The post below was originally on our myspace blog.
This post, and any included comments, have been copied to this blog for
the sake of continuity. Feel free to make additional comments.
The
new SUP (Specific Use Permit) requirements, which most of the corporate
landowners and the Deep Ellum Foundation helped to craft, were
supposedly a benign attempt to get Deep Ellum back on track. It was
supposed to revive and revitalize the neighborhood, but it seems to me
it is the new tool that those with money and power will use to shape
this neighborhood into its new chic and shiny image.
Businesses
such as bars, dance halls, and tattoo studios are now required to get
permission to open and operate in Deep Ellum and must comply with very
strict rules. Even if they meet the criteria laid out, it has been
demonstrated that there is no guarantee that they will survive the
Council and be allowed to operate.
I wrote last week about the
City Plan Commission denying Club One, TomCats, and leaving Monkey Bar
and Curtain Clubs fate in the balance. Prior to that I had mentioned
the denial, at another Council meeting, of a new tattoo studio called
Dallas Custom Tattoo. I want to talk a little more about that now, and
I want to reveal to you the exactly what the opposition (mostly
corporate landowners) and Dallas City Council had to say, in their own
words; it is quite telling and, well--if you care about Deep
Ellum--chilling.
Dallas Custom Tattoo, a studio that was to
newly open in Deep Ellum was denied SUP approval by Dallas City
Council. The City Plan Commission had recommended to the Council to
approve it; it met all requirements for its SUP, including the new rule
that tattoo studios must be 300 feet apart (it was 650 feet from the
nearest tattoo studio).
The opposition, mostly corporate landowners, had this to say:
"We
feel strongly that this type of business [tattoo studios] is
inconsistent with the future of Deep Ellum....we're spending over fifty
million dollars in the neighborhood...if the city approves SUP
applications for undesirable uses, such as new tattoo parlors and dance
clubs, the city is only perpetuating the negative perception of Deep
Ellum....The Deep Ellum neighborhood is an untapped goldmine....only
after the city denies the application will landlords attempting to rent
to these types of businesses get the message that Deep Ellum is closed
undesirable uses."
--Brandon Henry
"I
am here representing two partnerships which own 150,000 feet of land
and 75,000 feet of buildings...At some point enough is enough with the
kind of uses that are dominating the night, creating fear, traffic
congestion, and enormous expenses for the police....The previous
speaker [Brandon Henry] is the future of Deep Ellum...."
--John Tatum
"I
am a representative for a major landowner in Deep Ellum. We have about
120,000 square feet of retail buildings and apartments in that area. We
are trying to turn Deep Ellum into a 24/7, pedestrian oriented, chic,
urban neighborhood....we needed a plan to accomplish that goal and that
is what the PD [Planning District/SUP] was for...."
--John Hetzler (?)
Funny
how all three of the people that I quoted said that they were
representatives of large development/real estate companies, yet all of
them side-stepped saying the name of those companies in their
unabridged statements. What's the matter? Those companies aren't proud
of the statements that their representatives made above? In the
unabridged version of Brandon Henry's statement he does identify the
fifty million dollar project he is talking about it: The Ambrose. If I
am not mistaken, that is a joint venture between Westdale and one other
company. (You will find links to the unabridged audio at the bottom of
this story).
Even more disturbing was Dallas City Council's awareness and seeming unflinching commitment to this plan:
Pauline Medrano, council member for District 2 (Deep Ellum), denied the tattoo studio from opening and said:
"The
reinvestment of Deep Ellum I think is vital and so important to
downtown and the Fair Park area. We have two DART stations coming up
really quick in the area; we've got a fifty million dollar
investment....My concern is the effect that it [the new tattoo studio]
is going to have on the residential development [The Ambrose]."
Mayor Tom Leppert, opposed the new tattoo studio as well, and seemed to be on the same page:
"I'll
tell you, I got a chance to spend some time with some business people
down in Deep Ellum and my view of it is that it is a real jewel; that
this is something where there are some real opportunities....I think
there is a strategic issue here...development in Deep Ellum--which
again I think is a very special jewel--I think there are some
significant opportunities there....it also important...to encourage
investment; an investment...that is going to really, I think, pull the
potential of that out. I tell you, I am committed to Deep Ellum....I
think there is some real opportunity; I think there is a strategic
move, to move from where we've been to something that unleashes that
potential in a very different way...."
Now, maybe
you still don't think this means all that much. Maybe, you're OK with
some the clubs and businesses that were denied, because you didn't like
them anyway. After all, some of the other businesses have received
approval, right?
But, maybe--just maybe--it is only a matter
of time, before they come for those too. Why should they rush everyone
out immediately--it is unnecessary and difficult. DART won't finish
construction for another two years and The Ambrose construction
completion is a ways out too. Why not just wait, pick off the easy ones
in the pack and lull everyone else into complacency? A business's SUP
has to typically be renewed every one to two years, so it's not like
it's now-or-never for them. Remember these words: "24/7 pedestrian
oriented, chic, urban neighborhood" and think of how many businesses in
Deep Ellum fit that description. Those will be the one's left standing
when all is said and done.
If you think my writing is an
exercise dramatic foreshadowing. I'll give you one more quote from our
council member Pauline Medrano. At the meeting she was asked if she
thought the existing (and supposedly safe) tattoo studios should be
reconsidered, and this was her response:
"I
think given the change of Deep Ellum, and the investments, and DART,
and everything, and our expanding downtown into Fair Park, I think it
would be a wise decision to re-examine the number of tattoo parlors."
One
final thought: Westdale currently owns twenty percent of the land in
Deep Ellum. It is rumored that it will be purchasing an additional
twenty soon.
I think the howling of the wolves is no longer in the remote distance....
S_c_0_t_t
Pt. I of this posting: City Council & Corporate Landowners Sound Off on the Future of Deep Ellum (Pt. I - Intro)
The
quotes above have been edited for the sake of brevity, with no intent
to change the message or meaning of the statements. The original audio
was obtained from DallasCityHall.com and I personally witnessed these
statements. I have also provided links below to download the audio,
conveniently split into tracks. There is a track for each speaker's
complete statement of opposition.The audio has not otherwise been
altered,except to censor private residential addresses revealed by the
speakers to the Council. Although, everything said before Dallas City
Council is a matter of public record, I personally do not feel
comfortable with posting the private addresses of the speakers.
To
save these audio files, you made need to right click the link and
choose "save as". Just clicking on the links will most likely open them
in your browser's window.
Brandon Henry's Statement of Opposition
John Tatum's Statement of Opposition
John Hetzler's (?) Statement of Opposition (John's last name is difficult to decipher on the audio, and "Hetzler" is my best guess)
Pauline Medrano (City Council Rep. for Deep Ellum) Statement of Opposition
Pauline Medrano Commenting About Removing Existing "Safe " Businesses
Mayor Tom Leppert's Statement in Opposition