After months of pressure from residents and activists, Dallas officials formally requested a review of the cost to shut down two industrial sites in southern and West Dallas neighborhoods.
The five-signature memorandum submitted by Council members Laura Cadena, from District 6 and Adam Bazaldua, in District 7, on Nov. 21 marks a turning point in long-running efforts to shut down GAF and TAMKO.
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Cadena and Bazaldua, with additional support from council members Chad West, District 1; Zarin Gracey, District 3; and Paula Blackmon from District 9, formally requested city leadership to direct the city manager to use contingency-reserve funds to hire a consultant.
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The consultant would calculate the amount the city would need, under local zoning and non-conforming-use law, also known as amortization, to compensate the owners of the shuttered properties, thereby paving the way for closure.
The memo requests that, within 30 days of the determination, the issue be briefed to a city committee and scheduled for a vote by the City Council.
“At this time, our sole request is city council approval to initiate the property appraisal. No additional actions can be considered until those appraisals are received,” said Bazaldua in an email.
Cadena, Blackmon and Gracey did not respond to a request for comment.
TAMKO, a shingle manufacturer that has operated in Joppa for nearly 40 years, said in an email that relocating its operations would cost over $200 million. The company stated it recently met with Bazaldua to discuss its investment in reducing emissions at the facility.
“In August 2025, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality renewed our air permit, reaffirming both our ongoing compliance with state and federal regulations and our commitment to maintaining safe, responsible operations,” reads the statement. “We will remain a constructive partner to the city of Dallas throughout this review process and look forward to providing additional information as the city’s evaluation continues.”
GAF, a roofing materials company headquartered in New Jersey, which has operated its West Dallas facility for almost 80 years, did not respond to a request for comment.
GAF has said in the past that it will close in July 2029.
Long-standing concerns about pollution
The move comes after months of campaigning by community and environmental justice groups, who have been calling for the shutdown of what they call the “Toxic Twins”: TAMKO and GAF.
Advocates argue the factories have contributed to dangerously poor air quality and serious health problems in neighborhoods long burdened with industrial pollution.
Janie Cisneros, the leader of Singleton United/Unidos and a campaign for more than five years to shut down GAF, said she wasn’t aware of the memo request but was happy to see their efforts were getting attention and moving forward.
In August, Bazaldua announced at a public budget town hall that he intended to start the five-signature memo process to begin the formal evaluation and potential closure of the plants.
What happens next
With the memo officially submitted, the city will now hire a consultant to determine the compensation owed to the shuttered plants through amortization. This tool enables cities to close businesses that have a negative impact on the community.
After state legislators in May 2023 passed Senate Bill 929, which protects business owners and allows affected businesses to request compensation for their losses, environmentalists’ efforts to shut down these two facilities have stalled.
Once that amount is calculated, council members must bring a formal proposal back to the full City Council docket for a vote.
West, who signed the memo, said in a statement, “ I believe in neighborhood self-determination and trusting my fellow council members to know their district’s needs better than I do. Signing the memo to allow the council to discuss this was an easy decision.”
Dallas resident Delores Burnes, 73, reads a pamphlet with Larry Bowens, 64, during the Singleton Westmoreland Authorized Hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in West Dallas. Burnes lives across from GAF and said the factory is impacting her health and the churches and daycares around the area.
Christine Vo / Staff Photographer
The memo directs the city manager to schedule that vote within 30 calendar days of the consultant’s report, potentially bringing the issue before the entire council in early 2026.
For residents of Joppa and West Dallas, this may be the most concrete sign yet that their long-standing complaints are being taken seriously, said Caleb Roberts, director of Downwinders at Risk.
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Closure is not guaranteed; much depends on the council’s final vote, whether contingency reserve funds are deemed sufficient, and how the city balances public health concerns against costs and business interests.
Still, community activists call the submission of the memo a meaningful milestone.