Tokalon Drive Residents Organize in Opposition to Lakewood Conservation District Expansion
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The road to an expanded conservation district has been a long one for the residents of Lakewood, so it only stings more to see the residents of Tokalon Drive — frequently heralded as one of the most beautiful streets in Dallas — have organized against it.
Those who assembled to protect their neighborhood from teardowns are now facing opposition within the proposed expansion area. A draft ordinance more than a year in the making is scheduled for public review in the fall. The expanded conservation district, which requires a recommendation from the City Planning Commission and approval from the Dallas City Council, would include the Monticello and Westlake neighborhoods.
“City staff have been diligently working on the draft ordinance and it will be proceeding to the city attorney’s team for legal review shortly,” Lakewood resident Summer Loveland wrote to neighbors in a July 21 email. “That review will take a few weeks. A draft is not expected to be available for neighborhood review until the fall. Stay tuned for more updates as it progresses.”
Lakewood Conservation District
We reached out recently to Loveland, who began the conservation district expansion effort in June 2022.
“We are still waiting for the city to complete the draft ordinance,” she told CandysDirt.com. “It is taking a while and they are busy drafting two [ordinances] at once; the Winnetka Heights neighborhood is in the same phase we are. Once we have the draft, we’ll have a neighborhood meeting to review and all neighbors will receive a mailer from the City announcing the meeting.”
Loveland lives in a historic Clifford Hutsell home and told us last year she was concerned to discover that 50 Hutsells in her neighborhood are not protected under the existing conservation district. In fact, we got word Tuesday that a stunning Hutsell on Lakewood Boulevard is about to hit the market.
With for-sale signs popping up in the area, Loveland wondered if her beloved Lakewood could soon become something entirely different.
“I was concerned that [a] new owner might not see the value in the home but maybe look at it like, ‘How many square feet could I put on this lot?’” she said. “We want to protect against the ramp-up of teardowns that have happened over the past year and a half, and we have the desire to keep the historic character of the neighborhood — that’s what people fall in love with when they move to Lakewood.”
Opposition on Tokalon Drive
As the process got underway, some residents balked at the expanded conservation district, saying their property rights allow them to do what they want with the homes they purchased.
“It’s your property,” the opposition’s literature states. “You decide windows, doors, driveways, sidewalks, retaining walls, chimneys, style, etc. Don’t give your rights to the City.”
These neighbors are “strongly opposed,” Loveland acknowledged.
In fact, they questioned the pro-expansion group’s research on the websites Save Tokalon and NoToCD2.
It’s not fair to tell a neighbor what their house should look like and impose new zoning ordinances and city codes just because it doesn’t match an individual’s personal preference, Tokalon Drive residents told the East Dallas Advocate in June.
The residents, led by former City Plan Commissioner Rob Richmond and residents Brad and Julie Broberg, created their own petitions — one to leave Tokalon out of the proposal and one to oppose the expansion entirely.
“Great neighborhoods are made of great people and families, not great houses built … 100 years ago,” the website NoToCD2.com states.
About 34 homes in the proposed expansion area are opposed to the measure, according to the site.
The activists dug deeper, noting that 12 homes that have been demolished since 2011 “does not equate to a crisis.” Before-and-after pictures displayed on the site show that some of the rebuilt homes don’t appear to be a detriment to the neighborhood’s character.
“The Committee went door to door, pitching the [conservation district] to save historic homes,” the website states. “They mentioned 12 teardowns in 12 years. But it turns out that none of these teardowns was a historic home.”
Tokalon residents also “fact-checked” a mailer distributed by expansion advocates, taking issue with several of the key points and alleging that 80 errors were made in a 275-home inventory.
It’s possible for the opposing residents to just opt out of the proposed expansion area in City Council District 9. A planning commissioner or council member can propose amending the area when the draft ordinance comes to light, or city staff could just not include Tokalon Drive in the ordinance.
Stay tuned to CandysDirt.com to see what happens.
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I am strongly opposed to the proposed expansion of the Lakewood Conservation District. I am a long-term homeowner on Tokalon in a home that has been determined to be “non-contributing.” The majority of homes on Tokalon have also been classified “non-contributing.” I would challenge anyone to drive down my street and see for themselves that the variety of homes is what adds to the character and beauty of the area. In its 100+ years of existence Tokalon Drive has consistently been considered one of the most beautiful streets in Dallas, without the need for a Conservation District. Diversity in life, and neighborhoods, is what provides the richness that makes a strong community. Lakewood’s diversity is what makes it one of the best neighborhoods in Dallas and I have proudly called it my home for the last 23 years. I hope the Planning Commission and/or City Council realize this expansion is not needed and not wanted by the majority affected homeowners.