After Board Nods Construction, Elm Thicket Neighbors Fear More Zoning Violations
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Residents of the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighborhood won the largest downzoning case in Dallas history in 2022, but now after a controversial Board of Adjustment ruling last month, they fear allowing one builder to continue construction will have precedent-setting implications.
This month, the Dallas Board of Adjustment ruled that Akber Meghani, who violated the years-old zoning changes, can finish his duplex project at 6801 Tyree St. because the city erred in issuing a stop-work order — emphasis on the stop-work orders and not necessarily the building permits themselves.
How We Got Here
In 2022, the city’s Planned Development District 67 created zoning protections against displacement and gentrification by ensuring that new construction was compatible with the Love Field neighborhood’s pre- and immediately post-war homes. But when the city erroneously approved building permits and then slapped stop-work orders on builders’ projects near completion months later, as CandysDirt.com first reported earlier this year, matters got complicated.
Neighbors say the Dallas Planning and Development Department shouldn’t have issued Meghani’s permit for a duplex on a single-family lot that didn’t meet the new zoning requirements for height, lot coverage, and roof construction in the first place. Meghani, who is now represented pro bono by Masterplan consultant Dallas Cothrum, was working off city-approved plans and permits based on outdated zoning information.
However, because those permits were issued erroneously, the neighbors supported the PDD’s decision to “red tag” the project and stop construction. Now, the city has ruled to allow Meghani to continue construction and resident advocates fear things are going to get worse.
Board of Adjustment Rules on Meghani’s Permit
In an Oct. 22 Board of Adjustment meeting, Panel A, chaired by former Dallas Councilman Dave Neumann, ruled that the Tyree Street lot was zoned for a duplex and therefore the building inspector erred by issuing the red tag. This effectively reversed the decision to stop work on Meghani’s Tyree Street project based on land use.
Based on testimony provided at the meeting, Neumann and his board colleagues determined that the single-family land use on the Tyree Street site was actually determined via a “visual inspection” and was inaccurate.
But neighbors say such an inspection never happened; the land use map shows that when PD 67 was revised in 2022, the only areas designated for duplexes were along Mabel Avenue and Roper Street.
’Unfair ‘ to the Builder
Board members have repeatedly expressed frustration with the city officials who erroneously issued permits and later — once builders sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into their projects — essentially told them to tear down and start over.
“I am shell shocked,” Neumann said at the October meeting, adding later that it was “unconscionably unfair” to require a builder to tear down a project because of a city inspector’s mistake.
Watch the six-hour Oct. 22 Board of Adjustment meeting here.
‘We Fought for Years’
Residents and founders of Save Elm Thicket, Gus and Mimi Perez, were joined last month at the podium by Elm Thicket/Northpark Neighborhood Association president Jonathan Maples, District 2 Plan Commissioner Joanna Hampton, and three other neighborhood residents: Kemeshia Richardson, Zac Thompson, and Robert Voltmann.
Maples said he explained to the Board of Adjustment months ago that “something was amiss with the zoning” but no one listened.
“We fought for years to have our voices heard and won the largest downzoning case in Dallas history unanimously,” Maples said. “Anyone who says they didn’t know is lying.”
Plan Commissioner Hampton, who voted for the Elm Thicket downzoning in 2022, addressed the Board of Adjustment in support of the neighborhood.
“Neighborhoods throughout our city rely on zoning and development standards to ensure compatibility of new construction,” she said. “Particularly in established neighborhoods where increases in height and scale of new projects from the established community character, these protections provided by zoning are even more vital.”
The 30-year East Dallas resident said her neighborhood has also experienced violations related to residential proximity slope, setback, and parking.
“The building official’s role in these cases is clear,” she said. “They must revoke the permits that were issued in error. While there will be costs for the projects to be brought into compliance, there are also costs for the surrounding community and those who have followed the rules established within PD 67.”
Save Elm Thicket Issues Statement
The advocacy group Save Elm Thicket, founded by Gus and Mimi Perez, issued the following statement after last month’s meeting.
It is a shame that the Dallas Board of Adjustment lacked the integrity to follow its stated mission to “uphold the meaning and spirit of the zoning ordinances as enacted by City Council.”
It was frustrating to see Chairman Neumann create and push a false narrative concerning how a lot was zoned as single-family instead of a duplex lot to convince other board members to favor the builder at 6801 Tyree St and ignore what PD 67 was intended to fix with the old zoning. This made-up “evidence” goes to prove the BOA only cares about builders and their interest over those who actually live here. To say [we are] disgusted with how the BOA conducted themselves today is an understatement.
In one fell swoop the BOA, in their cowardice to uphold a legal stop work order, have declared open season on every marginalized neighborhood in Dallas that happens to be in a convenient and desirable location.
SAVE ELM THICKET
What Happens Now?
The neighbors maintain that Meghani will have to refile his application. When reached for comment recently, Cothrum said he plans to “resubmit a new roof profile” at a cost of about $88,000 to Meghani. Cothrum said the builder will not be seeking variances from the Board of Adjustment.
“We would demolish some of the structure and do a roof pitch that conforms with the requirements of PD 67,” Cothrum said at the October Board meeting. “It would still be a duplex and it would still be slightly over on coverage.”
Danny Le’s Duplex at 6529 Victoria Ave.
Just one other Elm Thicket appeal, that of F80 Capital founder Danny Le’s duplex at 6529 Victoria Ave., is currently pending before the Board of Adjustment, although several could be forthcoming.
The Board heard from Le and his attorney Robert Miklos on Oct. 22 but ultimately deferred his case to Nov. 19. The builder said his Victoria Avenue duplex was “fully framed up” before he was shut down by the city for a nonconforming use.
“Now I’m over height and over lot coverage, and my roof pitch is wrong,” Le said.
He previously told the Board he’d spent more than $600,000 on the project and had hoped to move his family into the duplex. Le submitted letters from surrounding residential property owners in support of his duplex as it was constructed.
The permits were issued improperly and the stop-work orders were issued improperly, Miklos said.
The attorney further argued that the duplex use is allowed because the site has previously been zoned for a duplex and would otherwise be a vacant lot. The attorney offered a compromise to alter the roof pitch at a cost of $20,000 to the builder.
“We were trying to comply with the spirit of what the neighborhood wanted,” he said. “We didn’t want to just come in and kick the door in.”
It appeared Neumann and the board wanted to reverse the stop-work order on Le’s project but after a debate with the Board attorney, the panel opted to hold it over to next month.
