Steve Evans

05/20/04 Citizens have no protection under zoning laws.

To whom it may concern:

Anyone with the pockets for even minimal commercial development can acquire residential land, then destroy everything on it without ever applying for rezoning. The citizens don't have a thing to say, even with an entire rezoning process currently in place now which gives them that right because there are absolutely no deterrents for totally ignoring the rezoning process.

In fact, it makes better business sense to ignore the rezoning process and the citizens who make their homes here. Why? Because if you destroy & develop a residential property, even for an obviously illegal use, you have not broken a single law or violated a single code or ordinance until you put a vehicle or a pile of something ON it, which then constitutes illegal usage. Even then you will be invisible to the City of Dallas unless somebody reports you, and even after that all you get is a Notice of Violation & up to 60 days to move the pile or vehicle. Do so, and you are in compliance, the City is satisfied.

Repeat the offense, and the offenses aren't cumulative. The City of Dallas starts all over again with a Notice of Violation so as long as you move the pile or vehicle, you can do the dance and continue to illegally use the residential property without paying commercial property taxes on the land. It's totally up to you if you ever apply for rezoning. Since developers think 3 to 10 years or more ahead, don't use the property if it's a hassle, just squat on it.

It's already been destroyed and you can now wait as long as you want until there's no more opposition. Then, anytime you feel ready, you can apply for rezoning, or not, strictly up to you. If you want to use the property bad enough, not only do you have the right to apply for rezoning , even after destroying & illegally using it (in my case for over two years now), but you can re-apply ad infinitum if you're defeated the first time or any number of times. This turns it into a simple race of the pockets and in a poor neighborhood like mine, guess who wins?

I now live next to acres of residential property that were scraped and graveled over where before it was undeveloped wooded residential property. Four businesses on my block alone have acquired residential properties, then illegally extended commercial businesses onto them without ever to this day applying for rezoning, which should have been done before the properties were destroyed. I have been reporting this to the City of Dallas since March 01, 2002. As of April 22, 2004 not ONE SINGLE CITATION has been issued. I have climbed the ladder through three Code Compliance District Managers, the Director of Code Compliance, my City Councilman James L. Fantroy, and most recently Francisco Conde, the Mayor's Assistant & Public Information Officer. Here is the inquiry he sent out on my behalf: