South Dallas residents are voicing their ideas and concerns for how they want to see their neighborhoods grow in the coming years as city planners move forward with the South Dallas/Fair Park area plan.

At the first of three zoning meetings, nearly 100 people gathered Tuesday as city staff walked them through the process of changing the zoning code at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center. Retail, restaurants and other new developments could fill vacant space in South Dallas, bringing forth revitalization in an area that has experienced historic disinvestment.

South of Interstate 30 and around Fair Park, zoning changes and other efforts from the area plan could allow for a wider variety of offerings for places around Second Avenue, Elsie Faye Heggins Street, or Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards.

The South Dallas/Fair Park area plan, approved by the City Council in June, aims to welcome needed revitalization while preserving the community’s character. It lays out how policymakers, developers and community members could navigate recent interest in the area.

Multiple questions pertained to new, contemporary-style homes popping up in the area, which contrast older homes. One person wrote a question, asking how city staff might stop the construction of shotgun-style houses, a style that can be seen towering over some low-lying dwellings in the area.

“They are ugly,” the comment read. Attendees laughed. Diane Ragsdale, a former council member on the area plan’s task force, has called some of the new homes “grossly incompatible.” She said the plan would help get those home designs in areas where they’re appropriate.

“We’re trying to create compatibility,” Ragsdale said. “We’re trying to ensure that we all can enjoy different designs, but yet located in the appropriate place.”

Officials at the discussion — which included senior planner Patrick Blaydes and plan commissioner Tabitha Wheeler-Reagan — took comments and questions from residents who had concerns for their specific areas or wanted to understand how city staff could address issues.

Zoning recommendations in the plan include reviewing parking requirements and allowing for a variety of land use in the area. The previous code, developed roughly 25 years ago, was protective, addressing issues that South Dallas faced at the time, such as an abundance of convenience stores that sold beer and wine and little nutritious food.

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The development of the new area plan, crafted by community members and stakeholders, spanned several years and involved more than 100 community events. Still, the city must seek feedback on a change to the area’s zoning code. On Tuesday, Wheeler-Reagan said she saw many new people involved at the meeting.

“This is definitely what we wanted to see,” the commissioner said. “We thank you for all the new faces … Most of the people, I don’t think I’ve ever saw in here before.”

City staff explained what the process will look like over the coming months to have changes to the zoning code approved. After three meetings, the city has the option to hold additional meetings about the changes before they head to the City Plan Commission, and then the city council.

This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.