Letters to the Editor — Historic trees, Dallas neighborhoods, bail lawsuits

Save trees and homes

Re: “Who will speak for the trees? The people will,” by Sharon Grigsby, Jan. 14 Metro column, and “Dallas is risking single-family neighborhoods — City pushing a plan, in the name of affordable housing, that puts density first,” by Douglas Newby, Jan. 14 Opinion.

Kudos to Grigsby and Newby. How nice to see Dallas taking the initiative to save historic trees. Now if we could get builders to do the same. It has long been disheartening to see huge neighborhood trees bite the dust to be replaced by twigs.

It was informative to read Newby’s column on the future of Dallas’ traditional neighborhoods. Again, disheartening to read story after story about Dallas not having affordable housing and then seeing so many affordable small to medium sized homes being torn down. These are homes perfect for young families, seniors, teachers, first responders and nonprofit workers who keep our city going.

No wonder so many of these categories of people must leave Dallas and go to the suburbs to find affordable houses. This is being done in the established neighborhoods: Lakewood, Preston Hollow, Lake Highlands, etc. How many more will leave when you start cramming multi-level, high density buildings on small neighborhood lots with no zoning?

Newby took the time and did the research to offer creative planning ideas for high-density building. It will take a lot of give and take on all sides to keep Dallas a viable place for all types of taxpaying citizens to live and work.

Sherrie Hull, Dallas

Forward Dallas needed

For two years, the city’s Planning and Urban Design staff and Comprehensive Land Use Plan Committee have worked on the ForwardDallas Comprehensive Land Use Plan update. Our city faces a housing shortage, particularly for middle-class and low-income residents.

To address the housing shortage, the ForwardDallas draft suggests several strategies, including “missing-middle” housing. What is missing middle? Buildings comparable in scale to a single-family home with more than one residence, such as duplexes and accessory dwelling units, also known as granny flats. Missing middle allows essential workers like teachers and firefighters a better chance at living in increasingly unattainable neighborhoods.

Newby claims ForwardDallas would “circumvent” single-family zoning and allow four units on any single-family lot. Not true. Under state law, a comprehensive plan cannot change zoning. Legalizing expanded missing-middle housing will require code changes. Dallasites have a range of perspectives: Some want to allow a four-plex on any lot and others, like Newby, vehemently oppose expanding missing-middle housing.

Crafting code changes to make the missing middle work for Dallas will require thoughtful efforts from our policymakers. Misrepresenting ForwardDallas as a sweeping rezoning is a cynical attempt to stop consideration of missing middle as a tool to tackle the housing shortage.

Brent M. Rubin, Dallas,

Vice Chair, Dallas City Plan Commission,

Chair, Comprehensive Land Use Plan Committee

Tsunami to hit neighborhoods

Re: “Minneapolis isn’t Dallas,” by Stephen McKeown, Tuesday Letters.

I am afraid McKeown’s letter to the editor is representative of the naive and complacent majority in our city with no idea how close we actually are to becoming like Minneapolis.

In his critique of Mark Lamster’s column, “Resist the urge to go BANANAs,” McKeown expresses childlike belief that what has happened in Minneapolis in regards to the elimination of single-family zoning are ” ideas that have no chance of ever seeing the light of day in Dallas (thank God).”

Oh, my. McKeown read the Arts section but overlooked the Opinion section. Otherwise, he would have read the masterful work of Doug Newby with the headline, “Dallas is risking single-family neighborhoods.” In his full page piece, the imminent threat to our neighborhoods could not be made more clear. The word “imminent” means right now! As soon as four or five City Council members can cram it down our throats!

Everyone! Please salvage the Opinion section of Sunday’s newspaper and read Newby’s op-ed. Email your councilperson now!

Those of you who are stubbornly sleeping through the warning sirens heralding the coming tsunami that will literally wipe your neighborhood off the map, wake up!

Ellen Beadling, Dallas/Caruth Hills and Homeplace

Cash bail lawsuit flawed

Re: “Cash bail lawsuit fails to move up — U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear case alleging practice unfair to some,” Jan. 13 Metro & Business story.

Regarding this story, Elizabeth Rossi, representative for the plaintiff’s attorneys, was quoted as saying, “Virtually every court that has addressed the constitutionality of cash bail systems like Dallas County, including the district court judge in the Daves case, has found that the system is unconstitutional, unsafe and extremely costly.” What Rossi failed to mention is that every court of appeals that has reviewed the plaintiffs’ arguments has reversed the decisions made by the trial courts.

They have lost appeals in Walker vs. City of Calhoun, Daves vs. Dallas County, ODonnell vs. Harris County and Little vs. Doguet. The plaintiffs insist on making the same fundamentally flawed arguments no matter how many times they have been soundly rejected in court.

Ken W. Good, Tyler

Bird cartoon great fun

Regarding Wednesday’s editorial cartoon, as I read the mother bird’s comment, I am thinking, yep our current media (TV, radio, social, etc.). Then I start to laugh when I read the cartoon’s caption at the bottom: “Bird explaining artificial intelligence.”

I still have a question: Is the bird’s comment about current media’s intelligence or about the new software programs that many believe can drive vehicles and scan thousands of pages and spit out tidbits that were digested?

I got my chuckle for the day. Thank you!

Bill Martin, Quitman

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