Sprawl-Busters reported last week that residents in the Lake Highland area of Dallas, Texas are drawing a line in the Texas dirt against Wal-Mart. He’s another update from Dallas: “A 204,000 square foot supercenter is being proposed for a 17-acre site that is less about 2/10 of a mile from the edge of a neighborhood. The residents of the Lake Highlands area found out about this store proposed for this site August 16. A Planning & Zoning hearing was held Sept 22 to rezone and replat the land. It passed upon recommendation from the P&Z staffer September 29 when it had to be resubmitted to better adhere to Dallas’ new Big Box standards. Does it? The city councilman for the district (District 10) is very much in favor of this project and has told the residents of Lake Highlands. The residents, in no uncertain terms, have told him they don’t want that store in that location. The main entrance to the store is at the end of street 2/10 of a mile long that feeds into a nice neighborhood and past an elementary school. It’s less than .5 mile from a junior high school. The opposition, No Big Box No Way! has a web site to update the community on the project – nobigbox.org – and they’ve been canvassing the neighborhoods to let residents know about this. Most of them are unaware. The rezoning hearing in front of the Dallas City Council is scheduled for November 9.
Rezoning is not a right. Citizens must be represented by a zoning attorney to ensure that their legal rights are protected in cases like this. The City Council must create “findings” that show this project will support the health, safety and welfare of local residents. Any project to close by a residential area can be shown to fail that test. Testimony from a real estate appraiser would be helpful in this case, showing how residential property will suffer from location near a store 4 times the size of a football field. The key section to examine in the zoning code is the section on rezoning. An appeal to court could delay the project for six months to a year. The Big D can say No to the Big Retailer, and if the City Council votes to rezone, the residents should take them to court.
