A city panel sided with one of two builders whose permits were revoked by Dallas officials due to the construction of non-compliant structures in the Elm Thicket-Northpark neighborhood.
The two builders, Danny Le and Akber Meghani, received “stop work” orders at their construction sites after Dallas officials realized city inspectors approved permits using outdated zoning information.
Panel A of the board of adjustments, a 15-member volunteer commission tasked with reviewing appeals related to construction, reversed Meghani’s permit revocation Tuesday, citing the city’s role in the permitting error.
Panelists gauged violations related to height restrictions, roofing standards and land use and sought to determine whether city officials erred in revoking the permits.
Meghani’s construction site on Tyree Street is a duplex. Zoning changes in 2022 reduced the maximum lot coverage to 40% for single-family homes.
Board members said the city did not act fast enough on the violations and allowed construction. They pored over documentation that showed the site’s land use originally allowed duplexes. By that standard, the building’s lot coverage was less than the allowable 60% and not in violation.
“(Meghani) has filed an appeal because he will go out of business on this,” said Dallas Cothrum, president of permitting firm Masterplan representing Meghani’s case. He said a potential $700,000 loss for a home builder is “a complete disaster.”
Board member Rachel Hayden said it was frustrating the building official issued a permit that should’ve never been issued.
“It also puts us in a difficult position because here we are having to be the bad guy, right? Making the decision that is one side or the other, it’s not good,” Hayden said.
Le, too, built a duplex on Victoria Avenue. Le said he could change the roof design of the building, but changing the height and lot coverage would mean the building would have to be dismantled. Board members voted to hold the case until the next meeting in November, indicating they wanted review documents again.
Thirteen of 172 permits were still out of compliance, according to an Oct. 18 memo. Two builders have submitted addendums to their initial designs. Three appealed their cases at the board of adjustments. Those cases are yet to receive a public hearing date. Six property owners have not taken any action.
Meghani and Le, with F80 Capital LLC, had their permits revoked.
Community residents Tuesday urged the board of adjustments to uphold the city’s decision.
Gus Perez, one of the residents who has been writing about the issues in the “Save Elm Thicket-North Park” community newsletter, came to the meeting prepared with a presentation. Perez said the builders, especially Le, knowingly built unlawful constructions.
“More than 90% of the other builders who filed their plan since October 2022 understood the zoning,” Perez said.
The City Council approved zoning changes in 2022 to prevent displacement and preserve the area’s legacy as a historical Black neighborhood.
The city changed the zoning rules for Elm Thicket-Northpark to limit the maximum lot coverage to 40% for new single- and multi-story homes and reduced height restrictions to a maximum of 25 feet from 30 feet. The neighborhood is a former freedmen’s town east of Dallas Love Field airport and the changes were intended to preserve the neighborhood’s character and prevent the construction of large, boxy tear-downs.
The rules were changed after residents asked the city to help preserve older homes that were being razed to make room for larger in-fill development. The neighborhood was split in a contentious debate preceding the vote. Residents against the zoning changes said they risked infringing on property rights and were unlikely to stop gentrification amid rising property values.
Earlier this year, a community advocacy group, Save Elm Thicket, began reporting new construction that didn’t align with zoning and other requirements of the planned development district.
Some homes on Linwood Avenue and Roper Street had the wrong type of roofing. Le built a duplex, which the new zoning didn’t allow on that lot.
City staff conducted a preliminary review, assistant city manager Robin Bentley wrote in a memo. They found permit applications between Oct. 12, 2022, and June 2, 2023, “were evaluated using outdated zoning information, and some permits may have been approved in error.”
“We fought for years to have our voices heard and won the largest down zoning case in Dallas history,” Jonathan Maples, president of the Elm Thicket-North Park neighborhood association said Tuesday. He urged board members “to do the right thing.”
