Dallas Board of Adjustment Responds to Criticism, Grants Elm Thicket Duplex Variance
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Home builder Danny Le appeared before the Dallas Board of Adjustment on Tuesday for the sixth time since August and was granted permission to finish out his three-story in the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighborhood even though it violates the City’s zoning regulations.
The builder was told in November that he had to change the roof pitch and reduce the height on his project but he could come back for a variance. Le updated the building design, taking a personal financial loss of about $60,000, and that’s what he presented at Tuesday’s Board meeting.
Variance approval requires a majority vote of four out of five Board members. Le’s variance passed 4-1 with Board member Michael Hopkovitz dissenting. The Board of Adjustment approved Le’s lot coverage in November even though it, too, exceeds the maximum because it’s a “nominal difference,” officials said at the time.
Elm Thicket residents Zak Thompson and Jonathan Maples, who recently declared their intent to sue the Board of Adjustment over every variance granted in the former Freedman’s Community near Love Field, spoke in opposition to Le’s request and another new case in the neighborhood on Stigall Street. The Stigall Street variance was deferred to Feb. 18.
“We’ve been at this for eight years,” Maples said Tuesday. “If you’re spending the type of money that we’re spending in taxes now we should have a say in what that community looks like. We’re not telling Mr. Le he can’t be in our neighborhood […] At the end of the day, there is a law. All of us have to abide by the law.
“If nobody is going to abide by the law, what is zoning for?”
How We Got Here
CandysDirt.com broke the story in August 2024 that Dallas inspectors were “red-tagging” Elm Thicket homes under construction, effectively halting work. Builders argued they had stamped plans and permits, while the City admitted it erred in issuing those permits because inspectors were referencing an outdated zoning code that’d been changed nearly two years ago.
Although the City’s permitting software wasn’t updated, the “downzoning” was highly publicized and neighbors have said builders doing business in Elm Thicket knew about the new regulations on height, lot coverage, and roof pitch — and even attended some meetings.
Several builders opted to come into compliance but others, like Le, claimed that would be expensive or impossible, so they opted instead to go before the Dallas Board of Adjustment, a quasi-judicial panel that hears variance cases. Panel A, chaired by Former Dallas City Councilmember Dave Neumann, is handling all the cases related to Elm Thicket/Northpark.
Here’s what happened Tuesday
At Tuesday’s meeting, Danny Le reviewed his project at 6529 Victoria Ave. The approved variance allows Le’s duplex to be 36 feet, 3 inches (zoning dictates a maximum of 30 feet) with a “midpoint roof height” of 33 feet, 6 inches (zoning allows for 25 feet).
This paves the way for Le to finish building his duplex on Victoria Avenue.
Board Chair Explains Reasoning
Neumann has repeatedly advocated for Elm Thicket builders to finish their projects, saying it doesn’t feel right to make a builder tear down an almost-complete project when they’ve been acting in good faith and the City of Dallas is at fault. While the Board of Adjustment is tasked with upholding City codes, they have the discretion to grant variances when deemed appropriate.
“The Board of Adjustment was created by the Texas Legislature and codified by the City of Dallas,” Neumann said Tuesday. “Our charge is not to choose cases or appeals, not to go out into the city, communities, neighborhoods, and seek controversy or acrimony. Our job is as independent-minded citizens from throughout the city to conduct a public hearing, month after month after month, and do so in good conscience and balance based on the criteria that the state legislature set for a variance.”
The Board is charged with determining whether the estimated cost to comply is greater than 50% of the site’s appraised value and whether an applicant’s hardship is self-created, Neumann explained.
“You’re right. The law is the law,” Neumann said. “The law […] created the Board of Adjustment to create a public hearing process that will try to untangle and create fairness where there’s unfairness. To this day, we still do not know the origin and the people involved in this morass of incompetence by city staff and building inspection.”
Le said under oath that he did not have knowledge of the zoning change and did not conspire with staff, Neumann added.
“I would love to get to the bottom and the source of the errors that occurred in this community and this neighborhood,” Neumann said. “We’re here right now to speak solely to this property at 6529 Victoria Ave. We still don’t have an answer as to why a citizen, building a home, spending $600,000 of real money with permission over and over, a permit plus green tags — I think I saw six green tags — [and was] then suddenly issued a stop-work order.”
Variance Granted
Neumann said he begrudgingly moved for approval of Le’s variance because he did not want to harm the neighborhood.
“I promise you, we are sensitive to neighborhoods,” he said. “We’re here, you are here, because of some egregious mistakes made by the city staff. I have not heard yet of any point-blank mistakes made by the applicant. If there were, I would respond to it.”
Board member Rachel Hayden agreed and said Le has done everything right.
“He sat down with the city before starting on his project,” she said. “He obtained what he thought was an appropriate building permit. He obtained [green tags] throughout the course of construction. It’s a travesty for the neighborhood … but I don’t feel that Mr. Lee has acted in any way dishonestly.”
Hopkovitz, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said everyone on the Board was troubled by the Elm Thicket cases. He was particularly concerned about the project’s proximity to the Greater North Park Church of God in Christ. Le previously said the church supported his duplex, but in November, Elm Thicket neighbors submitted a letter of opposition from the church leadership.
“I sympathize greatly with Mr. Le, however, I think that the proximity of this construction to a gathering place of this community … does cause me to wonder whether this is contrary to the public interest,” Hopkovitz said. “It’s not a short-term impact.”
Board member Jay Narey agreed that Le’s duplex probably does not serve the public interest but reluctantly voted for the variance because of the legislature’s provision regarding the “cost to cure.” Le has said the cost to come into compliance would amount to about 57% of the site’s appraised value.
“In my seven years of serving on the Board of Adjustment, I can honestly say that this case is probably the most difficult for me to decide,” Narey said. “I do think that Mr. Le acted in good faith and I’m just extremely sorry that this has been held over again and again.”
Neighborhood Activists Respond
Save Elm Thicket founder Gus Perez called Le’s duplex at 6529 Victoria Ave. “a monstrosity” and said the structure is too tall and “a slap in the face to those who fought for our current zoning to protect the character of our neighborhood.”
Save Elm Thicket issued the following statement late Tuesday evening.
“We are greatly disgusted in the actions of the Dallas Board of Adjustment today under the leadership of David Neumann. His agenda is to support builders at any cost and ignore the board’s mission statement to uphold the ordinances the Dallas City Council passes. Neumann’s actions were truly despicable because he allowed the builder to simply lie under oath. Clear evidence was provided over and over that F80 Capital knew about PD 67 because F80 Capital had to correct another project being built a block away because of a roof violation.
It is more than apparent that BOA has little interest in upholding their mission statement to ensure laws passed by city council are followed. The biggest lie told today was by Neumann himself when he said he cared about Dallas neighborhoods. All Dallas neighborhoods should be worried that their neighborhoods are next after what happened here in Elm Thicket/Northpark. Builders can simply lie under oath and get their way with Chairman Neumann at the helm.”
SAVE ELM THICKET
