Steven Park Village proposed conservation district boundaries. Courtesy of Dallas Planning and Urban Design.
Stevens Park Village is in the process of establishing a conservation district and held two meetings this month to discuss the details of the ordinance and what standards could be included.
There are currently eight conservation districts in Oak Cliff with the newest being South Winnetka Heights which was established earlier this year.
A conservation district is a zoning tool to help protect the physical attributes of a neighborhood. It replaces the base zoning with zoning tailored specifically for the neighborhood and determined by the neighborhood to promote development or redevelopment that is compatible with its existing character.
To be eligible for a conservation district, a neighborhood must have at least 75 percent of the buildings that are at least 25 years old. Stevens Park Village has the desire to protect the unique qualities of the neighborhood such as the architecture and building materials.
At the neighborhood meetings, attendees discussed each of the standards that could be included in the ordinance and how they might apply to the neighborhood. This includes building and structure height, fences and walls, architectural styles, porch styles, roofing materials, windows and more.
No decisions have been made as to which standards will be included, and the group was able to give feedback on which items they see as the most important.
The neighborhood has held two pre-application meetings with the city and will host a third on June 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Kessler Community Church.
After the pre-application meetings are concluded and the neighborhood decides on what items they would like to explore further, petition forms are created by the city with the items to be discussed in developing a conservation district. Within one year, 58 percent of landowners must sign in favor of moving forward in the process to continue.
From there, the city will hold a series of public meetings to determine the details of the regulations based on neighborhood input and after an ordinance is drafted and finalized, the city council will decide at a public hearing on final approval.
