08 Jun PEPPER SQUARE RECAP AND CALL TO ACTION!
Dear Resident,
I want to update you on the development proposal for Pepper Square shopping center. Neighborhood leaders have been meeting with Henry S. Miller (the landowner), Master Plan (Miller’s zoning consultant), and Council Member Jaynie Schultz (our District 11 Council Member) for two years regarding Miller’s rezoning and development proposal for Pepper Square shopping center (southeast corner of Preston and Beltline). The neighborhood’s concerns are still being ignored.
Pepper Square Current Status Miller’s current development proposal for Pepper Square is essentially the same as their original proposal. There have been no significant adjustments to address the neighborhood’s concerns regarding density or strain on city resources that come with large apartment complexes. Miller still wants to build 1,550 apartments to be housed in three buildings, one of which has been proposed to be 12 stories tall which will be visible from many homes in our communities. The rezoning request is still seeking approval for a dense (100 apartments per acre) mixed-use development to be built. To review Miller’s current proposal please go to: masterplantexas.com/wp-content/uploads/PepperSquare_CommunityMtg_03052024_FINAL.pdf.
The only leverage the neighborhood has to influence Miller’s proposal is to make our many voices heard at the City Plan Commission (CPC) hearing on June 20th and at the subsequent Dallas City Council hearing where the final rezoning vote will take place.
Call to Action….
• Now is the time to start writing and calling. Contact information for CPC commissioners and Jaynie Schultz, talking points, and an example email are all provided below.
• Save the dates:
1. June 13th at 7:00 PM at the Dallas Bible Church (15765 Hillcrest Rd., Dallas, TX 75248) will be another Pepper Square neighborhood meeting. You do not need to RSVP to attend this meeting. This meeting will provide a brief recap of the Pepper Square rezoning proposal and process, but primarily focus on organizing ourselves for the June 20th CPC meeting at Dallas City Hall. If you have strong feelings about the number of apartments proposed for Pepper Square, please attend this meeting.
2. June 20th at 1:00 PM at Dallas City Hall, in the Council Chambers (1500 Marilla Street, Dallas 75201) will be the CPC hearing and vote regarding Pepper Square. It’s important that as many residents as possible show up and speak at the hearing. There is an option to participate virtually, however, if at all possible, it’s much more impactful to be there in person.
AdditionalBackground:
Based on the results of multiple homeowner association neighborhood’s recent survey – as well as our two prior surveys – the neighborhood’s strong preference is for Pepper Square to be renovated and remain a retail only shopping center.
If the Miller Co. continue to do nothing to attract or even permit interested possible tenants and allows Pepper Square to “wilt” and further deteriorate thinking that will force City Hall to bend to its wishes, then two or three years from now we might be willing to revisit that “acceptable but not preferred” option (allowing for a low-density mixed-use development) but until then, the survey made clear, even in the scenario where Pepper Square remains as is, that residents are strongly opposed to the current development plan Henry S. Miller and Master Plan are promoting. Therefore, residents are willing to wait and explore other development options versus the current plan Miller is promoting.
Shortly after the completion of the survey, neighborhood leaders from the closest homeowner and neighborhood associations met with Council Member Jaynie Schultz to review the survey results. Unfortunately, the neighborhood and Miller / Jaynie Schultz are still far apart in what we want for Pepper Square. Jaynie Schultz tried to test the waters with us by suggesting she maybe would consider trying to negotiate an 800-900 unit development! Shultz and the Miller Co want us to negotiate against ourselves without ever making any effort to compromise for a resolution that both we homeowners and they can find acceptable.
Pepper Square Issues:
• The proposed plan calls for a very dense development at 100 apartments per acre.
This is significantly more density than other nearby mixed-use developments, such as Preston Hollow Village (I-75 and Walnut Hill).
• Buildings of 7, and especially 12 stories, are out of character for our neighborhood.
• The “retail only” option, which has worked well at Hillcrest Village Shopping Center, is not even being considered for Pepper Square.
• The Preston – Beltline intersection is one of the worst in Dallas. Furthermore, the North Texas Council of Governments (regional traffic authority)
confirmed that near this intersection, Preston Road carries more traffic than any other stretch of Preston Road from LBJ to Plano.
How can I get involved and help?!
• NOW – Please email and call the Dallas City Plan Commission (CPC).
• Please attend the Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition’s neighborhood meeting on June 13th.
• Please attend and speak at the Pepper Square CPC hearing on June 20th.
• Talk to your friends and neighbors and encourage them to email and call and attend these meetings as well.
Thank you for being concerned about our community.
Sincerely,
Matt Bach
Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition (PSNC)
Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition:
janet scholl
Posted at 02:56h, 12 Junerecall Jaynie Schultz