Dr. Myrna Dartson
Special Contributor
“The secret to success is constancy of purpose.”
Benjamin Disraeli
It has been more than a year since I wrote a column for Daltxrealestate.com concerning my and my neighbor’s efforts to save the history and maintain the character of the Elm Thicket/Northpark (ETNP) neighborhood. ETNP is one of several historic freedmen’s communities in Dallas.
As a legacy resident, I was reared and continue to call ETNP the only home I know. My father, like many of the legacy families in ETNP, worked two jobs to buy the home where my mother still lives. It was not uncommon for many families to have both spouses work two jobs to afford their homes. ETNP has always been an affordable neighborhood for workforce housing.
Elm Thicket/Northpark is Worth Saving
In the last 12 months, my neighbors and I have tried to get our message out that ETNP is worth saving. That effort begins with the Dallas City Council approving the proposed zoning changes that would limit the lot coverage, and structure height and require hip-and-gable roofing on 90 percent of the roof area on new homes being built in ETNP. The proposal will go before the Dallas City Council at the Oct. 12 meeting.
For instance, on a 50-by-150-foot lot builders can currently construct up to a 6,750-square-foot, two-story home that is 36 feet in height with a flat roof. This style of home does not fit into the character of our traditional neighborhood.
When the proposed changes go into effect, builders will be able to construct a 5,250-square-foot, two-story home on that same 50-by-150-foot lot. That is still an enormous home. Contrary to how we have been portrayed, ETNP neighbors who support the zoning changes are not trying to regulate what makes a home pretty nor are we trying to stop construction. We are simply saying that these overly massive, “futuristic” looking homes do not belong in ETNP.
Six years ago our then councilman, Adam Medrano, rightfully recognized the importance of ETNP as a historic black neighborhood and one critical to maintaining workforce housing in the city. The City of Dallas came to ETNP and led us through the Neighborhood Plus Target Area.
For what seemed like the first time, the city was asking people of color what we wanted for our neighborhood and what we wanted for our future.
During those meetings, the homeowners said they wanted any new construction to conform to the traditional style of home already in existence. To achieve what homeowners voiced during those meetings, the city recommended an authorized hearing.
We were consistent. We followed the city’s recommendation and we waited four long years for the city to act on our case. The ETNP Authorized Hearing Steering Committee was created in the fall of 2020 and consisted of eight ETNP homeowners, two commercial business owners, and the former city plan commissioner who was serving ETNP when going through the Neighborhood Plus program. The committee met 13 times and made recommendations to the city’s Planning and Urban Design department.
The professionals in the department reviewed the recommendations, made appropriate adjustments, and made their own recommendations. The senior planner for our case came to ETNP for three all-day listening sessions. The city and its representatives have gone above and beyond for ETNP. The City Plan Commission approved the proposed changes unanimously in August.
Despite racial and personal attacks from those opposed to the proposed changes, ETNP legacy neighbors have remained consistent.
One of These Things is Not Like The Others
During these past 12 months, I have learned that ETNP is not alone in seeing how these enormous, non-traditional homes ruin neighborhoods. On the Nextdoor app, newer ETNP neighbors as well as neighbors in nearby Devonshire bemoan how this type of construction takes away from the aesthetic of traditional neighborhoods.
Our case has been called the biggest downzoning case in the city. The legacy residents consider the last three years the biggest downzoning of our quality of life. Neighbors that live in cottages next to these homes are losing their privacy, are forced to stare at 36-foot walls out their windows when they used to see the sky, and have to deal with run-off into their backyard when builders do not build appropriate drainage.
And yet, the legacy residents of ETNP have remained consistent. The City of Dallas asked us what we wanted. The City of Dallas heard us and helped us get to this point. It is now time for the Dallas City Council to fulfill its promise and approve these proposed zoning changes. We have been patient and we have waited.
The remainder of the quote by Benjamin Disraeli goes like this:
“The happiness you are searching for comes through reflecting on the worthy aims you are dedicated to achieving and then taking action daily to advance them.”
For the past year, ETNP neighbors who love our neighborhood for its history and its people have been taking action each and every day to have these proposed zoning changes approved.
I have never loved my neighbors more. We have kept each other informed of what is happening. We have watched out for each other. We have given solace to our legacy residents who would be door-knocking with us if their bodies allowed.
It is now up to the Dallas City Council to fulfill its promise and allow us to Save Elm Thicket/Northpark.
Dr. Myrna Dartson is a legacy resident whose family has lived in Elm Thicket/Northpark for almost 60 years. She is a licensed psychologist and shares a private practice in Dallas with her identical twin sister.
