Forestwood Development Update: Neighbors Negative, Back to Drawing Board

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It’s not over, but once again a neighborhood is squawking about the same things we hear so often with re-zoning and new development I should really create and market a NIMBY PACKET:

Logo: Name of development with a red line slashed through it. Put on yard signs and plant them in every yard all over North Dallas. Create buttons to wear on baseball caps, lapels, etc.

Premium package: bumper stickers.

Methodology: mass quantities of email communication, calls to local bloggers and reporters (good luck there!), call City Councilwoman every day, fill busses to plan committee and City Council hearings. Take friends to all meetings (offer to drive them) and stay for at least 1 hour, loud applause, louder boos.

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Forestwood-3 — Shirestone, directly behind Forestwood, is bursting with slash signs.

I’m being a smart-aleck, but seriously, this seems to be the formula. Now it’s happening up at the intersection of Inwood and Forest, where we told you about the battle to bring a mixed use concept to an aging family-owned rental property. The property owners, the Daniels family, who have owned the land since 1849, want to yank down the 208 old townhomes and replace them with (up to) 350 rental units, a mix of town homes and apartments. This would include townhomes with garages and small yards, and a large multi-family unit with elevators that would have a boutique-hotel feel to it. Oh, and also a pool.

“This will be a long-term lease with the developers,” says William Dahlstrom of Jackson Walker LLP, a land-use expert and attorney who is representing the owners. “The same owners will continue to own the 30 acres of land. It’s the same family that has owned this land since 1849!”

Back then, it was likely a farm or ranch, as was most of the surrounding area. In 1972 the land was zoned for townhome type residences, which is exactly what it’s been for the last 40 0dd years.

Here is a report from Jennifer Staubach Gates on the progress. In a nutshell, she says that 90 families in the neighborhood are against the redevelopment of the Daniels’ family Forestwood Townhomes, while 60 are in favor. The issue seems to be the retail component. These neighbors of course have retail right across the street at the northeast corner of Inwood and Forest, and they (90) don’t want more. She thinks the parties can eventually reach a consensus with more discussion.

Interestingly, the neighbors were very much in favor for the Daniel family’s offer to donate additional land, like 6 acres, to Jesuit for playing fields. Can you get one without the other?

Letter From Jennifer Staubach Gates on Forestwood Development