Dallas Plan Commissioner Rejects He’s ‘Closing South Oak Cliff’ to New Housing

District 4 Dallas Plan Commissioner Tom Forsyth came in like a wrecking ball in February, determined to make good on a promise to Councilwoman Carolyn King Arnold and her constituents that he’ll protect single-family neighborhoods. 

Actually, Forsyth came in more like the guy who stands in front of the wrecking ball.

Hailed as a hero by D4 residents and opponents of the ForwardDallas 2.0 comprehensive land use plan, Forsyth spoke exclusively to CandysDirt.com last week about his thoughts on multifamily projects near single-family neighborhoods. 

“I’m not against new development,” the plan commissioner said. “I’m not against density. I’m not against missing middle housing. It’s just where do we put it? Where does it make sense? It doesn’t make sense to put a four-story, 50-foot-high, 30-unit multifamily apartment complex on a dead-end street where all the single-story homes are zoned [single-family residential].” 

Brentwood Trinity Heights

One neighborhood Forsyth represents, Brentwood Trinity Heights, has “R5(A)” zoning for single-family homes and they’d like to keep it that way, Forsyth explained. 

“You’ve got a situation where developers are wanting to come in and build structures that are not single-family homes,” he said. “They want to build duplexes, townhomes, and multifamily complexes. That’s not what the neighborhood wants.” 

When such issues arise, Forsyth said he meets with the neighbors and if he deems it necessary, he’ll reject the staff recommendation for approval and ask that the rezoning be denied. 

Forsyth isn’t really a trailblazer in this regard. Watch the 11-hour July 11 CPC meeting and you’ll hear several commissioners ask to defer a case so they can gather more feedback or reach a compromise with neighbors and the developer. 

Perhaps it’s Forsyth’s relentless fight to remove multiplexes and other housing options out of the residential “placetypes” in the ForwardDallas land use plan that has endeared him to his neighbors. Forsyth said he’s been “railroaded” and silenced by other commissioners when making motions that he believes offer long-term assurances that developers won’t change the character of existing neighborhoods. 

“I’ve certainly learned that there are people on the CPC who are going to be for almost any development case,” Forsyth said. “It’s pretty easy for them to carry the majority in most of these cases.”

A CPC public hearing on ForwardDallas is set for Thursday. 

The Facebook Post Heard ‘Round District 4

On July 10, Forsyth posted a photo on his social media page depicting a community meeting with residents of the Brentwood Trinity Heights neighborhood. 

“The Brentwood Trinity Heights neighborhood in District 4 has been fighting several rezoning cases that would turn properties zoned for R5 single-family homes to duplexes, townhomes, and multifamily units,” Forsyth wrote. “The neighbors turned out in force at a community meeting […] to show their opposition to three rezoning cases on Grant Street in their neighborhood.”

Residents wore T-shirts bearing the message, “Say no to rezoning and save our homes.” 

“It is truly inspirational to see neighbors rise up and band together to protect the character of their neighborhood from development that would put four-story apartments on the same street with one-story single-family homes,” Forsyth wrote on Facebook. “The lesson here is that neighborhoods need to be vigilant and they need to organize like the residents of Brentwood Trinity Heights. With the likely passage of the ForwardDallas plan, there will be more and more cases like this where developers want to build multiplexes and multifamily structures on streets zoned for residential.”

Is District 4 Closed to Housing and Development? 

Some caught wind of the Facebook post and sent it to local reporters with a message along the lines of, “Looks like District 4 is closed to housing and development.” 

So was that Forsyth’s intent? We asked the plan commissioner. 

He laughed. 

“Of course not,” Forsyth said. 

Incompatible development in single-family zones creates traffic congestion and a strain on infrastructure and can change the character of neighborhoods, leading to gentrification and displacement, opponents of the ForwardDallas land use plan have said. 

“As dedicated residents of District 4, we firmly believe that we should focus on enhancing our current neighborhood rather than rezoning it,” the Brentwood Trinity Heights Community Action Group website states. “Our community has a rich history and unique character that must be preserved. Instead of changing our zoning laws, we should invest in improving the infrastructure, public spaces, and amenities that make our neighborhood special.” 

Detonating a Bomb in the Neighborhood

Forsyth, who sells document management systems for DataBank IMX, has lived in his Oak Cliff neighborhood near Kiest Park for 22 years. 

The latest development proposal in his area is from developer Paul Carden, a fellow appointed public official who serves on the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee. Carden wants to build a four-story, 30-unit complex on the dead-end Grant Street. Developers who want to get around provisions such as residential proximity slope and parking requirements that generally prevent multifamily in single-family neighborhoods just ask for a Planned Development District so they can make their own set of rules, Forsyth said. Dallas has more than 1,100 PDs. 

Another plan commissioner reportedly told Forsyth that if this particular zoning case was approved, it would be like “detonating a bomb in that neighborhood.” 

Forsyth again maintains he has nothing against the developer or good development that makes sense. He recently supported one of Carden’s projects in his district near Clarendon Drive. 

“I expect that staff will recommend approval for this one on Grant Street and I expect that I’m going to have to fight,” he said.