Dallas Leaders Outline Historic Preservation Strategy, Say They Need More Staff to Implement It
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Editor’s Note: The Dallas City Council approved the Historic and Cultural Preservation Strategy on April 11.
Dallas staff was tasked in late 2022 with developing a community-vetted vision to preserve the city’s historic structures. Their efforts were on display last week during a Dallas City Council briefing.
The Dallas preservation program was created 50 years ago and endured inconsistent funding levels and wavering political support, said Assistant Director of Planning and Urban Design Arturo Del Castillo.
“Preservation challenges have evolved,” he added.
The communities with the most urgent preservation needs today — West Dallas, Tenth Street, Elm Thicket, Five Mile, Joppa, and Hamilton Park — don’t have access to preservation tools designed to address the different challenges and circumstances they are facing 50 years later, Del Castillo said.
The Dallas City Council is set to vote on its Historic and Cultural Preservation Strategy on Wednesday, April 10. Watch the April 3 briefing here.
Community Feedback on Historic Preservation
A team from HR&A Advisors worked with a steering committee empaneled to study the historic preservation policy.
Evelyn Montgomery, chair of the Dallas Landmark Commission, said the committee was instrumental in raising awareness about an antiquated code stipulation that made demolition easier for homes under 3,000 feet in historic districts. The code, which almost decimated the Tenth Street Historic District, was repealed in February.
“Everybody was outraged and urged a change, and look what happened,” Mayo said.
District 11 Councilwoman Jaynie Schultz said she hopes the updated policy will make tools available to Realtors and residents to better understand the history of their neighborhoods.
Planning and Urban Design Director Andrea Gilles said a series of workshops will be scheduled with various departments to identify “the when, the how, and the what.” More feedback also will be solicited from neighborhoods to see what their needs are, she added.
“There is more work to be done on the details of those tools,” Gilles said. “I think that’s a conversation that needs to happen with neighborhoods.”
Mayo suggested an economic impact study to show the value of historic preservation.
Councilman Paul Ridley noted that some of the goals outlined in the strategy are “largely aspirational.”
“I’m wondering where or when we will see the detailed approach to achieving those goals,” he said.
More detail will be provided in a separate document, the city’s Historic Preservation Plan. A series of workshops will be held with Preservation Dallas in the summer and fall, Mayo said.
More Staff Needed to Implement Preservation Strategy
The proposed strategy prioritizes creating adequate capacity for resident assistance, outreach, and communications, Del Castillo said.
It sets a clear mission and vision to direct the city’s role in preserving history and culture. It establishes goals that will help the city achieve that vision and includes a first-year action plan to keep implementation on track. A summary of needed resources can be used to inform funding allocations in the upcoming Dallas budget process, Del Castillo said.
“This strategy breaks down silos to ensure the city’s staff and resources are effectively working together to best serve residents,” he said. “It assigns preservation-related duties to the staff best positioned to execute them, and it makes sure we’re looking at intersections of preservation and housing, sustainability, economic development, and arts and culture.”
Gilles said some concerns were expressed about adding staff and handling the already intense workload in the historic preservation division.
“It’s not about taking away from the core program that’s already happening; it’s about enhancing that and making sure that we are even more resourced to accomplish the core programming that we’ve been doing in the City of Dallas over the past 50 years,” Gilles said. “Of the 19 total actions found within this strategy, the historic preservation planners are expected to lead only seven of those.”
