When Paula Blackmon announced a public meeting regarding a proposed concrete and asphalt batch plant in her East Dallas district, the District 9 Dallas City Council member inadvertently set off the digital version of a telephone tree.
Greater Casa View residents were up in arms over the proposed plant planned for a large plot near Northwest Highway and Garland Road after Blackmon announced a June 16 public information session to be held via Zoom.
Forced Out of Retirement
In fact, it was an issue so serious that it forced Mark Clayton, the district’s former council representative, to speak out on social media — a rare event, indeed.
“It has started to circulate that Martin Marrietta wants to put a concrete batch plant by the Hobby soccer fields in the Greater Casa View area at NW Hwy and Garland Road,” Clayton said via Facebook. “This is the same plant that was voted down by council a year and a half ago in the Joppe area of Southern Dallas. It is almost an identical proposal. The reason that is was denied then is the same reason it should be denied now. There was concern on air pollution, there was concern about the destruction of property values, and there was concern about the inevitable truck traffic that would come in on residential streets.
“The only difference between that case and now is the spin on how they’re trying to sell it,” Clayton continued. “It is the same applicant and the same zoning consultant except the way they’re positioning it is that it’s for the 635 project. It isn’t. It never was. It’s a slight of hand that allows you to assume it’s a temporary plant for a temporary project. That plant will be there and will be the primary batch plant servicing the entirety of DFW for the life of its plant.”
Neighborhood Organizing, Virtually
A whirlwind social media campaign brought together neighborhood associations and business owners in the Garland Avenue corridor against the proposed batch plant, which was represented by the firm Masterplan.
Though the area grows increasingly industrial as Northwest Highway intersects with Interstate 635 just past Garland Road, the City of Dallas has invested heavily in creating more opportunity zones for businesses, as well as working on the aesthetics of some aging infrastructure in the area. Residents frequently noted that allowing such an intensive use as a concrete and asphalt batch plant in the area would go against all of the economic development work the city has employed.
A petition with almost 2,500 signatures, plus several messages from area residents, was enough to get Blackmon to announce on Tuesday that she would not support the project.
“After listening to each of you that emailed, called, or tagged on social media, I will NOT be supporting this project and will be moving to deny it at the June 24th Council meeting,” Blackmon said.
For more detail on the proposed batch plant, see the documents provided by Blackmon below:
