Metroplex is going to keep getting hotter and hotter.” 

Councilman Koontz made a 13-minute video in support of rezoning the land for a nature conservancy. 

“It’s been stated over and over again that citizens are prepared, volunteer groups are prepared, we have the Duncanville Nature Conservancy prepared to come out here and maintain the property,” Koontz said in the video. “They’re committed to doing projects out here, such as helping with creating a trail system.”

The city could hire a professional to design the trail system, Koontz said, but the maintenance would be covered by organizations like Boy Scouts of America and various church groups. 

“It’s been 25 years and we haven’t been able to figure out what we can do with that property,” Koontz said during Tuesday’s meeting. “It would appear to me that the citizens of Duncanville have come up with a pretty good idea of what we can do with it.” 

Pro-Development 

Those opposing the nature preserve, who some said represented a “silent majority,” talked about adding to the local tax base and providing more housing, entertainment venues, or a college campus on the land. 

Former Duncanville City Councilman Stan Smith suggested subdividing the 42 acres and recruiting restaurants such as Pappadeaux, Red Lobster, or Olive Garden for creekside patio dining. 

“This land is big enough and there’s enough of it that we could put some really good quality restaurants, which was the original plan back in the ’80s,” he said. “There’s plenty of land there that we could have a nature center and get some good quality development.” 

No serious offers to build on the land have been suggested since a request for proposals was issued in 2017, Koontz pointed out during the meeting. A portion of the property is on a floodplain, so challenges to development exist, Warren said. 

Duncanville residents already use the recreation fields in DeSoto, Waxahachie, and Grand Prairie because the facilities are better, Smith said during the public comment portion of the meeting. 

“Here we are talking about bringing in more parkland when we don’t take care of the parks we have,” he said. 

Director of Parks and Recreation Bart Stevenson said the city has 17 parks on about 244 acres. 

Former Mayor Cliff Boyd, who did not speak at Tuesday’s meeting, issued a letter to the City Council asking for consideration of the “silent majority” when making zoning decisions. 

“The silent majority comprises individuals who, for various reasons, do not actively participate in public debates or civic engagements,” the letter states. “They may lack access to resources, face time constraints, or simply hold different communication preferences. The Mayor and City Council have an ethical obligation to ensure their interests are considered, as the silent majority’s concerns are often obscured by vocal minorities who dominate public discourse.”

CandysDirt.com will continue to monitor this developing story.