More than two years ago, Dallas officials collaborated with Deep Ellum’s businesses and community members to tackle safety concerns and high noise levels, especially in the wee hours of the night.
Many of their recommendations were implemented, but the City Plan Commission on Thursday approved a public hearing to discuss further measures. It could be months before the public hearing is put on the commission’s agenda.
The proposed plan would rezone the 274-acre area and require restaurants and bars to get a specific-use permit to operate after midnight. The rezoning could also add noise regulations to match the needs of an entertainment district that’s home to live music venues as well as residential buildings.
This week’s vote did not change the area’s zoning; it merely invited community input. But those invested in the commercial district’s future say it’s a step forward toward losing its reputation as an unsafe neighborhood while crime has declined.
A memo from the city’s planning department said several establishments in the entertainment hub have certificates of occupancy typically reserved for restaurants that don’t stay open late into the night. This means that two bars on the same street with the same clientele and music systems could look different on paper and have different security rules to follow.
Stephanie Keller Hudiburg, executive director of the Deep Ellum Foundation, said that’s a big challenge for a nighttime locale that prides itself on its historical ties with music and the arts and is busiest on Saturday nights.
Recent injuries and shootings have occurred in the 1 to 2 a.m. time frame.
A “midnight specific use permit” requirement could level the playing field and add accountability, as all late-night businesses would have to adhere to the same regulations on security measures and alcohol sales, Hudiburg said.
The midnight permit is a key part of Deep Ellum’s community safety plan.
In 2022, partners across city departments — such as the Dallas Police Department and Code Compliance — worked with Deep Ellum businesses, residents and council member Jesse Moreno, who oversees the district, to release a plan with recommendations on enforcing parking rules, improving streets, tackling homelessness and adding security forces to monitor the district, among other things.
Deep Ellum is also experiencing exponential growth as apartment buildings break ground. Another task force that focused on noise levels in the district came up with a tier system to demarcate which noise levels are allowable in a predominantly residential pocket of the district and which preserve the district’s nightlife.
Jon Hetzel, president of the Deep Ellum Foundation, said similar measures have benefited entertainment hubs like Lower Greenville, which dealt with crime that peaked in 2007 and 2008.
With funding to improve crosswalks, lighting and streets, and a midnight permit for businesses in Lower Greenville, “violent crime and the perception of violent crime turned around almost overnight,” Hetzel said. A big portion of Deep Ellum’s plan has already been implemented, he said. Additional security officers were brought in to monitor the nightlife, but a few recommendations to tweak regulations still remain.
“Nightlife is extremely important, but it needs to be done in a responsible way,” he said.
