The Dallas City Council denied a rezoning proposition from Watermark Community Church during its last council meeting of 2023, with allegations of poor community engagement and selfish business interests being leveled against the megachurch.
Watermark had requested rezoning for an expansion into southern Dallas. Council members voted to deny the request without prejudice after a motion by Council Member Adam Bazaldua, who represents District 7. The expansion would have taken place in his district.
“I encourage the applicant to get back to the drawing board to do what is necessary to earn trust within the community and to answer a lot of these outstanding questions that we have,” said Bazaldua.
“When we are sifting through to find transparency, if we are asking questions that are not being answered, then it definitely begs the question: Is this about what Watermark wants, or is this about them coming in and being a part of the community and what South Dallas wants?” he continued.
Bazaldua said he hopes Watermark reworks its request to something that can secure the support of the Dallas City Council.
“Regarding the recent rezoning request that failed to pass the Dallas City Council, we are assessing and will determine the next steps in the near future,” Watermark communications director Caitlin Van Wagoner told The Dallas Express. “We are grateful to be part of the South Dallas community and anticipate years of fruitful partnerships and ministry together.”
Watermark requested the rezoning of nearly 10 acres, according to a case report from City staff. While Watermark’s main location is in northern Dallas off Lyndon B Johnson Freeway, the megachurch has a second “South Dallas” location at 3400 Garden Ln.
The church requested that a portion of the South Dallas/Fair Park Special Purpose District, which includes single-family zoning, be rezoned as a Walkable Urban Mixed Use Form Subdistrict. These districts are intended to be pedestrian-friendly and accommodate several land uses in close proximity to each other.
The purpose of the request, officially filed by Watermark South LLC, was to give the church the ability to “expand services provided,” according to the case report. During the council meeting, Council Member Carolyn King Arnold (District 4) expressed concern that Watermark’s expansion would gentrify communities in southern Dallas.
“From the beginning … when the church went in and purchased property, there was some concern,” she said. “The immediate concern was that the gentrification that we know will take place was not going to include those members of the community at the table. I’m still puzzled and troubled by the fact that that we would have this blatant footstep moving into our communities in such a way that is distasteful.”
“You can’t come into communities with this whole imperialistic mindset — building your empire and disrespecting the people,” she continued. “I think we do need to go back to the drawing board.”
Three residents appeared before the city council to speak against Watermark’s expansion. Pastor Todd Atkins of Salem Baptist Church spoke as a representative of the South Dallas/Fair Park Faith Coalition, claiming that Watermark has not been transparent about its intentions for the expansion.
“Throughout this process, we have remained laser-focused on one question: What are the clear goals and visions of the land and building?” he said. “Although this basic question has been the subject of many public and community meetings, the answer to this question remains vague and constantly changing.”
“For example, several coalition members and community stakeholders asked that any residential uses be deed restricted. Although we were pleased that the applicant accepted the deed restrictions at the [City Plan Commission] meeting, one of their leaders did voice that they did not want the deed restrictions and they wanted housing included,” Atkins explained.
He claimed further that Watermark had not had a consistent representative to engage with and remained unclear regarding its intentions.
Garland resident Andrea Rush said she and her husband were members of Watermark South Dallas. She expressed concern about the “core leadership” of the organization and its “lack of readiness” for the expansion.
“The reality is that, by practice, Watermark is a business. It is not a church primarily,” she said. “My concern is that Watermark is concerned with Watermark first, and I don’t want residents harmed.”
