Letters to the Editor — Thoughts on zoning and housing in Dallas

City Council must protect Dallas

Re: “Opposing ForwardDallas isn’t racist or snobbish — It’s a zoning policy regardless of what City Hall says,” by Jim Schutze, July 21 Opinion.

I oppose ForwardDallas 2.0 with the same sense of danger this proposal brings to our American and Texan way of life as I did with the presence of short-term rentals in our single-family neighborhoods.

Why must we continue to defend these incursions on the character of life in our neighborhoods? Neighborhoods are America’s home. The backbone of family life. The places of choice to live peacefully, raise our children and retire.

ForwardDallas 2.0 pillages the American idea of home where the conviviality of neighbors, a child’s freedom to roam and the pride in homeownership are weakened for want of higher density. And why, when there are other solutions?

ForwardDallas 2.0 is so ill-suited to fostering family life that the word forward in its title is a misnomer for planning. While the proposal purports to carry Dallas forward, it will destroy enough of our city’s character as to decidedly take us two steps back.

I call on the Dallas City Council to protect our neighborhoods. Protect our Dallas. Vote for an exemption for R-zoned, historic/conservation and planned development districts, and neighborhood stabilization overlays.

Dennis C. D’Amico, Dallas/Caruth Hills

Applause for environmental justice

The most important and hard-fought outcome of ForwardDallas is completely missing from much of the media frenzy zeroing in on single-family housing. Downwinders at Risk and front-line neighborhoods have been fighting, negotiating, persuading and winning major environmental justice gains in ForwardDallas since its first soft launch in 2019.

The communities we fight for do not have stable neighborhoods because they are constantly at risk of industrial development as a result of planning efforts undergone in the ‘60s and ‘80s.

Where were the protectors of single-family neighborhoods when Floral Farms was being dumped on leading to Shingle Mountain? What about today as GAF threatens single-family neighborhoods in West Dallas or TAMKO Building Products factory in Joppa?

I wish I saw the same passion from concerned citizens fighting for their neighbors living next to cancerous factories as I’ve seen them fighting against a hypothetical duplex.

ForwardDallas is the first city-led plan that acknowledges this history and provides meaningful recommendations that will move the needle forward. It is not perfect, but planned unit development staff should be commended for making this policy impactful regarding environmental justice.

Evelyn Mayo, Dallas

City staffers’ ties questioned

I was wondering which members of the Dallas City Council and the City Plan Commission reside in a historical district or conservation district and thus would be protected from the provisions of the proposed ForwardDallas initiative.

Further, which members have significant holdings in rental properties that could be extended into currently protected single-family zoned neighborhoods if ForwardDallas guidelines are imposed.

Noble Hetherington, Dallas/Oak Cliff

More people fuels more culture

Re: “Handing developers the keys,” by Anne Stone and “Gatekeepers, protect our city,” by Mike Sundin, July 19 Letters.

These letters seem very concerned with protecting the culture of Dallas by maintaining widespread single-family zoning. Not to be rude, but when people think of Dallas-Fort Worth, they don’t think of culture. Maybe traffic.

Medium- to high-density buildings dominate the world’s great cities. New York, Paris, London, Tokyo and Rome are all not known for their suburbs.

Similarly, skyscrapers surround the cultural centers of Dallas, such as the Bishop Arts District. This is no coincidence. Culture arises when people come together. More people means more culture.

Single-family zoning puts everyone in a separate box to drive their car everywhere. Medium-density mixed-development spaces encourage walkability and intermingling of people while maintaining human-scale architecture.

If that’s not convincing, then consider that single-family zoning requires higher property taxes.

Thomas Urech, Richardson

Cutting housing costs is priority

What a Sunday Opinion section you published July 14. I read about two Russian dissidents now in the U. S., the housing crsis and a respected past Dallas mayor criticizing Joe Biden.

After considerable examination of public policy and economic inequality, I have come to the conclusion that the experts who have identified the housing crisis in America as the No. 1 factor in economic inequality are absolutely correct.

The approaches to correcting the crisis are multiple and varied, but doable. It is not acceptable to have housing eat up 60% or more of one’s wages.

The nation’s No. 1 economic priority must be to lower housing costs for working Americans to the 20% range. It’s doable, not pie in the sky.

Furthermore, much of the anger and desperation experienced by so many will dissipate. Our leaders must make this a priority. They need to educate the public why this is so important and how all of us are part of the solution.

Jerry Frankel, Plano

The many costs of moving

Re: “Stop hogging the houses, boomers — Millennials don’t stand a chance against empty nesters controlling a third of the market,” by Dallas Cothrum, July 7 Opinion.

It has been alluded to that property taxes are higher if you move and mortgage rates are also higher.

To elaborate, I, too, live in a four-bedroom, two-story house with pool on a creek. I’d love to downsize.

But as a 72-year-old, my taxes in Collin County have been frozen — thank you so much. They are wonderfully low.

Thanks to Gov. Greg Abbott , they are even lower. If I move, I’ll pick up the tax rate of the smaller home whose owner didn’t benefit from the seven years of frozen taxes. I estimate that’s a $300 monthly hit.

Further, while many boomers are mortgage free, I am not. A new mortgage would have a 5.5% rate, compared with my current 3.5% — a further $300 monthly increase. See why I can’t afford to move?

Gary Tutt, McKinney

Lack of houses inventory

Dallas Cothrum, you missed the boat on this one. I, for one, would be happy to see a young family in our too-big-for-us house in Lake Highlands. But where would we go?

As a boomer, I am looking for a smaller home, a newer build to reduce maintenance, one story, a lot with trees that still is small enough not to require extensive yard work — all in the city of Dallas.

I’ve been looking on and off for seven years. The problem, as I see it, is a total lack of inventory. Houses being built today are huge and multistory. Who is building houses designed for boomers?

Jenine A. Bucker, Dallas

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