Update: We’ve been in touch with Rob Baldwin who kindly let us know that the application was withdrawn, prior to the publication of this article, due to lack of support from the neighborhood. No word yet on what will become of the space.  

An old gas station on Walnut Hill could become a five-story mini-warehouse if a rezoning application is approved by the City of Dallas.

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Existing structure on the site.

The site is 8484 Walnut Hill, a block or so east of Greenville Avenue. It’s zoned for mixed use, and applicants —representatives from Rob Baldwin and Associates — are seeking relief from the “residential adjacency” in the side yard setback (as well as landscaping) regulations, citing the absence of single-family homes in the vicinity (private homes necessitate the setback regulations). The elevated DART rail line that abuts the property is zoned single family, so the rule remains in place, unless the zoning change is successful. Also along some of the land’s perimeter is a portion of Moss Park, a heavily wooded area, applicants note (possibly in relation to the landscaping regulations that go along with the existing zoning).

When it comes to zoning, what does mini-warehouse mean, exactly? Code defines it as “a building or group of buildings containing one or more individual compartmentalized storage units for the inside storage of customer’s goods or wares, where no unit exceeds 500 square feet in floor area.” They require a certain number of off-the-street parking and loading spaces and a caretaker house (also with off-street parking). The aesthetics of the construct have not yet been discussed.

Also of note: though the locale is within what most of us consider Lake Highlands, it actually falls within Jennifer Staubach Gates’ District 13, rather than District 10, which covers most of Lake Highlands, so she will have large say in the re-zoning of this slice of our world.

Recently the specialty hospital, kitty corner from the proposed storage space site, closed abruptly. The west end of Walnut Hill before Central, also only several blocks from the proposed development, is booming with big new businesses. So shifts and changes are happening all around — but does that mean anything for or about a mini, five-story storage facility? We will look into it.

8484 Walnut Hill Lane by Christina Hughes Babb on Scribd