The Dallas City Council voted 9-6 Tuesday to approve the Preston-Royal rezoning, allowing two towers at the North Dallas site to reach 199 feet if the project meets mixed-income housing requirements.
District 13 Council Member Gay Donnell Willis offered the lower cap and voted for the rezoning. The project helped spur a petition drive to recall her.
Preserve Preston Hollow delivered 5,315 signatures opposing the proposed height and 175 letters opposing the zoning change to City Hall on Monday, the group said. At the hearing, the city secretary reported 262 replies against rezoning and eight in favor after the city sent 283 notices to nearby property owners.
“What does the will of the people you represent mean if you’re unwilling to listen to it and support it?” Richard Brown asked council members as he urged them to reject the rezoning.
What the council approved
The rezoning covers about 7.27 acres at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane, where a 2019 tornado destroyed office and retail buildings. The plan keeps a 54-foot limit closest to homes and allows a third building, planned for offices, to reach 190 feet.
The tallest tower in the original plan would have reached 325 feet, as The Dallas Express reported in October 2025. The City Plan Commission recommended a 240-foot limit with the housing bonus in August. Tuesday’s vote cut 41 feet from that limit.
Burk Interests and Greenway Investment Co. propose apartments, condos, a hotel, offices, shops and restaurants. Developer Leland Burk put the project at about $800 million in private investment and said the developers would pay for the new signals and intersection improvements.
Council rejects lower cap and delay
District 11 Council Member Bill Roth proposed a 110-foot height limit, or 121 feet with the housing bonus. His amendment and a separate motion to keep the hearing open until December 9 each drew six votes in favor and nine against.
Planning staff said they first saw the amended motion on the floor. They flagged some of its parking requirements as unenforceable. The motion called for one and a half to two spaces per apartment. State law limits municipal parking mandates to one space per dwelling for qualifying projects.
District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua backed the rezoning, citing the height reductions and arguing that denser development would help Dallas grow its tax base.
Traffic work before permits
Before the city can issue a building permit for the project, its transportation department must accept a new emergency signal at Dallas Fire-Rescue Station 41’s driveway, upgrades to the signal at Preston and Royal, and a timing study of eight signals on Royal Lane between Midway and Hillcrest roads and on Preston Road.
Where the Willis recall stands
D13 Together, a coalition of District 13 residents, also cited proposed housing near Walnut Hill Lane and Betty Jane Lane and a setback dispute at Melshire Park when it announced the recall effort in September.
“This is no longer about one zoning case or one neighborhood,” Doug Hazelbaker, a spokesman for the coalition, said in the announcement.
Willis had asked the council to delay the vote in October. At Tuesday’s hearing, she said feedback from residents helped lower the height, move taller buildings farther from neighboring homes and extend the proposed traffic study along Preston Road.
Members of Neighborhoods First PAC filed a notice of intent with the city secretary on October 9. Preserve Preston Hollow put the organizers’ target at about 9,500 recall signatures by December 7.
The city charter gives organizers 60 days after notice to file a petition. They need valid signatures from qualified District 13 voters equal to at least 15% of those eligible to vote for the seat in the last general municipal election.
The city secretary generally has 30 days to review the petition after filing. If it qualifies, the council must call an election on the next date the charter allows. Organizers are aiming for May 2027.
In a consent vote earlier Tuesday, the council authorized an agreement with Dallas County to help verify city petitions. The city’s staff report put the general-fund ceiling at $250,000. County commissioners approved their side of the agreement 5-0 on November 3, as The Dallas Express reported. The city secretary retains final verification authority.
How the council voted
Voting yes were Chad West, Zarin Gracey, Maxie Johnson, Jaime Resendez, Adam Bazaldua, Lorie Blair, Paula Blackmon, Kathy Stewart and Gay Donnell Willis.
Voting no were Mayor Eric Johnson, Jesse Moreno, Laura Cadena, Bill Roth, Cara Mendelsohn and Paul Ridley.
