STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Growing
AGENDA DATE: May 28, 2025
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S): 7
DEPARTMENT: Department of Planning and Development
EXECUTIVE: Robin Bentley
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SUBJECT
Title
A public hearing to receive comments regarding the South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan, an area generally bounded by Haskell Avenue to the north, the Southern Pacific Central Bypass Rail line to the east, Botham Jean Boulevard to the south, and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Rail line to the west and an ordinance adopting The South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan - Financing: No cost consideration to the City
Body
BACKGROUND
In 2020, City Council requested that the Planning and Development Department initiate an area planning process and authorized hearing in South Dallas, the area generally to the south and east of Fair Park. The area plan, known as the South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan (SDFP) is the result of that request. The South Dallas Fair Park area has a rich but complex history shaped by racial segregation, economic inequality, and resilience. Although challenged by disinvestment for decades, community groups and advocates never lost faith in the strength and opportunity in this community.
As a renaissance began to occur in South Dallas, a renewed need emerged to reaffirm and update community goals and priorities through a strategic process and coordinated action by a coalition of area groups. This coalition, the South Dallas Fair Park Taskforce, representing residents, businesses, nonprofit leaders, developers, activists and faith-based organizations, was selected by the District 7 City Council office to represent diverse viewpoints, needs, and solutions for the area. Throughout the four-year planning process, the taskforce guided the process, resulting in this South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan.
The focus of the planning process has been on action and implementation with an eye toward facilitating vibrant and culturally-grounded development, particularly along walkable retail corridors, while also preserving and strengthening the area’s unique, historic, and culturally significant neighborhoods. Working in parallel with the ForwardDallas 2.0 Comprehensive Land Use Plan process, the Taskforce adopted a strategic approach to prioritize key issues and areas and integrate relevant land use elements into the Area Plan that were consistent with ForwardDallas 2.0 themes and future placetypes. They identified six guiding principles to be used as the foundation for recommendations in the plan: Land Use and Zoning, Housing, Economic Development, Infrastructure, Community Wellbeing, and History and Culture. The next milestone involved determining focus areas within South Dallas. After months of deliberation, the Taskforce identified five priority areas: 2nd Avenue, Elsie Faye Heggins Street, Malcolm X Boulevard, Martin Luther King, Jr. DART Station, and Queen City.
In summer 2022, planning staff began engaging the broader community, visiting faith-based organizations, businesses, non-profits, neighborhood associations, property owners, and other stakeholders in South Dallas. For the next two plus years, staff attended more than 100 meetings of various sizes--- from larger community wide events with 100 plus members--- to smaller neighborhood events and individual meetings with property owners, homeowners and business owners. As much of the South Dallas Fair Park area planning process ran concurrent with the update for Forward Dallas, some workshops and community meetings served to inform both of those planning process.
The Area Plan is organized into four sections, Planning Process, Guiding Principles, Focus Areas and Implementation Section. The planning process included lively conversation and debate to arrive at the guiding principles and narrowing down the focus areas within the very large planning area. The implementation section is guided by the priorities established in the previous sections.
The plan serves as a realistic and actionable guide for achieving the community’s vision and facilitating future development. Much of the future land use vision and placetypes from the planning process was adopted with the Forward Dallas update. The plan contains more detailed land use recommendations as well as specific changes to be made in zoning. The main recommendations in the plan revolve around two main concepts, economic and housing growth along corridors, and thoughtful growth and community preservation in neighborhoods.
PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW (COUNCIL, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS)
Both the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) subcommittee of the City Plan Commission and the City Plan Commission were briefed multiple times from 2022 through 2025 on the planning process and the content of the plan. Both provided input into the plan, including at CPC’s May 8th public meeting. Those comments are incorporated into this draft of the plan.
The CPC motion outlining the recommended changes is included with this case report, and the plan has been updated to incorporate those changes. The CPC recommended draft plan is attached and can also be reviewed.
FISCAL INFORMATION
No cost consideration to the City.
MAP
Attached