Elmwood Residents Successfully Petition For Walkable Urban Mixed-Use District

A North Oak Cliff neighborhood once featured in the Tom Cruise movie Born on the Fourth of July scored a big win last week toward preserving its small-town charm. 

The Dallas City Council unanimously approved a rezoning that will carve out an area of Elmwood as a walkable urban mixed-use district. 

District boundaries extend along Edgefield Ave. from Tennessee Ave. to the alley south of Newport Ave. Also encompassed are both sides of Balboa Drive between Pioneer Drive and Berkley Ave., both sides of Ferndale Ave. from the alley east of Tennessee Ave. to the alley east of Balboa Drive, both sides of Brunner Avenue, between Balboa Drive and Edgefield Drive, and both sides of Newport Ave. between Balboa Drive and Edgefield Drive, 

The zone, which includes a shop front overlay, spans about 14 acres. 

District 1 Councilman Chad West, who represents the area, filed the request for an authorized hearing seven years ago when he was serving as a plan commissioner. 

“The approval supports the community-driven objectives of the West Oak Cliff Area Plan by encouraging the transformation of the 14-acre area into a vibrant, neighborhood-scale mixed-use center that is pedestrian friendly,” West told CandysDirt.com. “And by reducing the parking requirements for businesses in the neighborhood, this zoning change will encourage small businesses to flourish.”

Read the case report here. 

History of Elmwood in North Oak Cliff 

Matthew Glenn is part-owner of a property at 1809 Balboa Place in downtown Elmwood. He said there are a lot of young families in the area who want access to amenities. Additionally, businesses have been limited because they didn’t have the proper zoning. 

“I think it would be beneficial for the downtown district with minimal impact to the existing businesses,” Glenn said. “It would make it a safer, more walkable environment. Right now, it is very difficult to navigate by car and definitely [for] pedestrians.” 

The vibe in Elmwood made quite an impression on actor Tom Cruise, director Oliver Stone, and the cast of the 1989 film Born on the Fourth of July, according to this article in the University of North Texas “Spotlight on North Texas” publication. 

“One of the most memorable of [the] Dallas scenes is when [Ron] Kovic (played by Tom Cruise) returns home from Vietnam and rides in an Independence Day parade,” the article states. “Here and elsewhere in the film, the 2000 block of South Edgefield in Elmwood was given the Hollywood treatment and made to appear like an idyllic suburban town in Long Island.”

It’s that small-town charm that neighbors say they want to keep intact. The new zoning will make it easier for businesses to thrive and housing to be built, residents said. 

Councilman West said city staff worked with Elmwood residents throughout the three-year WOCAP process to determine how Elmwood could be activated, “suggesting wider sidewalks, enhanced lighting, trees, and reduced parking requirements.” 

“The neighborhood is blessed with a historically significant elementary school, a downtown church, and a footprint that screams for walkability and locally-owned and operated storefronts,” he said. “The Elmwood trail and park border the edge of the downtown area along with a creek.”

Authorized Hearing Process

With more than 19 authorized hearings in the queue at the City of Dallas as of late 2022, the process isn’t a simple or quick process. 

It’s clear that the Elmwood neighbors and business owners knew what they wanted and were patient and diligent in getting to the finish line. 

Andrew Wallace said the previous Elmwood zoning put the neighborhood in a state of arrested development for 80 years. 

“The new zoning is a good first step in allowing the incremental changes required for a thriving city,” he said. “This zoning change will give us the option to increase the supply of housing to take the pressure off the demand and provide much-needed shelter not only to those in our neighborhood but those who want to move to our neighborhood but cannot afford to.” 

The Elmwood authorized hearing is the first of four to come out of the WOCAP process, West said. 

“It’s the biggest one,” he said. “[We had] lots of neighborhood engagement to craft what will preserve downtown Elmwood and also give it the best chance for growth and development in a gentle way that blends into the neighborhood.”