A public hearing Oct. 9 before the City Planning and Zoning Commission will be a major part of deciding the fate of the last undeveloped corner of Royal and Greenville in a zoning case that has prompted threats of recall action against Councilman Alan Walne.
The property is zoned for office and neighborhood use. Developer Craig Evans has requested the City rezone the property for retail so that a 24-hour Walgreen’s can open there.
A coalition of eight neighborhood associations is fighting the rezoning on the grounds that it would worsen an already congested, high-traffic area (a City bike path crosses the main thoroughfare) and that retail – especially a 24-hour store – would not complement the surroundings. Also near the intersection is a small office building, a church and a park.
“The current zoning preserves the integrity of the neighborhood,” says longtime resident Bill Hendrix.
“Any other zoning does not protect the neighborhood, especially retail. These Dallas neighborhoods are very important and can easily be hurt by poor zoning.”
Hendrix and others are unhappy with how far Evans proceeded in the zoning process without their knowledge. The zoning request was initially on the Commission’s consent agenda for August because of a lack of opposition. Opposition was lacking, residents say, because the neighborhood associations weren’t given early notification.
Several residents spoke with Councilman Alan Walne about this and other concerns following an August town hall meeting. They told him Evans did not seek out the neighborhood’s input and agreed to meet only at their request.
And they had several questions: Why weren’t they notified of the zoning request? Where did Walne stand on the zoning? And, essentially: Was Walne’s longtime, well-known friendship with Evans leading him to give support to the development instead of responding to their requests for help?
The lack of notification, Walne says, was a glitch: If the homeowners associations weren’t on the City’s list to receive early notice, they should have been.
On the zoning issue, Walne told the group he was simply allowing the process to work as it should by keeping a neutral stance until the Commission had a chance to do its job of making a recommendation to the City Council.
That is why, Walne told the group, he referred questions about the matter to this area’s Commission representative, Bill Blaydes.
“I have said so far that I haven’t made up my mind about the zoning because I haven’t,” Walne says during a recent interview.
“People will think what they want as an agenda.”
“The reason I have been criticized is that I did not take an active role. (But) that is why we have the Planning and Zoning Commission.”
Walne also says the site’s zoning allows development that residents also may find undesirable, while deed restrictions on a zoning change would allow for control. Other allowed options include banks and drop-off recycling centers.
“My biggest concern is what we end up with on this corner,” Walne says. “What we get and what we don’t.”
Comments like that have done little to reassure those who believe Walne is simply parroting Evans’ position. His stance has angered many residents, some of whom made their grievances public in a September Dallas Observer article in which they listed picketing and a recall election as ways to protest the rezoning.
Those steps aren’t out of the question, says Linda Moore, a member of the Stults Homeowners Association.
“We will do whatever we need to get our point across.”
“This looks like a back room deal,” Moore says.
In previous zoning disputes, she says, Walne gave more support to residents.
“That’s what the neighborhood is angry about. He is not representing our interests. He’s not on the City Council to represent his buddy.”
Blaydes, however, defends Walne’s hands-off stance. The Commission member (appointed by Walne and approved by the Council) also is president of the Lake Highlands Homeowners Association.
Blaydes says if the Commission doesn’t give its approval, the Council will probably never consider the rezoning request. While appeals to the Council are allowed, they are seldom pursued.
Blaydes, like Walne, has been charged by some with already backing the zoning change. (The Observer article claimed Blaydes and Evans rode in the same car to attend a neighborhood meeting over the rezoning; Blaydes says he and Evans walked into the meeting together simply because they showed up, in separate cars, at the same time.)
In fact, Blaydes says he hasn’t made up his mind yet.
“This area is very important to me. I intend to listen to both sides and look at what’s being proposed.”
