City Hall Roundup: Plan Commission to Tackle Nonconforming Properties Legislation at July 25 Meeting

Dallas residents were prepared to discuss before the City Plan Commission this month the impact of Senate Bill 929, which relates to the notice and compensation a municipality must provide before revoking the right to “use property for a use that was allowed before the adoption of or change to a zoning regulation or boundary.”

If that sounds complicated, it is. 

Elm Thicket/Northpark Is Still Reeling From Zoning Battle One Year Later 

The CPC scheduled a public hearing on “nonconforming uses and structures” on May 16 but announced it would be postponed to late July. 

CPC Vice Chair Brent Rubin said the matter came about because the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee requested the City Attorney’s Office “come up with a way in which the public could continue to initiate the compliance process in light of the changes made by Senate Bill 929.” 

Residents in Lakewood, Elm Thicket/Northpark, and West Dallas have expressed concerns about the new law, which passed last year and is effective immediately.  

Senate Bill 929

According to Jacob Vaughn of the Dallas Observer, “a section of the city’s code says that any person who resides in or owns real property in the city may request that the Dallas Board of Adjustment consider establishing a compliance date for a nonconforming use. Once the board receives this request, it will hold a public hearing to determine whether continued operation of the nonconforming use will have an adverse effect on nearby properties.”

The new law requires municipalities to provide compensation to a property owner whose nonconforming use was shut down due to amortization. That could put taxpayer funds at risk, an assistant city attorney told the ZOAC last year. 

It also doesn’t do much to address the concerns of Elm Thicket/Northpark residents who say new construction in their neighborhood violates zoning regulations approved in October 2022. 

Elm Thicket/Northpark Zoning Complaints

The posting for the May 16 CPC item indicated that a recommendation is sought on an amendment to the city’s development code regarding notice requirements for zoning cases and code amendments that may result in the creation of a nonconforming use. Additionally, the CPC was slated to discuss requirements for initiating and conducting a Board of Adjustment hearing to establish a compliance date pursuant to the requirements of Texas Senate Bill 929. 

After a Hard-Fought Battle, Dallas City Council Approves Elm Thicket/Northpark Rezoning

Elm Thicket/Northpark residents told CandysDirt.com that at least three homes in their neighborhood are out of compliance: 7614 Linwood Ave., 7614 Roper Street, and 6801 Tyree St. 

Neighbors say the Linwood and Roper homes have violations related to roof construction. 

There should be a 90 percent hip-and-gable roofing style for roofs above 20-foot high and the new homes have flat/shed roofs, said Gus Perez, who owns a home on Morton Street and issued this letter to the City Plan Commission. 

“The duplex on Tyree should not be a duplex,” Perez told CandysDirt.com. “The build needs to be single-family, per the [Planned Development 67] land use map. Pre-October 2022 showed it could be a duplex. The checkerboard of duplexes and single-family homes was what we cleaned up with the new zoning.” 

The builder for the Linwood and Roper residences is Lydia Homes. Grand Development is constructing the Tyree duplex. 

It appears the new nonconforming construction will be allowed through an updated process with the Board of Adjustment, Perez added. 

“We are voicing our opposition to this change with the CPC,” he said. “We do not want builders to get around our hard-fought zoning by asking for adjustments. That would make our zoning ineffective.”