At least one City official appeared to reference the latest Dallas permitting debacle at a meeting earlier this week.
Council Member Jesse Moreno (District 2) appeared to hint at the major screw-up that resulted in a bunch of stop-work orders being issued during Monday’s meeting of the Economic Development Committee.
As previously relayed by The Dallas Express, City staff issued permits for a number of homebuilding projects, however, they somehow managed to make their determinations off erroneous zoning information. The permits had to subsequently be revoked.
Here’s some of what Candy’sDirt reported on the council member’s comments:
District 2 Councilman Jesse Moreno took advantage of a public platform Monday to question planning officials about how permits could be issued for projects that didn’t have the proper zoning.
Moreno didn’t mention the recent Elm Thicket/Northpark permit controversy by name, but the reference was implied. Monday’s Economic Development Committee Meeting wasn’t posted for such a discussion, and under the Texas Open Meetings Act, officials have to stick to the agenda. However, Moreno’s questioning was germane to the topic at hand — the ForwardDallas comprehensive land use plan — and no one stopped him.
For context, CandysDirt.com broke the story last week that the City of Dallas had erroneously issued permits to builders in the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighborhood and then asked them to stop work after several incorrectly zoned homes were nearly complete.
Neighbors in the former Freedman’s community near Love Field fought for and were granted a “downzoning” in October 2022 that regulates development standards such as building height, roof construction, and lot coverage. In late July, several “stop work orders” were issued on projects in various stages of completion after city staff, with the help of vigilant neighbors, determined permits were issued erroneously. In at least a couple of instances, builders were putting up duplexes in areas that were zoned only for single-family homes. The builders have been told they can resubmit plans or appeal to the Board of Adjustment, we reported in a follow-up Monday.