Rezoning for Far North Dallas’ Pepper Square Deferred Again to Feb. 6
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A mostly vacant shopping center at Preston and Belt Line roads is not any closer to becoming a mixed-use development with up to 984 housing units, after yet another deferral by the City Plan Commission on Thursday.
The Pepper Square project, proposed by developers with Henry S. Miller Co. was already recommended for approval by the CPC on Aug. 8, but a judge ruled in November that the project was not properly advertised so notices were reissued and another public hearing was held in early December. At Thursday’s meeting, CPC commissioners held the case again, this time to Feb. 6.
The delays have been costly, officials representing the developer reported Thursday.
“We’re spending a lot of attorneys’ fees on this matter,” said developer Greg Miller. “Every day of delay is a huge economic injury to this property. We’re unable to make any significant new long-term leases because we’re pending this redevelopment opportunity.”
Neighbors with the Save Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition have repeatedly cited a survey showing about 91% of those who live near the site are in opposition.
Plan commissioners met in closed session for about 30 minutes to discuss the Pepper Square zoning case before announcing the deferral. Each individual commissioner and City Council member was named in a lengthy legal filing submitted by Save Pepper Square late last year.
Opposition to Pepper Square
Residents have clearly grown weary of appearing before the CPC and asking to renegotiate the Pepper Square plan with developers.
Save Pepper Square member Matt Bach said he’s opposed to Henry S. Miller Co.’s current proposal but supports the idea of a revitalized Pepper Square that aligns with the neighborhood’s vision.
“As a community, we all want to see Pepper Square transformed into a vibrant, thriving shopping center,” he said. “Unfortunately, the current plan does not adequately address critical concerns related to density, building height, green space, and preserving the character of our neighborhood.”
The neighborhood wants indoor and outdoor restaurants, diverse retail options, and owner-occupied dwellings that offer “missing middle” opportunities, Bach added.
Former Dallas City Councilmember Sandy Greyson pointed out that there weren’t 100 people in the chambers at Marilla Street on Thursday like there were when the CPC first heard the case in August.
“It doesn’t indicate a lack of interest or a change of heart for any of those folks,” she said. “We didn’t ask them to come, feeling that nothing was going to change today. We would like to be wrong about that and see this case change for the better. There are still 1,000 people who oppose this zoning request. We can sum up our opposition in less than 10 words. It’s too high, too dense, and in the wrong place. That was true last August, it’s been true for the past two years, and it’s still true today.”
Signs Advertising Pepper Square Rezoning
Land use attorney Victoria Morris with Jackson Walker LLP displayed photos to confirm that five required signs advertising the rezoning request were posted in response to the judge’s order in early December.
“Since then, the Jackson Walker team … visited the property daily to document unequivocally that the zoning signs have been posted,” Morris. “In instances when a zoning sign went missing or had been weathered, we promptly replaced the sign.”
The signs are affixed to posts with zip ties, Morris explained.
City code requires that signage be posted 14 days after the filing and remain in place continuously until the matter is approved or denied by the City Council. It’s the responsibility of the developer to ensure the signage stays intact, plaintiffs with the Save Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition argued in the October legal filing.
Masterplan consultant Lee Kleinman, a former Dallas City Council member, pointed out that Henry S. Miller representatives have met with neighbors at least 10 times “and they even held a small group planning session with the three closest neighborhoods adjacent to Pepper Square.”
“Incidentally, none of the speakers today even live within the notification area, and we did work with the people that are closest,” he said. “The only position taken by this neighborhood was to keep a massive retail development that quite frankly is not leasable in today’s environment.”
The developer repeatedly made concessions including reducing the number of housing units by half and the proposed height by half, and the only response from surrounding neighbors, Kleinman said, was to “keep it retail.”
Neighbors said Thursday they haven’t had a meeting with the developer since an acrimonious neighborhood meeting with their City Councilwoman in early March of last year.
When the CPC makes a recommendation next month, it won’t be binding. The ultimate authority lies with the Dallas City Council.
