The only thing that beats money is voters.
We live in Dallas. We like it here.
Look around, you can see it. Frisco is attempting to annex Dallas. If you think you are safe because of your current zoning, think again. Because make no mistake, there are lobbyists and professionals working daily to change the face of your neighborhood for a short-term gain.
You have to go to work, like everybody else. You can't hang out while the city council deliberates about your neighborhood on any given workday.
So what can you do? WRITE your councilmember, CALL them, and simply say "I want the ability to control the destiny of my own neighborhood!"
There is no "tool" in place to save you other than your vote.The proposal now in front of the mayor and the council is not any form of the original ordinance we spent countless community meetings working on with Forward!Dallas or the Single Family Housing Task Force. It was not arrived at through any compromise with residents. No, it was written by the Home Builder's Organization, and it effectively gives them the ability to shut down any opposition through unachievable petition requirements and unenforceable limits.
If you don't speak up now, face it, most of your block may be replaced. And then, who cares what you think about "the way it was?"
NBC-5 News Story Today - Watch it!
NBC5i.com: Building Battle Brews over McMansions
- Watch the video here!We know TV news has to move in a hurry, but in this "breaking story," NBC-5 reporter Loriana Hernandez really picked up the essence of what can be a complex issue. And this is the whole point of our site. We are only trying to raise awareness of our right to select, or not select, a Stabilization Overlay tool as originally proposed -- not a different document written by the Home Builder's Association that the council and mayor are currently considering that would give us virtually no way to successfully impose reasonable maximums on new house size vs. lot size.
The online survey results in the 4pm newscast? The tone of the question was actually pretty strong:
"Do you think there should be laws against tearing down houses and building McMansions*?"- 58% of respondents said YES
- 37% said NO
- 5% didn't know
* Bear in mind, the overlay tool isn't a "law against" teardowns or new construction, but even with this extreme wording, most of the viewing audience was on the YES side!Neighbor against Neighbor?Let me also say that we are NOT here to condemn residents who live in these new houses. The house was for sale, you bought it or you had it built, and you like it. Now we can all get along fine. There is nothing we can do about the houses that are already built -- and there is no point in holding any kind of grudge against our new neighbors! However, we'd like to see the ability to responsibly manage FUTURE development, while we still can. That is all!
Thanks again to everyone who has helped raise awareness of these issues so we could bring it to the media's attention.
NoMcMansions in Lakewood People! 9/16
How about that? You know, I didn't really know Lakewood People was a forum for the actual people living here... based on the articles I have seen before. But I sent in a letter, and heard back, then, they wrote this story. Once again I feel that journalism isn't lost.
You see, here is why you write letters to the editor. And why you write your council and mayor. Private comments are not enough. If you don't say something, THEY DON'T KNOW how you feel about the issue.
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Group says 'No' to Supersized Lakewood HomesGrass-roots effort underway to protect teardown toolby Kristina ChestnuttSpecial ContributorA group of Lakewood residents have joined together in an effort to educate the community about how homes in Dallas do not need to be "supersized" like a fast food meal.
Residents are using a website -- NoMcMansions.org -- as a tool in their awareness campaign to bring new development in line with prevailing standards in Lakewood.
"Like fast food, it's quick, it's cheap, and it's not something that's good for you in the long term," Jason English, the founder of the site, said of the growing trend to build oversize.
One way the groupbelieves will limit the "McMansions" is the approval of the proposed Neighborhood Stabilization Overlay, which would allow neighborhoods to create building standards for new homes in their area.
"We have great neighborhood character and real value invested in our homes, and the teardown phenomenon has just started to disrupt that process. Give it a couple more years unchecked and you will have a different type of neighborhood," he said.
The City Plan Commission forwarded a revised version of the overlay tool to the city council, but some of the strongest restrictions have been removed. As part of the overlay plan, a neighborhood must gather signatures from a majority of residents, who then decide what building features to limit.
Mr. English said that residents are in favor of the overlay proposal, but only in its original format. In particular, his group takes issue with the increase in the number of homeowners required to sign the overlay's zoning change petition from 50 percent to 75 percent.
"As residents, we all want some ability to define the destiny of the neighborhood," he said. "The idea of getting 75 percent of people to sign something is not achievable."*
[*Editor's note: Consider that the last mayoral election represented a 20% total response... with renter-owned houses, people absent and the sheer time it takes to find at home and talk to every single person, more than 50% actually signing is a huge majority for private citizens to achieve in an area. 50%+ has been the zoning/conservation standard for 100 years in Dallas. It is unprecedented, but they're trying to change that.]Mr. English, who has been a Lakewood homeowner for five years, said the website went online in June as a place where he could rant about this problem.
The group has about 50 people registered for updates, roughly a quarter of whom are actively participating in the campaign, he said. People involved in the awareness campaign hold informal meetings about every two weeks, mostly to share announcements about meetings in the city.
"It's been pretty grass-roots," Sperry Road [ed. Street!] resident Danielle Arvanitis said. "I think the impact we're having is connecting people who already felt the same way we do."
The website contains information about the overlay, updates on city meetings, and all of the city council members' names and conteact information, including sample letters people can use to write to council members.
Lakewood resident Wendy Segrest, who also lives on Sperry Street, said she got involved in the initiative after she had a "McMansion" built next to her 1,460-square-foot home. The new building was more than triple the size of her house.
Ms. Segrest, whose father is a developer, says she's not against new homes, but she is opposed to homes that stick out in the neighborhood.
"I do want new construction to continue," she said. "What I'm against are the homes that so blatantly don't fit in."
Ms. Arvanitis is also concerned about the aesthetics of a neighborhood, but she is more concerned about the direct effects of overly large homes, such as blocked sunlight, drainage problems, and the removal of trees.
"When I moved into the area, there were not any teardowns in the vicinity," she said. "I started getting concerned. From what I can tell, without any limits there's nothing stopping the trend from continuing."
As part ofthe awareness campaign, the Dallas Citizens for Responsible Development launched a line of bumper stickers, yard signs and T-shirts printed with the slogans "Don't Supersize Dallas" and "Stop Levelin' It."
Mr. English said about 200 signs and 100 T-shirts have been sold so far.
If the Dallas City Council passes the overlay proposal as it currently stands, Mr. English said the awareness campaign will keep moving forward undil something more satisfactory is established.
"The issue won't just go away if we end up with something that doesn't give us some ability to control the [destiny of] neighborhood," he said.
Let's say life is a movie
You grow. You buy your ticket. $8. Well I guess prices have gone up.
So you go inside, take your seat, and the movie starts. Maybe you like the movie, or you don't, but you paid for your seat and you're going to watch it.
Then in the middle of the movie, an agent comes over and offers the guy in front of you $10 for his seat. He gets up and leaves, throwing his popcorn all over you. And then, a 16.5 foot guy who pays the agent $24 sits down in front of you. What can you do about it? Complain?
The movie is just getting to the good part. But you can't see it anymore. So, you get up and take your ticket stub to the manager. The manager says, "were all sold out, so how else are we supposed to make more money?" You get angry. "I paid for my seat, and I want to see the movie!" The manager says there is nothing you can do about it, but you are welcome to sit in on their policy discussions.
There has been a lot of talk on the points of what is a reasonable compromise for controlling the destiny of our own neighborhoods. But the main point is, how can you compromise with someone who thinks your seat is worthless, and doesn't care at all about your view? Since we are looking at the possibility of "passing" an ordinance that is unusable and unenforceable, it will happen to you unless you say otherwise.
Hey, since some developers think that "tract homes" that stand for 50 years are disposable, maybe a few years from now, builders will develop the "individual condo" to outshadow the McMansions: a 6-story, single family tower with its own store, gym, cigar room, etc. and a roof-deck that gives a great view of the city, until the 18-story ones come out.
Here's the problem: there are real people being hurt by this. They bought their tickets, they settled down, they live and work in our city. But we're basically expected to understand that your vote, your tax dollars, are really not as important as the next guy's money. Life is like a movie. You only get one ticket.
