News (Archived)
Information will be posted from the most recent to the oldest.
To: PMHA members,
I urge you to complete this short four-question survey if you have concerns about the development and large number of high-rise buildings being planned for Pepper Square shopping center: https://s.surveyplanet.com/0ga57md4.
The goal of the survey is to help the Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition (the Coalition) better understand and advocate for what matters most to us all. We need your input!
The proposed redevelopment could significantly increase our neighborhood's density and traffic along Preston Road, with plans suggesting as many as 1,550 new apartments and mixed-use buildings up to 12 stories tall. It’s a pivotal moment for our community, and your input is invaluable as we strive to ensure that any changes enhance, rather than detract from, the character of our neighborhood. To review the landowner’s current proposal, please click here.
When negotiating with Henry S. Miller (the landowner) and Jaynie Schultz (our District 11 Dallas City Council Member), it’s important that the Coalition speak with one clear voice regarding neighborhood concerns.
Eighteen homeowner and neighborhood associations, including ours, have united to create the Coalition. Only by standing together can we shape the development in a way that revitalizes Pepper Square while avoiding the pitfalls of overcrowding at the Preston and Beltline intersection, overburdening our city’s resources, or altering our community’s unique character. Instead, we can ensure a development that benefits us all. Help us represent your concerns by completing the survey. Thank you!
I urge you to complete this short four-question survey if you have concerns about the development and large number of high-rise buildings being planned for Pepper Square shopping center: https://s.surveyplanet.com/0ga57md4.
The goal of the survey is to help the Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition (the Coalition) better understand and advocate for what matters most to us all. We need your input!
The proposed redevelopment could significantly increase our neighborhood's density and traffic along Preston Road, with plans suggesting as many as 1,550 new apartments and mixed-use buildings up to 12 stories tall. It’s a pivotal moment for our community, and your input is invaluable as we strive to ensure that any changes enhance, rather than detract from, the character of our neighborhood. To review the landowner’s current proposal, please click here.
When negotiating with Henry S. Miller (the landowner) and Jaynie Schultz (our District 11 Dallas City Council Member), it’s important that the Coalition speak with one clear voice regarding neighborhood concerns.
Eighteen homeowner and neighborhood associations, including ours, have united to create the Coalition. Only by standing together can we shape the development in a way that revitalizes Pepper Square while avoiding the pitfalls of overcrowding at the Preston and Beltline intersection, overburdening our city’s resources, or altering our community’s unique character. Instead, we can ensure a development that benefits us all. Help us represent your concerns by completing the survey. Thank you!
Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition (PSNC) Meeting
Please attend this meeting – open to the public - to learn about the proposed development of Pepper Square* and how it would impact our community – and what YOU CAN DO! The developer’s representative (Masterplan) and Council Member Jaynie Schultz will be in attendance. To see the developer’s plans, please go to:
https://masterplantexas.com/peppersquare/
The proposed development of Pepper Square shopping center would add 2,000 apartments, allow 14-story buildings, and significantly impact traffic along Preston and Beltline Roads.
When: October 10th at 7:00 P.M.
Where: Dallas Bible Church 15765 Hillcrest Road
Who: Neighborhood leaders and concerned residents just like YOU
What: To organize ourselves to negotiate with one voice representing our concerns.
The proposed rezoning can be stopped, or implemented with restrictions, based on resident consensus but only if we as a community speak up! As a community, we share a desire to see Pepper Square shopping center updated and once again be a vibrant part of our neighborhood. However, the development plan needs to consider our concerns of density, building height, traffic, and green space.
Please invite your neighbors and join us at the meeting to learn firsthand what is planned and how it impacts your neighborhood. You will be able to ask questions and share your concerns directly with the developer’s representatives and our Council Member.
An RSVP is not required but appreciated, please go to: https://tinyurl.com/Oct10MeetingRSVP
To provide feedback and add your thoughts to the survey information that will be presented, please go to: https://tinyurl.com/PSNCsecondsurvey
*Pepper Square Shopping Center is bordered by Preston - Beltline - Alexis roads.
Current retail includes: Trader Joe’s, Hobby Lobby, and (formerly) Stein Mart.
As a reminder, the City of Dallas has water restrictions in effect that started April 1st and ends October 31st. Your lawn should not be watered with sprinklers or irrigation systems between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The days you can water are based on the last digit of your address. For more details on the watering guidelines, visit the City of Dallas Water Conservation Ordinance.
Please attend this meeting – open to the public - to learn about the proposed development of Pepper Square* and how it would impact our community – and what YOU CAN DO! The developer’s representative (Masterplan) and Council Member Jaynie Schultz will be in attendance. To see the developer’s plans, please go to:
https://masterplantexas.com/peppersquare/
The proposed development of Pepper Square shopping center would add 2,000 apartments, allow 14-story buildings, and significantly impact traffic along Preston and Beltline Roads.
When: October 10th at 7:00 P.M.
Where: Dallas Bible Church 15765 Hillcrest Road
Who: Neighborhood leaders and concerned residents just like YOU
What: To organize ourselves to negotiate with one voice representing our concerns.
The proposed rezoning can be stopped, or implemented with restrictions, based on resident consensus but only if we as a community speak up! As a community, we share a desire to see Pepper Square shopping center updated and once again be a vibrant part of our neighborhood. However, the development plan needs to consider our concerns of density, building height, traffic, and green space.
Please invite your neighbors and join us at the meeting to learn firsthand what is planned and how it impacts your neighborhood. You will be able to ask questions and share your concerns directly with the developer’s representatives and our Council Member.
An RSVP is not required but appreciated, please go to: https://tinyurl.com/Oct10MeetingRSVP
To provide feedback and add your thoughts to the survey information that will be presented, please go to: https://tinyurl.com/PSNCsecondsurvey
*Pepper Square Shopping Center is bordered by Preston - Beltline - Alexis roads.
Current retail includes: Trader Joe’s, Hobby Lobby, and (formerly) Stein Mart.
As a reminder, the City of Dallas has water restrictions in effect that started April 1st and ends October 31st. Your lawn should not be watered with sprinklers or irrigation systems between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The days you can water are based on the last digit of your address. For more details on the watering guidelines, visit the City of Dallas Water Conservation Ordinance.
Tue, Jan 16 at 9:38 PM
Dallas City Hall District 12 Enews January 3, 2024
Connecting You With City Information, News, and Resources
LET'S MAKE 2024 A GREAT ONE!
Happy New Year to you! It's the perfect time to reflect on what we've done this year and what we want to do better. Join me in getting involved in YOUR city!
Our district office is available to hear your policy input and issues or direct you to the staff that can help resolve your service issues. If your issue isn't resolved successfully, Luis, Jandis, and Madison can help follow up.
There are a number of big policy and big dollar questions facing the city. The next enews, already in draft form, will discuss a number of these issues. Please make your voice heard, whether that is to tell me you agree or don't agree, or to share your opinion with the full council. Resolve to be part of it!
At the end of this email, the email addresses of the full city council are posted along with instructions on how to sign up to speak to the full council in-person or virtually. District 12 has so many smart, thoughtful people that can add a lot to the city discussion. Please know you are invited and encouraged to be part of it. My husband and I generally adopt a theme for each year. Fun ones have been "travel" or "another kid," but this year, it's "construction traffic."
Council Assistant: Luis.Delgado@dallas.gov - community meetings, service requests, schedule a visit/speaker, homelessness
Council Policy Analyst: Jandis.Price@dallas.gov - boards and commissions, public safety & traffic enforcement service requests, city policy issues
Council Liaison: Madison.Johnson@dallas.gov - committee programs, issues, policies
Visit the District 12 Website Rose Haggar Park has new portable, sturdy Pickleball nets that allow players to use the tennis courts to play Pickleball. This should help alleviate some of the crowding at Campbell Green's popular courts.
Jandis Price, District 12 Policy Analyst, participated in a special North Texas Food Bank elected official staff volunteer day. They sorted more than 1300 lbs of food! Thanks for helping and representing Far North Dallas!
HOMELESS/PANHANDLING UPDATE TOLLWAY @ FRANKFORD
Our community has long sought help for the constant presence of panhandlers and homeless encampments at the Frankford and Tollway intersection.
Working with the city, District 12 residents have followed the prescribed protocols of calling 311 and reporting panhandling and homeless encampments on the Dallas 311 app (previously called OurDallas). As your councilmember, I've advocated for new ways to provide outreach to connect people who need services with resources available, signage, and enforcement to remove them from the dangers of a busy intersection. The outreach and programs implemented by city staff have not provided the desired results and homeless encampments, open drug use, and other unlawful behavior continues.
The land under the bridge at Frankford and the Tollway is part of the right-of-way for the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), which is why you can sometimes see them out cleaning the debris and litter. The NTTA doesn't have policing powers, so they can't remove people.
I've met with NTTA and they acknowledge the issues, dangers at this intersection, and increasingly aggressive behaviors. While they don't believe they can put up a fence for a variety of reasons, they agreed to have their engineers evaluate other architectural solutions. Two weeks ago they installed riprap, which is large, angular rocks under the bridge that aren't fun to stand on. So far, this seems to have slowed the panhandling and homelessness. Please let the D12 office know if you see it picking back up, as there is a second treatment they could deploy if necessary.
The NTTA sees your Facebook messages when you tag them, and they respond by going out to evaluate the conditions. Please continue to use Facebook to let them know when there is an issue.
Please continue to report encampments and panhandling to 311, since many of the people will migrate to the next location and we need the city data to show our current approach to homeless services and enforcement is not working and a new approach is needed.
I remain convinced that leaving people outside is inhumane and we must pursue a strategy of addressing homelessness that combines compassion with enforcement. It is illegal in Texas for a person to camp on public property that isn't designated for it. Let's uphold our laws and provide outreach, available shelter and service options, family reunification, and mental health and addiction treatment services that help people regain stability.
SHORT NOTES:
If you want to report service requests for any of the items below, you can do that with a call to 311 or through the Dallas 311 app, available for free in the App Store. It's easy to use!
CITY OF DALLAS DATA RESOURCES
City of Dallas 3-1-1 Service Requests here
City of Dallas Crime Analytics here
City of Dallas Domestic Violence Crime here
City of Dallas Fire-Rescue is here
City of Dallas Open Data Portal is here
City of Dallas Single Family New Construction Permit here
City of Dallas Census Data Hub here
City of Dallas Office of Homeless Solutions Service Requests here
City of Dallas Vision Zero here
City of Dallas Forward Dallas Land Use Plan interactive map
City of Dallas Public Zoning Map here
City of Dallas Pavement Conditions map here
City of Dallas Employee Diversity here
City of Dallas Fresh Start Program here
City of Dallas COVID-19 Response Funding here
HOW TO EMAIL ALL CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR
To email all City Council members, the Mayor, and the City Manager, you can cut and paste these addresses:
Eric.Johnson@dallas.gov; Chad.West@dallas.gov; Jesse.Moreno@dallas.gov; Zarin.Gracey@dallas.gov; CarolynKing.Arnold@dallas.gov; Jaime.Resendez@dallas.gov; Omar.Narvaez@dallas.gov; Adam.Bazaldua@dallas.gov; Tennell.Atkins@dallas.gov; Paula.Blackmon@dallas.gov; Kathryn.Stewart@dallas.gov; Jaynie.Schultz@dallas.gov; Cara.Mendelsohn@dallas.gov; Gay.Willis@dallas.gov; Paul.Ridley@dallas.gov; TC.Broadnax@dallas.gov.
HOW TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK AT A CITY COUNCIL MEETING
First, you have to know if you are speaking on an item being considered, or you just want to give public comment on something on your mind. If you are speaking on an agenda item, you'll be heard right before the item is considered. If you have public comments on something not on the agenda, the city council will generally hear the first 5 speakers who are signed up and present when called before starting the agenda meeting and hear the rest at the end of the meeting, but sometimes the council will suspend the rules and hear all speakers before beginning the day's agenda.
Second, you have to sign up to speak through the city secretary's office no later than 5 pm the day before the meeting. This is strictly enforced. Speakers are taken in the order of the sign up. The earliest you can sign up to speak is 8:15 am the day following the previous city council meeting. So if you wish to speak at one of the Wednesday meetings, signs ups begin Thursday am for the following Wednesday.
Third, you can sign up by email (secspeakerrequest@dallas.gov), by filling out a form, or by calling a phone number (214) 670-3738. You can only speak once in a 30 day period about non-agenda items, but as frequently as you wish on agenda items. You will have a maximum of 3 minutes to speak on all items combined, and at the Mayor's discretion, the time limit can be made shorter. This is often done when there are more than a dozen speakers on a single topic.
Lastly, you can speak virtually or in-person at City Hall. If you want to come to city hall from District 12, Jandis, Luis, or Madison can help give you directions and may be able to assist with parking. If you are going to give comments virtually, you must have your camera on while speaking per state law. If you are registered to speak and aren't able to do it, please cancel with the city secretary to preserve your right to speak another day, otherwise your registration counts toward the once per 30 day speaker rule.
Council member Mendelsohn was appointed by Mayor Johnson to represent the City of Dallas on the Executive Board of the North Central Texas Council of Governments and at the Regional Transportation Commission. She was also appointed to the following City Council Committees:
Need help, got a question, or want to give input?
Email: Cara.Mendelsohn@Dallas.gov
Office phone: (214) 670-4067
Text phone: (214) 490-1036
Dallas City Hall District 12 Enews January 3, 2024
Connecting You With City Information, News, and Resources
LET'S MAKE 2024 A GREAT ONE!
Happy New Year to you! It's the perfect time to reflect on what we've done this year and what we want to do better. Join me in getting involved in YOUR city!
Our district office is available to hear your policy input and issues or direct you to the staff that can help resolve your service issues. If your issue isn't resolved successfully, Luis, Jandis, and Madison can help follow up.
There are a number of big policy and big dollar questions facing the city. The next enews, already in draft form, will discuss a number of these issues. Please make your voice heard, whether that is to tell me you agree or don't agree, or to share your opinion with the full council. Resolve to be part of it!
At the end of this email, the email addresses of the full city council are posted along with instructions on how to sign up to speak to the full council in-person or virtually. District 12 has so many smart, thoughtful people that can add a lot to the city discussion. Please know you are invited and encouraged to be part of it. My husband and I generally adopt a theme for each year. Fun ones have been "travel" or "another kid," but this year, it's "construction traffic."
- First, Campbell Road will CLOSE COMPLETELY FOR 3 DAYS at the railroad tracks on January 4 - 6. Davenport and Keller Springs will still be open, and residents in the condos and apartments will have access to their driveways and units.
- As we have been reporting for a couple of years, HILLCREST WILL COMPLETELY CLOSE AT THE RAIL ROAD TRACKS FOR AT LEAST A YEAR on January 25th. The detour route for northbound traffic is Campbell Road, but the street will be open as far north as McKamy and Wester Way westbound. Southbound, the detour route is Frankford, but the road will remain open to McCallum to go east and west. The detour route for for north-south travel is Preston Road and Coit Road. There are a couple of other choices, but please know that means you are going through residential areas and it is a burden on those homeowners, already affected by the train and construction. No matter which way you go, GO SLOWLY and plan for every trip to take at least 10 minutes longer. Hillcrest will remain closed until mid-January 2025. Every street in our area will be impacted. Again, it'll be the year of construction traffic and life will be different.
Council Assistant: Luis.Delgado@dallas.gov - community meetings, service requests, schedule a visit/speaker, homelessness
Council Policy Analyst: Jandis.Price@dallas.gov - boards and commissions, public safety & traffic enforcement service requests, city policy issues
Council Liaison: Madison.Johnson@dallas.gov - committee programs, issues, policies
Visit the District 12 Website Rose Haggar Park has new portable, sturdy Pickleball nets that allow players to use the tennis courts to play Pickleball. This should help alleviate some of the crowding at Campbell Green's popular courts.
Jandis Price, District 12 Policy Analyst, participated in a special North Texas Food Bank elected official staff volunteer day. They sorted more than 1300 lbs of food! Thanks for helping and representing Far North Dallas!
HOMELESS/PANHANDLING UPDATE TOLLWAY @ FRANKFORD
Our community has long sought help for the constant presence of panhandlers and homeless encampments at the Frankford and Tollway intersection.
Working with the city, District 12 residents have followed the prescribed protocols of calling 311 and reporting panhandling and homeless encampments on the Dallas 311 app (previously called OurDallas). As your councilmember, I've advocated for new ways to provide outreach to connect people who need services with resources available, signage, and enforcement to remove them from the dangers of a busy intersection. The outreach and programs implemented by city staff have not provided the desired results and homeless encampments, open drug use, and other unlawful behavior continues.
The land under the bridge at Frankford and the Tollway is part of the right-of-way for the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), which is why you can sometimes see them out cleaning the debris and litter. The NTTA doesn't have policing powers, so they can't remove people.
I've met with NTTA and they acknowledge the issues, dangers at this intersection, and increasingly aggressive behaviors. While they don't believe they can put up a fence for a variety of reasons, they agreed to have their engineers evaluate other architectural solutions. Two weeks ago they installed riprap, which is large, angular rocks under the bridge that aren't fun to stand on. So far, this seems to have slowed the panhandling and homelessness. Please let the D12 office know if you see it picking back up, as there is a second treatment they could deploy if necessary.
The NTTA sees your Facebook messages when you tag them, and they respond by going out to evaluate the conditions. Please continue to use Facebook to let them know when there is an issue.
Please continue to report encampments and panhandling to 311, since many of the people will migrate to the next location and we need the city data to show our current approach to homeless services and enforcement is not working and a new approach is needed.
I remain convinced that leaving people outside is inhumane and we must pursue a strategy of addressing homelessness that combines compassion with enforcement. It is illegal in Texas for a person to camp on public property that isn't designated for it. Let's uphold our laws and provide outreach, available shelter and service options, family reunification, and mental health and addiction treatment services that help people regain stability.
SHORT NOTES:
- If you have thoughts on Homelessness, either in District 12 or in the City of Dallas, the Housing and Homelessness Committee is having a special called meeting on Thursday, January 18th at 6 pm that is encouraging public comment. Perhaps you would like to share how homelessness is affecting your life, home, or business, or offer suggestions to the city council? You can do it virtually or in person at City Hall. Speakers will have 2-3 minutes at the microphone. You must register to speak by emailing secspeakerrequest@dallas.gov.
- Have a state or federal legislative idea for the City of Dallas? For consideration, please submit to the Government Relations office at Linley.Youderian@dallas.gov or call (214) 670-3522 by January 15th. (deadline was extended)
- The Dallas 311 app, formerly called OurDallas, has now been upgraded and renamed to Dallas 311. If you have the app, please install the free upgrade so you have full functionality and connectivity. If you don't have the app yet, you can find it in the App Store for both Android and iOS.
- Thank you for participating in the survey about the Hillcrest Pump House design. An engineer is working on plans to make it look like a typical, non-descript home in our area. We'll show you what is developed for more feedback.
- If you would like to submit an entry in the ART214 exhibition, please visit dallasculture.org/about-art214.
- Reminder that all dogs must be ON LEASH unless they're in your backyard or at a dog park per Dallas City Ordinance.
- Christmas Tree Recycling - Christmas trees are accepted for recycling at Bachman Transfer Station, 9500 Harry Hines Blvd. Mon-Sat, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Pepper Square Development - a number of residents have reached out to let us know they are concerned about the reedevelopment plans for the area at Preston and Beltline in District 11. If you would like to get in touch with the neighborhood group studying this and asking for changes, please contact Jandis.Price@dallas.gov, who can provide you contact information.
If you want to report service requests for any of the items below, you can do that with a call to 311 or through the Dallas 311 app, available for free in the App Store. It's easy to use!
CITY OF DALLAS DATA RESOURCES
City of Dallas 3-1-1 Service Requests here
City of Dallas Crime Analytics here
City of Dallas Domestic Violence Crime here
City of Dallas Fire-Rescue is here
City of Dallas Open Data Portal is here
City of Dallas Single Family New Construction Permit here
City of Dallas Census Data Hub here
City of Dallas Office of Homeless Solutions Service Requests here
City of Dallas Vision Zero here
City of Dallas Forward Dallas Land Use Plan interactive map
City of Dallas Public Zoning Map here
City of Dallas Pavement Conditions map here
City of Dallas Employee Diversity here
City of Dallas Fresh Start Program here
City of Dallas COVID-19 Response Funding here
HOW TO EMAIL ALL CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR
To email all City Council members, the Mayor, and the City Manager, you can cut and paste these addresses:
Eric.Johnson@dallas.gov; Chad.West@dallas.gov; Jesse.Moreno@dallas.gov; Zarin.Gracey@dallas.gov; CarolynKing.Arnold@dallas.gov; Jaime.Resendez@dallas.gov; Omar.Narvaez@dallas.gov; Adam.Bazaldua@dallas.gov; Tennell.Atkins@dallas.gov; Paula.Blackmon@dallas.gov; Kathryn.Stewart@dallas.gov; Jaynie.Schultz@dallas.gov; Cara.Mendelsohn@dallas.gov; Gay.Willis@dallas.gov; Paul.Ridley@dallas.gov; TC.Broadnax@dallas.gov.
HOW TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK AT A CITY COUNCIL MEETING
First, you have to know if you are speaking on an item being considered, or you just want to give public comment on something on your mind. If you are speaking on an agenda item, you'll be heard right before the item is considered. If you have public comments on something not on the agenda, the city council will generally hear the first 5 speakers who are signed up and present when called before starting the agenda meeting and hear the rest at the end of the meeting, but sometimes the council will suspend the rules and hear all speakers before beginning the day's agenda.
Second, you have to sign up to speak through the city secretary's office no later than 5 pm the day before the meeting. This is strictly enforced. Speakers are taken in the order of the sign up. The earliest you can sign up to speak is 8:15 am the day following the previous city council meeting. So if you wish to speak at one of the Wednesday meetings, signs ups begin Thursday am for the following Wednesday.
Third, you can sign up by email (secspeakerrequest@dallas.gov), by filling out a form, or by calling a phone number (214) 670-3738. You can only speak once in a 30 day period about non-agenda items, but as frequently as you wish on agenda items. You will have a maximum of 3 minutes to speak on all items combined, and at the Mayor's discretion, the time limit can be made shorter. This is often done when there are more than a dozen speakers on a single topic.
Lastly, you can speak virtually or in-person at City Hall. If you want to come to city hall from District 12, Jandis, Luis, or Madison can help give you directions and may be able to assist with parking. If you are going to give comments virtually, you must have your camera on while speaking per state law. If you are registered to speak and aren't able to do it, please cancel with the city secretary to preserve your right to speak another day, otherwise your registration counts toward the once per 30 day speaker rule.
Council member Mendelsohn was appointed by Mayor Johnson to represent the City of Dallas on the Executive Board of the North Central Texas Council of Governments and at the Regional Transportation Commission. She was also appointed to the following City Council Committees:
- Public Safety - Chair
- Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Affairs - Chair
- Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating and Ethics - Chair
- Housing and Homelessness Solutions - Vice Chair
- Government Performance & Financial Management - Member
- Transportation and Infrastructure - Member
- Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs - Member
- Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions - Member
Need help, got a question, or want to give input?
Email: Cara.Mendelsohn@Dallas.gov
Office phone: (214) 670-4067
Text phone: (214) 490-1036