715 W. Davis St. Photo by Victoria Hernandez.
In 2019, a request to remove deed restrictions for a lot at 715 W. Davis St. was denied by the City Plan Commission with a vote of 12-2. This month, the commission voted 12-2 to approve the same request.
This removal of deed restrictions allows for the potential construction of a five-story mixed-use multifamily development if approved by the Dallas City Council.
The lot in question was purchased by Oak Cliff neighbor and architect Rick Garza in 2008. According to a previous Oak Cliff Advocate article, Garza served as chair of the Planned Development District 830 committee in 2009 and, then in 2010, the committee changed the zoning throughout North Oak Cliff, allowing for five-story mixed-use and multifamily developments. Yet, the lot still had deed restrictions.
The lot has remained empty for at least two decades and was formerly a plating shop, according to an article from Dallas Free Press. When Garza submitted a zoning application in 2019 to terminate the restrictions, it was met with a denial from the commission.
However, as of September, Senate Bill 840 requires cities like Dallas to allow multifamily and mixed-use residential developments, limiting how the city can regulate those developments. Commissioners shared at the meeting that because of the new bill, there are limited options to refute the request.
District 11 Commissioner Jack Kocks said that the bill “ties the hands of communities and municipalities like Dallas” when it comes to restricting the height of new developments.
“And to me, that is absurd,” Kocks said, “and it needs to change.”