09/02/04  WHERE'S THE OTHER SHOE?

Does one shoe fit all who live in Dallas?

Our community successfully appeared before the Dallas City Planning Commission three times in early 2002 to defeat with the commission's, much appreciated, cooperation a proposed high density development along Niblo Road east of Spur 408 in southwest Dallas.

A couple of years later, we are again faced with a similar attempt to develop the same tract at about the same high density disguised as a planned development.  This time the developer threw in a few larger lots, but the average lot size still falls into the same category.

I would like to encourage the commission to escape the inherent biases associated with such a development case, not rely on others in the city to provide selected information. See for yourself and most importantly decide for yourself what is here, what has worked for this community for a long time, what has and is working unusually well for Dallas and our school district which happens to be Duncanville.

Words can't always do justice to a situation like ours.

This is a small area surrounded by camps for children, our future leaders and our dreams to be.  Somehow, for many years in spite of ever increasing pressures to lessen its beauty, reduce its preservation of nature, and upset its amiable community nestled in its midst, it has continued to weather attempts to alter its uniqueness.

The last remaining parcel of this larger tract whose sister parcels consistently have been zoned half acre in recent years is again coming before the chopping block for a thumbs up or down decision.

Our interest is not to stop or avoid development.  Our interest with the commission's assistance is to cultivate the continuation of what has and is working  very well from many perspectives.  Proponents of development in the Mountain Creek and Joe Pool areas of Dallas think in terms of cookie-cutter, scrape and drag, higher density, one shoe fits all afflictions.

These same proponents in the next breath ask for help to stop the slow death of the Red Bird (Southwest) area.

Where is the other shoe?

Where are other choices to the Dallas One Shoe Fits All?

Why can't a community select the kind of development that is compatible with what's already there, that  Dallas' own Land Study recommends to "foster", that has worked very well for over fifty years?

Is this a feudal system where community interest are subservient to the whim of their elected official?

Visit our area, talk to residents, and see for yourself that the continuation of the type of development that is already in place here really is 'Dallas' other missing shoe.'

S. Bracken