City Hall Roundup: Stevens Park Village Aims to Protect Its Dilbecks and More With a Conservation District 

Residents of Oak Cliff’s Stevens Park Village held their fourth pre-application meeting Wednesday in an effort to protect their neighborhood with a conservation district. The “Villagers” have a long road ahead, but a strong resolve to get a draft ordinance to the finish line.  

Neighborhood conservation districts have become a popular topic as the City Plan Commission prepares to hand over the ForwardDallas comprehensive land use plan to the Dallas City Council for a vote. Despite the guidelines mapped out in the comp plan, conservation districts will have an extra layer of protection. 

Conservation district boundaries proposed by Stevens Park Village are the alley behind Walter Drive to the west, the alley behind West Colorado Boulevard to the south, Remond Drive to the north, and North Hampton Road to the east.

Stevens Park Village residents made a first inquiry into a conservation district back in 2015, but the process, driven by 10 homeowners, began in earnest in March. 

Stevens Park Village Neighborhood

Stevens Park Village has a cozy feel due to the charming Austin stone and brick cottage-style homes that predominate the neighborhood, according to the Heritage Oak Cliff website. 

 “Many exterior elevations and eclectic facades allow for an architecturally diverse but highly attractive collection of homes,” the site states. “Fifteen of the homes were designed by noted Dallas architect Charles Dilbeck, who felt that first and foremost a home should be welcoming, and the examples here lived up to that promise. Natural materials, intimate scale, and fine craftsmanship are all evident.”

The neighborhood was developed between 1939 and 1941. Original homes have hardwood floors, fireplaces, archways, corner cupboards, and chair rail molding. An addition immediately to the west was built in the 1950s and features larger ranch-style homes.

It’s these special features — and homes built by acclaimed architect Charles S. Dilbeck — that make residents want to preserve the character of their neighborhood. 

The Stevens Park Village Neighborhood Association was formed in 1991. 

Stevens Park Village Conservation District

Senior Planner Trevor Brown was lauded by neighbors in close-knit South Winnetka Heights as they celebrated their conservation district status in April. South Winnetka Heights was the first Dallas neighborhood in 13 years to have a conservation district approved. 

It took them three years to go through the process. 

“Basically, we’re just trying to save what we have,” South Winnetka Heights resident Michael Evans said at an April 24 Dallas City Council meeting. “We were really worried about the new development that’s coming into the city, into Oak Cliff. We look to protect the houses that we have. We like the architecture, the style, and just the general vibe of our neighborhood. We’re worried about McMansions.” 

The next neighborhood in the conservation district queue is Lakewood, which is petitioning to expand an existing CD. Residents have held 17 meetings and the process started in 2022.  

Senior Planner Melissa Parent told Stevens Park Village residents at an April pre-application meeting that getting to the finish line is up to the neighbors. 

“We’ll go through the process tonight, but I can’t emphasize enough that it is incumbent upon the neighborhood committee and property owners to get the involvement of the entire neighborhood,” Parent said. “The more you talk and reach consensus about what you want, before we actually start the official zoning change process, the better this process will go.”