Photo courtesy of Susan Lee and the Elmwood Neighborhood Asscociation.
Five years after applying for an authorized hearing with the city of Dallas, the Elmwood neighborhood will finally be able to develop a downtown area through an expedited hearing process that is set to begin in March.
During that process, neighborhood leaders are expected to address walkability, parking permitting and other initiatives that would promote small businesses and community members to activate a downtown area in the neighborhood.
Whitney Marsh, president of the Elmwood neighborhood association, describes the neighborhood as “an area that desperately wants to thrive.”
The authorized hearing — a process where the city council can consider proper zoning as opposed to zoning that is applied for on a case by case basis — is high priority because it has been in the works for so long. The initial application was filed in 2018.
But the project was put on the back-burner to make room for the West Oak Cliff Area Plan, which passed in October 2022. Marsh described WOCAP as “creating a roadmap” for the downtown Elmwood plans.
As things are right now, small businesses are discouraged from opening in the neighborhood, she says.
Last year, the local coffee spot Peaberry Coffee announced that their second shop would open in a building owned by Marsh, but, due to parking parameters, the shop has been unable to open.
“We are at a standstill with permitting,” Marsh said. “We can’t get parking of all things. The kicker is, they want all these parking requirements and guess who owns the parking lot…. The City of Dallas.”
Marsh says things need to change “as soon as possible,” and by City of Dallas standards, it seems like they could.
District 1 City Council member Chad West said an expedited hearing process will have zoning parameters on the city council agenda by October. Before that will be community meetings and city plan commission hearings all spreading out over an eight month span.
Courtesy of City of Dallas.
The first community meeting is slated to be held in March. The Advocate will provide updates when details for the meeting are available.
While zoning changes could be made within the year, West said things like reconfiguration of roadways, building sidewalks and improving landscaping could be funded through the 2024 bond.
Promoting small businesses and walkability are two of the factors that will make the area feel like a true community epicenter.
“A neighborhood where people are walking is by far a more safe neighborhood,” Marsh said. “If we can get sidewalks in and are able to navigate downtown easily… it’s going to create a safer environment for Elmwood.”
