Several West Dallas activists are feeling hopeless after the commission agreed to send the City Council a recommendation that would strip residents of the ability to petition to close businesses that have proven to be a danger to the community.
The City Planning Commission on Thursday approved an amendment to the Dallas Development Code to align its foreclosure process — where the city closes a business that negatively affects the community — with Senate Bill 929, a new state law that adds protection for business owners. The national law, approved in May 2023, allows the affected business to claim compensation for its losses.
But the amendment approved by the commission, which will now go to the City Council for final approval, also removes the rights of residents to file a petition to close a business.
Janie Cisneros, leader of Singleton United/Unidos, a West Dallas neighborhood group, said the vote was “disturbing.”
Cisneros said: “I do not believe that this is a city that we live in, that willfully abandons vulnerable citizens. “This is discrimination all the time.”
For nearly four years, Cisneros has worked with community activist groups — including GAF’s Gotta Go, or GAF Vete Ya, campaign — to evict shingles company GAF from its West Dallas location on Singleton Ave. and stop what they say is harmful emissions. of sulfur dioxide and something that affects the neighbors of the area.
GAF has said it will close in July 2029, but neighbors want them out sooner.
The dispute began on Oct. 3 when Cisneros tried to apply for a GAF abatement but was told the Board of Adjustment would not approve his application due to a new state law.
GAF did not respond for comment.
In the past, the fine allowed the closure of, for example, a car wash where drug enforcement efforts repeatedly failed and a small car repair operation that was and in its place for many years as city planners broke through to new areas.
Late last year, the Local Laws Advisory Committee accepted the city attorney’s recommendation to update the code despite many residents speaking out against the law and a section that restricts residents’ rights to abatement. requests.
The recommendation was then sent to the City Planning Commission. The City Council will have the final vote on revising the development code.
“I think this idea that we’re taking away a citizen’s right to free speech is the wrong choice,” City Planning District 10 Commissioner James Housewright said.
“There are many ways and opportunities to speak out, discuss grievances, come before the City Council, vote a councilor out of office, and many other options.”
Several commissioners said their hands were tied by SB 929 and the law was a direct attack on Dallas.
District 7 Commissioner Tabitha Wheeler-Reagan, who represents South Dallas, said she does not support the recommendation because she opposes taking away residents’ right to apply for jobs.
“This is a mess,” Wheeler-Reagan said. “I understand that many of these issues are for the South Region, and this issue was done in a systematic manner. Taking away what is right seems unfortunate and puts us in a bad place.”
The vote was 8-5.
Enough money to close businesses
Another suggestion for a city attorney is to create a non-conforming fund to cover the costs of business losses.
According to the recommendation, the city’s chief financial officer must determine whether sufficient funds are available to pay for the nonconforming property and hold a public meeting to determine whether the continued use of business will adversely affect nearby properties.
An application is considered incomplete if the city has not contributed enough money to the fund’s budget.
The commissioners asked how the fund would work, how much money each county would allocate to the fund and who would have priority when several counties are dealing with the same issue.
“I don’t know what the priority would be,” said Bertram Vandenberg, director of general counsel in the city attorney’s office. “I’m not sure. Could it be first-come, first-served? Could it be two that could be supported at the cost of one? I think that’s something we have to look at.”
Evelyn Mayo, co-chair of Downwinders at Risk, an environmental justice nonprofit, spoke out against the recommendation.
“The current proposal from the city attorney creates a roadblock before the Board of Adjustment can determine if there is any adverse impact found by denying applications if there is no money in the financial system is not there,” said Mayo.
“Let the citizens submit requests to see what the risk is, then they have a place to check the money that will be distributed.”
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