$5 Million to ATT?  $2 Million from Woodard?	8/14/08
Betty Culbreath

What City in its right mind gives one Company (AT&T) $5 million to move downtown and takes $2 million from another (Woodard Company) to force them to leave downtown after 80 years in the same location?

As I said in 14-1 was always wrong, 14-1 was Bad for Dallas when it was forced on this city and the council's August 13, 2008 vote reinforced why it's Bad now.

Not In America! Only In Dallas

The Constitution of the United States of American was written to protect the rights of the People.

Lead by Councilwoman Angela Hunt (in my district), the Dallas City Council voted to deny Woodard Paint & Body Shop a Special Use Permit to continue operating their business as they have for 80 years.  

Woodard is a multi-million dollar a year business that owns their land, pays sales taxes and property tax, employs PEOPLE and provides a valuable service downtown.  The City Council has put a very good company out of business.

Why would anyone want to invest in opening a new business in Dallas when a whim of a few people can close your business down?  

The one thing that makes this worse is Mr. Woodard sold property to Dave Fox to build Bryan Place.  The first people who moved into Bryan Place got County tax assistance for down payments on their homes.

One of the main reasons Dallas is behind Houston and Atlanta is this very type of action.  Neither city would have voted to close a thriving 80 year old business.  In Houston and Atlanta, their mentality would be, Woodward was first and new people must learn how to get along with them.

Only Dallas wants to throw out all the Old to bring on the New.  Soon Dallas will pass an Ordinance to make people over 65 move from single family residential districts to some assisted living zoned district because one day they will need assistance.

The Woodard land will sit there empty with no sales tax revenue for years, just as the Fishburn cleaners building did.

Sad Day For The Constitution.