The Dallas Board of Adjustment admitted Tuesday that it didn’t know the extent of its authority to rule on an Elm Thicket permit case stemming from a city permitting error — a mistake that let builders construct a towering three-story home and other structures that don’t meet zoning requirements.
CandysDirt.com broke the story earlier this month that the City of Dallas issued “stop work orders” on 14 construction projects in the former Freedman’s community near Love Field. City officials admitted they’d “erroneously” issued builders in Elm Thicket permits using outdated zoning regulations, despite changes that were approved almost two years ago. Builders were given the options to resubmit revised plans, tear down and start over, or appeal their cases to the Board of Adjustment.
Board of Adjustment Hears First Appeal Under Spotlight
Akber Meghani was the first to file an appeal for his Elm Thicket permit. The builder hired Masterplan zoning consultants and appeared before the Board of Adjustment Tuesday. After hearing from several residents in a public hearing and referencing 41 letters of opposition, the Board agreed to defer Meghani’s appeal for the home he built at 6801 Tyree St. to the panel’s next meeting on Sept. 17.
Board of Adjustment Chairman Dave Neumann, a former city councilman, and the five-member panel appeared overwhelmed by the media attention and public scrutiny at Tuesday’s hearing. The board doesn’t get a lot of attention and spent a significant amount of time talking about tree regulations on another case Tuesday. The Elm Thicket permit debacle is likely the most important case they’ve taken on in recent history.
Board of Adjustment members asked for clarity on what they can do with Meghani’s appeal. An assistant city attorney explained that they can affirm, reverse, or amend the action.
Neumann read from the city code and advised his colleagues on the action they could take.
“We can agree, disagree, or modify the [stop work] order,” Neumann said.
While the panel agreed to postpone the ruling to next month, one member voted against the deferral and all five acknowledged the importance of making a swift decision.
There are now three sides to this story: the Elm Thicket residents who fought for and won a downzoning in October 2022, approved unanimously by the Dallas City Council; the builders who have in some cases invested their life savings on a project that can’t be sold; and the City of Dallas, which admittedly created the problem.
Aug. 20 Board of Adjustment presentation
Ex-DBA President Says Errors Make Dallas Look Unreliable
Builders have expressed grave concerns about the precedent set by the City’s actions. Former longtime Dallas Builders Association executive officer Phil Crone, now vice president of Leading Builders for America, said a building permit isn’t just a formality; it’s a commitment by the city to the future residents, their neighbors, and the builders and workers who trust in the city’s word.
“In competent jurisdictions, this commitment is rigorously upheld long before the first drop of concrete is poured,” Crone said. “When the City of Dallas shirks this responsibility and tries to absolve itself from the very regulations it alone creates and enforces, it sends a clear and troubling message: Dallas is an unreliable, negligent partner — failing both its residents and those who seek to invest in its future.”
Planning and Development Department Updates City Council
In an Aug. 16 memorandum, Interim Assistant City Manager Robin Bentley issued the following information related to the Elm Thicket/Northpark stop work orders. This entire section is pulled directly from Bentley’s memo.
Identification of Potentially Impacted Sites
The Planning and Development Department has committed to compiling a complete list of potentially impacted sites in the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighborhood no later than Sept. 30. To ensure that every possible site is investigated, PDD is reviewing each of the following:
Robin Bentley
1. Permits Issued: PDD will continue the investigation of all Elm Thicket-Northpark permits issued within the initial time frame of Oct. 12, 2022, to June 2, 2023, and to ensure an exhaustive review has expanded to include all permits issued through June of this year.
2. 311 Requests: PDD, in collaboration with Communications & Customer Experience/311 (CCE/311), has compiled a list of 311 requests involving Elm Thicket-Northpark received during the relevant time period. PDD is reviewing each of those requests for potential construction violations. Additionally, CCE/311 has developed a custom daily report for incoming requests for addresses within the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighborhood. This report, launched on Aug. 9, 2024, provides daily updates to PDD for immediate action.
3. Neighborhood Referrals: Neighborhood residents have referred multiple sites for investigation. As of the last update, PDD had identified 29 potentially impacted sites. That list has grown to 90 sites, the majority of which have been found to be compliant.
Resolution of Potentially Impacted Sites
Compliant Sites: As mentioned above, 76 of the 90 investigated sites comply or have successfully filed correction addendums to come into compliance. A breakdown of these 76 sites is below:
• 19 sites filed compliant site plans that satisfy the PD requirements.
• 3 sites were found to have no permits filed or issued.
• 44 sites applied for permits prior to October 12, 2022, the date the zoning change was approved by Council.
• 10 sites were found to be noncompliant but have since been corrected through site plan addendums.
Noncompliant Sites: This means that 14 of the 90 sites remain noncompliant, as outlined below:
• 3 sites were found to have noncompliant site plans but have since filed an addendum to come into compliance. These addendums are under review by PDD.
• 9 sites were found to have noncompliant site plans and have not yet filed an addendum or other corrective action. PDD is working with these property owners to identify and expedite solutions.
• 2 permits have been revoked, with appeals pending before the Board of Adjustment. Hearings are scheduled for August 20 and September 18, respectively.
City Attorney Says Elm Thicket Permit Doesn’t Supercede Policy
By the looks of the supporting documents issued ahead of Tuesday’s Board of Adjustment hearing, it sounds like the City Attorney’s Office is siding with the neighbors, not the builders.
We’ve also been told that it was the City Attorney’s Office that mandated the stop work orders, not the permitting department, which until recently operated separately under the direction of Chief Building Official Andrew Espinoza. An organizational restructure was put in place by Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, leaving Espinoza without a job and merging Planning+Urban Design with Development Services into the new Planning and Development Department. Emily Liu is the new director and oversees zoning and permitting, among many other city services.
In a memorandum from Assistant City Attorney Justin Roy to the Board of Adjustment (the memo starts on page 205) Roy cites a 2006 Texas Supreme Court case and says, “The Applicant is responsible for knowing the rules and regulations in the development of the lot. Because the Applicant applied for his permit after Ordinance 32324 was effective, Applicant must comply with the current zoning regulations in that ordinance.”
“The approval of the plans by Development Services did not permit the violation of any city ordinance or state law,” Roy writes. “Further, the Dallas Code provides that issuance of a permit or approval of plans ‘shall not be construed to be a permit for, or an approval of, any violation of any provision of the codes or of any other city ordinance.’ The code further provides: ‘Any permit presuming to give authority to violate or cancel any provision of the codes or any other city ordinance shall not be valid.’”
The administrative official correctly determined that the permits were issued in error, Roy explained in the memo.
“Applicant should refine his development plans for the lot so that the structure is compliant with the single-family use requirement. Further, Applicant should comply with [Planned Development 67] requirements for the height of the structure, roof structure, and lot coverage.”
Elm Thicket Neighbors Want the Board to Deny Builder Variance
Mimi Perez, who founded Save Elm Thicket with her husband Gus, pointed out to the Board on Tuesday that the City Attorney’s Office said Meghani’s appeal “has not met the facts needed to overturn the revocation of his building permits.”
“The current construction in question not only violates the new lot coverage of 40% but also the old lot coverage of 45%,” said Perez, a photographer and columnist for CandysDirt.com. “The construction in question stands at 45.7%. There are an additional three other violations on this build.”
The historic Elm Thicket/Northpark should not have to accommodate builders who “neither respect the neighborhood in which they build and willfully submit building plans they know do not conform to the new building standards,” Perez said during the public hearing.
“Yes, the city erred, but Mr. Meghani inflicted this harm on himself when he submitted building plans that he knew were non-conforming,” she said. “You know who else has spent a lot of money and does not deserve a severe dose of medicine? Myself and my neighbors, some of whom have lived their entire lives in this neighborhood, in the form of property taxes. The Elm Thicket/Northpark neighbors are the only ones who have done everything right in this matter. We followed all the rules the city set forth and when they told us we needed to police the new builds we did because it is up to us to save Elm Thicket.”
CandysDirt.com will continue to follow this Elm Thicket permit story and provide more coverage from Tuesday’s Board of Adjustment hearing.
Municipal heads need to roll for this major screw-up. After six hard-fought years by residents to advance downzoning in the ETNP neighborhood, somehow city bureaucrats failed to update the building codes, negligently approving permits in direct—and deliberate—violation of new zoning. If we can’t trust them to maintain civic order and hold to account those in violation, what are they even doing here? Certainly not their jobs, clearly.
Interesting the Perez’s (apparently pronounced P-ah-riz) & Save Elm Thicket social club have deemed themselves the Neighborhood Code Compliance Police. I have to give it to them though, they are doing fine work! I wish they put all that effort into cleaning up the neighborhood? Fix up a couple houses, pick up some trash, run off some drug dealers… What a waste.
I also attended the Board of Adjustment hearing yesterday. It was questionable watching Gus Perez work closely with the Assistant City Attorney, Justin Roy, on their final arguments and slide presentations. Something is going on there that needs to be further looked in to? I am a little jealous though. I wish I had the Asst City Attorney on speed dial, “Hey Josh, I think my neighbors fence is 6″ above the max allowable height. Quick, send everyone!”
But through all the theatrics I keep coming back to one question? Well, actually two questions. WTF is the City doing? And WTH are we still talking about this? The City has admitted it made a mistake and issued 29 permits in error. Builders, in turn, have spent big money on construction and now they may have to tear their projects down because of the City mistake? Really? The fix is SO simple.
At this point thousands of man hours have been spent by the City working on this debacle. Thousands. And the lawsuits haven’t even started. Once the lawsuits start rolling in, and they are coming, the bill the Dallas taxpayers will be footing is going to skyrocket in to the millions. And all this because someone got their tail feathers ruffled because a couple of houses are 6″ taller than they should be…
If the neighborhood is so bad why would you want to even come over here and build million dollar mansions . You been building over here long enough you knew the rules you knew the guidelines. That’s what Im talking about all the time the disrespect for our neighborhood. And name calling. Do buyers of your home do you tell them it’s a trashed up place with drug dealers. When you trying to sell one of these million dollar houses.Your buyer’s should know how you feel about the neighborhood .Why would you build and why in the hell would they buy if that’s what you feel about our neighborhood. There’s plenty of other places to go build. The Perez’s are my friends we’re doing what we stayed in meeting for for almost a year. We shouldn’t even be in a discussion about this those days have passed. Thanks JR we know how you feel. We give y’all the respect to build we don’t give you the right to try to drag down our neighborhood with a bunch of lies. At least the buyers know how you feel about the area you building in. You made it perfectly clear. You all building fast and building wrong. You have let us know and the buyers of any homes know it’s just about the money for you builders investors and you developers. Your lack of respect for our Community have shown that.
I respectfully insist that ICM Tolbert and ACM Bentley remove both Deputy Directors Mina “Sam” Eskander and Vernon U. Young. They are both incompetent and unethical. Please, candysdirt keep exposing the mistakes of these two leaders. They have done nothing but hurt the Dallas community. They need to be held accountable for their ill actions.
Thank you Clay Stapp for showing everyone your true character with your post.
First, I do not apologize for using the Spanish pronunciation for my last name. Your thinly-veiled racist comment about that says who you really are. I hope your clients are paying attention. Just so you know for future racist comments, in the Spanish language, the Rs are rolled to almost sound like a double Ds (“Peddez”). If you are going to insult people about their Spanish last name, you now know how to do it right.
Your next misstatement is saying I worked closely with the Assistant City Attorney. I did not. The BOA hearing was the first time I met him. He came up to me joking that I stole his thunder by quoting the public memo he submitted to the board. In case you forgot, his memo said your business partner, Mr. Meghani, had no legal standing to overturn the stop work order.
We do agree with your question of “WTH are we still talking about this?” Yes, indeed. Your business partner knowingly submitted building plans he knew were not in compliance with the zoning in our neighborhood. Your business partner made the decision to build a non-conforming structure. The BOA should have denied the appeal right then and there because of that alone. We have proof he knew of the updated zoning regulations and he admitted it to a Fox4 reporter just days before the hearing.
But you also knew of the zoning changes before the builder filed his plans. It says a lot about you if you did not remind him that he would be building a non-conforming structure and putting his business as risk of financial ruin. But I guess you and your partner wanted to slip one past the city and laugh all the way to the bank, right?
And for the record, you ask why I am not spending more effort cleaning up the neighborhood. We, the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighbors, are. We are trying to clean up our neighborhood of builders who knowingly submit non-conforming plans and then whine like spoiled little toddlers when they get caught. Perhaps, just perhaps, Dallas deserves better builders. If the rest of Dallas doesn’t agree with that then I know my neighbors will agree that Ellum Thicket will demand better builders who will build homes that conform to the new standards.
Hi Diane – I am not a Builder. I am a Real Estate Broker. I never said I don’t like the neighborhood. I love the neighborhood just as much as you do & I have made many friends who have lived in the neighborhood a long time. I don’t believe I called anyone a name? And whether we like it or not, the neighborhood is considered a neighborhood in transition. There are run-down houses that need a lot of work. And there are well known drug houses. I just think if you are going to lay claim to being a social justice warrior (SETSC) then helping someone paint their house or clean up their lawn goes a lot further than spending taxpayer money on a witch hunt trying to figuring out which new house is 6″ taller than it should be…
To the Author and Editor –
For years, the MAJORITY of this neighborhood have told you that there are more than “three sides to this story”. And just as the City Council did when passing this downzoning case, you have ignored the neighborhood’s majority voice… the fourth side of this story. The community’s majority voice of facts, reason, and right vs wrong.
April – why do you only interview and quote the SAME 3-4 neighbors who claim to “represent this neighborhood”? As I am sure that you are aware, the VAST majority of this neighborhood and its neighbors were adamantly against these zoning changes. In fact, the official vote was a meager 250+/- in favor of the zoning changes… while the VAST 750+/- were AGAINST them.
Via back-door politics, shady characters and back-scratching relationships, and a complete lack of respect/regard for democracy – these brain-dead zoning changes passed. And, all we (the MAJORITY) wanted to do was to MOVE THE HECK ON!
But, thanks to our inept city leaders and thanks to the likes of Gus Perez, Maples, and (few) friends… here we are again – in the news and at odds… for crap that we all have, and desperately wanted to, move past. (Save the Perez’s… they seem to thrive off of this petty drama as evident throughout the years.)
Come talk to the actual majority of our wonderful community. No one, outside of the Perez/Maple gang gives a crap about these 19 homes (there are over 2,000 properties in this neighborhood for perspective) that were issued permits at the FAULT OF THE CITY. In fact, we are excited to see our community grow and thrive.
6” too tall… a bit too much flat roof here or there… NO ONE CARES. Finish up, move on, and let the new zoning changes rule from here on out.
But, want to know what the majority of the neighbors DO care about?
PEOPLE.
Neighbors/Residents/Families/Community.
Business owners/Entrepreneurs/Builders/Investors/Contributors.
Tax paying, law abiding citizens of Dallas.
That is who and what we care about. NOT, harming people because of The City of Dallas’ mistake at the demand of a few in the “name of social justice”.
Gus – please, give us all a break! You know just as well as all of us reading these comments that Mr. Stapp’s sarcastic/joking comments aren’t racist. We have ALL sat through many meetings where you loudly correct anyone who dares mispronounce your last name. I too have a Spanish pronunciation of my last name…never pronounced correctly by most. Wonder why I don’t feel the need to make it a point to correct you or anyone else who accidentally mispronounces it. Hmm… maybe I don’t feel the need to gain anything by labeling people racists.
But of course, here you go once again…pulling the same tired, old cards from your playbook. Name calling, race baiting, us vs them, virtue signaling. Pull at those buzz words/emotional strings… because what else would you have on your side without all that? Facts…right vs wrong… majority support…NOPE!
None of the Perez/Maple gang truly, TRULY care about this neighborhood. Or if they think tht theydo, they have been GROSSLY mislead.
They unfortunately only care about “winning” and what they want. They didn’t care one bit that this downzoning would ultimately hurt the original owners of this community – drive them out at a faster rate. As warned and came to fruition – taxes did not go down. More houses are being torn down than before. And original owners must sell their homes for less than before due to the downzoning. Gus – well done! You really helped out the community…
I’ll end on this – This community is one that we are all proud of! That we have all chosen to live in, build community in, and raise our families in. One that we want to see thrive while respecting its history and foundations. One, that some of us like myself, do business in – as we believe in this neighborhood and its future (insert opening myself up once again for verbal attacks, physical threats, and intimidation).
But, that does not mean that we do not have our issues. Crime, drugs, prostitution, trash, lack of reliable city services, unpaved alleys, underfunded school, lack of displacement help by the city…the list goes on and on. Just because we can recognize the negatives does not mean we don’t love our neighborhood for all the good, as well.
Perez/Maples gang says that they are “cleaning up our neighborhood of builders…who whine like spoiled little toddlers”. That’s the fight they chose to take up when we have REAL issues??
Gus – why don’t you go talk to the builder next to me? Young man just starting out his career who had ZERO clue about the zoning changes. Trying to make a business and future for himself that YOU shut down for being 6” too tall and having a tiny bit too much flat roof. By having to fix these seriously unnoticeable issues, he is now in financial risk via material, labor and holding cost while unable to build. The day I spoke to him about all of this outside of my house, he was on the verge of tears in fear of his financial future and frustrated by the lack of Dallas’ accountability. Meanwhile, we stood and watched a blatant mid-day drug deal go down across the street from us while my kids played in the front yard. Hope you really feel good about yourself, Gus – you’re really fighting the good fight.
Let’s give ol’ Clay the benefit of the doubt and assume he was joking. What’s the joke? What’s funny about the pronunciation of the name Perez? My underfunded school means I’m not very good at understanding white humor, sorry.
Why don’t you correct people who mispronounce your name? I’m really sorry that keeps happening to you. Nobody deserves to have their name butchered repeatedly even if it is an accident. A Hispanic last name is something to be really proud of, I think.
Anyways, maybe builders should take up issues with the city that issued the permits and not the neighbors who are trying to preserve their neighborhood (because where else would they get their drugs and dump their trash and pick up their hookers, right?).
The Perez/Maples gang is just worried about their property taxes going up (well maybe not Maples since he doesn’t live here). If they were concerned about cleaning up the neighborhood, then 311 should be absolutely littered with complaints about trash, illegal fireworks, cars parked on front lawns, abandoned vehicles, etc. If you are the neighborhood leadership, I can’t imagine letting the neighborhood deteriorate so badly and then being so sanctimonious when other people want to build new homes — which in turn create a bigger base for funds for schools, police, road repairs, etc.
There are for sure predators taking advantage of the neighborhood. The city opened the flood gates. Realtors making hefty commissions, unscrupulous brokers wanting your property for a little of nothing, and taxes skyrocketing.
But what I can say is Clay Stapp is not the racist he has been labeled. He intervened on my behalf when a crooked broker was trying to pull some shady stuff to significantly decrease my net just days before closing. He helped with some complicated legal pieces, but would not accept anything for his help. He also negotiated property for friends and got top dollar for them as well.
Words spoken in frustration or anger may not represent a person’s character.
I’m surprised that Robin Bentley, Interim Assistant City Manager, and Emily Liu, the Director, still keeping their jobs.
What has Emily done since she joined the city other than cancelling and rescheduling her meetings with employees and developers?
Not the best fit for a building department!
Municipal heads need to roll for this major screw-up. After six hard-fought years by residents to advance downzoning in the ETNP neighborhood, somehow city bureaucrats failed to update the building codes, negligently approving permits in direct—and deliberate—violation of new zoning. If we can’t trust them to maintain civic order and hold to account those in violation, what are they even doing here? Certainly not their jobs, clearly.
Interesting the Perez’s (apparently pronounced P-ah-riz) & Save Elm Thicket social club have deemed themselves the Neighborhood Code Compliance Police. I have to give it to them though, they are doing fine work! I wish they put all that effort into cleaning up the neighborhood? Fix up a couple houses, pick up some trash, run off some drug dealers… What a waste.
I also attended the Board of Adjustment hearing yesterday. It was questionable watching Gus Perez work closely with the Assistant City Attorney, Justin Roy, on their final arguments and slide presentations. Something is going on there that needs to be further looked in to? I am a little jealous though. I wish I had the Asst City Attorney on speed dial, “Hey Josh, I think my neighbors fence is 6″ above the max allowable height. Quick, send everyone!”
But through all the theatrics I keep coming back to one question? Well, actually two questions. WTF is the City doing? And WTH are we still talking about this? The City has admitted it made a mistake and issued 29 permits in error. Builders, in turn, have spent big money on construction and now they may have to tear their projects down because of the City mistake? Really? The fix is SO simple.
At this point thousands of man hours have been spent by the City working on this debacle. Thousands. And the lawsuits haven’t even started. Once the lawsuits start rolling in, and they are coming, the bill the Dallas taxpayers will be footing is going to skyrocket in to the millions. And all this because someone got their tail feathers ruffled because a couple of houses are 6″ taller than they should be…
If the neighborhood is so bad why would you want to even come over here and build million dollar mansions . You been building over here long enough you knew the rules you knew the guidelines. That’s what Im talking about all the time the disrespect for our neighborhood. And name calling. Do buyers of your home do you tell them it’s a trashed up place with drug dealers. When you trying to sell one of these million dollar houses.Your buyer’s should know how you feel about the neighborhood .Why would you build and why in the hell would they buy if that’s what you feel about our neighborhood. There’s plenty of other places to go build. The Perez’s are my friends we’re doing what we stayed in meeting for for almost a year. We shouldn’t even be in a discussion about this those days have passed. Thanks JR we know how you feel. We give y’all the respect to build we don’t give you the right to try to drag down our neighborhood with a bunch of lies. At least the buyers know how you feel about the area you building in. You made it perfectly clear. You all building fast and building wrong. You have let us know and the buyers of any homes know it’s just about the money for you builders investors and you developers. Your lack of respect for our Community have shown that.
I respectfully insist that ICM Tolbert and ACM Bentley remove both Deputy Directors Mina “Sam” Eskander and Vernon U. Young. They are both incompetent and unethical. Please, candysdirt keep exposing the mistakes of these two leaders. They have done nothing but hurt the Dallas community. They need to be held accountable for their ill actions.
Clay Stapp. You build ugly houses. LOL
Thank you Clay Stapp for showing everyone your true character with your post.
First, I do not apologize for using the Spanish pronunciation for my last name. Your thinly-veiled racist comment about that says who you really are. I hope your clients are paying attention. Just so you know for future racist comments, in the Spanish language, the Rs are rolled to almost sound like a double Ds (“Peddez”). If you are going to insult people about their Spanish last name, you now know how to do it right.
Your next misstatement is saying I worked closely with the Assistant City Attorney. I did not. The BOA hearing was the first time I met him. He came up to me joking that I stole his thunder by quoting the public memo he submitted to the board. In case you forgot, his memo said your business partner, Mr. Meghani, had no legal standing to overturn the stop work order.
We do agree with your question of “WTH are we still talking about this?” Yes, indeed. Your business partner knowingly submitted building plans he knew were not in compliance with the zoning in our neighborhood. Your business partner made the decision to build a non-conforming structure. The BOA should have denied the appeal right then and there because of that alone. We have proof he knew of the updated zoning regulations and he admitted it to a Fox4 reporter just days before the hearing.
But you also knew of the zoning changes before the builder filed his plans. It says a lot about you if you did not remind him that he would be building a non-conforming structure and putting his business as risk of financial ruin. But I guess you and your partner wanted to slip one past the city and laugh all the way to the bank, right?
And for the record, you ask why I am not spending more effort cleaning up the neighborhood. We, the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighbors, are. We are trying to clean up our neighborhood of builders who knowingly submit non-conforming plans and then whine like spoiled little toddlers when they get caught. Perhaps, just perhaps, Dallas deserves better builders. If the rest of Dallas doesn’t agree with that then I know my neighbors will agree that Ellum Thicket will demand better builders who will build homes that conform to the new standards.
Gracias.
And out comes the RACE card…
(a moment of silence while we all reflect).
And we are back…
Hi Diane – I am not a Builder. I am a Real Estate Broker. I never said I don’t like the neighborhood. I love the neighborhood just as much as you do & I have made many friends who have lived in the neighborhood a long time. I don’t believe I called anyone a name? And whether we like it or not, the neighborhood is considered a neighborhood in transition. There are run-down houses that need a lot of work. And there are well known drug houses. I just think if you are going to lay claim to being a social justice warrior (SETSC) then helping someone paint their house or clean up their lawn goes a lot further than spending taxpayer money on a witch hunt trying to figuring out which new house is 6″ taller than it should be…
To the Author and Editor –
For years, the MAJORITY of this neighborhood have told you that there are more than “three sides to this story”. And just as the City Council did when passing this downzoning case, you have ignored the neighborhood’s majority voice… the fourth side of this story. The community’s majority voice of facts, reason, and right vs wrong.
April – why do you only interview and quote the SAME 3-4 neighbors who claim to “represent this neighborhood”? As I am sure that you are aware, the VAST majority of this neighborhood and its neighbors were adamantly against these zoning changes. In fact, the official vote was a meager 250+/- in favor of the zoning changes… while the VAST 750+/- were AGAINST them.
Via back-door politics, shady characters and back-scratching relationships, and a complete lack of respect/regard for democracy – these brain-dead zoning changes passed. And, all we (the MAJORITY) wanted to do was to MOVE THE HECK ON!
But, thanks to our inept city leaders and thanks to the likes of Gus Perez, Maples, and (few) friends… here we are again – in the news and at odds… for crap that we all have, and desperately wanted to, move past. (Save the Perez’s… they seem to thrive off of this petty drama as evident throughout the years.)
Come talk to the actual majority of our wonderful community. No one, outside of the Perez/Maple gang gives a crap about these 19 homes (there are over 2,000 properties in this neighborhood for perspective) that were issued permits at the FAULT OF THE CITY. In fact, we are excited to see our community grow and thrive.
6” too tall… a bit too much flat roof here or there… NO ONE CARES. Finish up, move on, and let the new zoning changes rule from here on out.
But, want to know what the majority of the neighbors DO care about?
PEOPLE.
Neighbors/Residents/Families/Community.
Business owners/Entrepreneurs/Builders/Investors/Contributors.
Tax paying, law abiding citizens of Dallas.
That is who and what we care about. NOT, harming people because of The City of Dallas’ mistake at the demand of a few in the “name of social justice”.
Gus – please, give us all a break! You know just as well as all of us reading these comments that Mr. Stapp’s sarcastic/joking comments aren’t racist. We have ALL sat through many meetings where you loudly correct anyone who dares mispronounce your last name. I too have a Spanish pronunciation of my last name…never pronounced correctly by most. Wonder why I don’t feel the need to make it a point to correct you or anyone else who accidentally mispronounces it. Hmm… maybe I don’t feel the need to gain anything by labeling people racists.
But of course, here you go once again…pulling the same tired, old cards from your playbook. Name calling, race baiting, us vs them, virtue signaling. Pull at those buzz words/emotional strings… because what else would you have on your side without all that? Facts…right vs wrong… majority support…NOPE!
None of the Perez/Maple gang truly, TRULY care about this neighborhood. Or if they think tht theydo, they have been GROSSLY mislead.
They unfortunately only care about “winning” and what they want. They didn’t care one bit that this downzoning would ultimately hurt the original owners of this community – drive them out at a faster rate. As warned and came to fruition – taxes did not go down. More houses are being torn down than before. And original owners must sell their homes for less than before due to the downzoning. Gus – well done! You really helped out the community…
I’ll end on this – This community is one that we are all proud of! That we have all chosen to live in, build community in, and raise our families in. One that we want to see thrive while respecting its history and foundations. One, that some of us like myself, do business in – as we believe in this neighborhood and its future (insert opening myself up once again for verbal attacks, physical threats, and intimidation).
But, that does not mean that we do not have our issues. Crime, drugs, prostitution, trash, lack of reliable city services, unpaved alleys, underfunded school, lack of displacement help by the city…the list goes on and on. Just because we can recognize the negatives does not mean we don’t love our neighborhood for all the good, as well.
Perez/Maples gang says that they are “cleaning up our neighborhood of builders…who whine like spoiled little toddlers”. That’s the fight they chose to take up when we have REAL issues??
Gus – why don’t you go talk to the builder next to me? Young man just starting out his career who had ZERO clue about the zoning changes. Trying to make a business and future for himself that YOU shut down for being 6” too tall and having a tiny bit too much flat roof. By having to fix these seriously unnoticeable issues, he is now in financial risk via material, labor and holding cost while unable to build. The day I spoke to him about all of this outside of my house, he was on the verge of tears in fear of his financial future and frustrated by the lack of Dallas’ accountability. Meanwhile, we stood and watched a blatant mid-day drug deal go down across the street from us while my kids played in the front yard. Hope you really feel good about yourself, Gus – you’re really fighting the good fight.
Let’s give ol’ Clay the benefit of the doubt and assume he was joking. What’s the joke? What’s funny about the pronunciation of the name Perez? My underfunded school means I’m not very good at understanding white humor, sorry.
Why don’t you correct people who mispronounce your name? I’m really sorry that keeps happening to you. Nobody deserves to have their name butchered repeatedly even if it is an accident. A Hispanic last name is something to be really proud of, I think.
Anyways, maybe builders should take up issues with the city that issued the permits and not the neighbors who are trying to preserve their neighborhood (because where else would they get their drugs and dump their trash and pick up their hookers, right?).
The Perez/Maples gang is just worried about their property taxes going up (well maybe not Maples since he doesn’t live here). If they were concerned about cleaning up the neighborhood, then 311 should be absolutely littered with complaints about trash, illegal fireworks, cars parked on front lawns, abandoned vehicles, etc. If you are the neighborhood leadership, I can’t imagine letting the neighborhood deteriorate so badly and then being so sanctimonious when other people want to build new homes — which in turn create a bigger base for funds for schools, police, road repairs, etc.
They look better than the ones they are replacing 🙂
There are for sure predators taking advantage of the neighborhood. The city opened the flood gates. Realtors making hefty commissions, unscrupulous brokers wanting your property for a little of nothing, and taxes skyrocketing.
But what I can say is Clay Stapp is not the racist he has been labeled. He intervened on my behalf when a crooked broker was trying to pull some shady stuff to significantly decrease my net just days before closing. He helped with some complicated legal pieces, but would not accept anything for his help. He also negotiated property for friends and got top dollar for them as well.
Words spoken in frustration or anger may not represent a person’s character.