City of Dallas seeks community input on the South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan

Almost 100 residents gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center gymnasium this month to express their concerns and opinions on the South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan. The meeting was the first of three hosted by the City of Dallas Planning and Development Department.

City Council approved the new area plan in June to guide future development in the South Dallas neighborhood. The plan’s goals are to encourage the growth of small business and welcome new development by creating mixed-use corridors, and simultaneously to minimize displacement of current residents by formalizing residential design standards so that new construction resembles the neighborhood’s historic homes. 

The purpose of the authorized hearing process and the series of public meetings is “to explore how to implement the land use and zoning recommendations” from the area plan, the City’s website states, as well as to ensure that “future zoning aligns with the community’s adopted vision” for everything from neighborhood character to infrastructure improvements to gentrification and revitalization. All three meetings will present different information, according to the department.

Scottie Smith II, who chaired the South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan Task Force, encourages neighbors who want to get involved to attend the meetings and to express ideas or any concerns on the future development of their community.

“Your presence is important, your voice is important,” Smith says. “We cannot change things once they’re adopted and once things are moving forward, [so] bring your voice to those meetings and let them be heard.”

A concern commonly raised by residents who attended the meeting was newer homes constructed with starkly different architecture, height and lot coverage than historical homes. Former South Dallas councilwoman Diane Ragsdale has championed the phrase “grossly incompatible” to refer to such houses, and she and others are concerned about the displacement that may result.

“It’s not fair to South Dallas,” said an attendee when expressing their concerns on modern three-story homes being built next to one-story homes.

“That’s part of the plan — we are changing the laws about what type of house you can build,” responded Chief Planner Patrick Blaydes during the meeting. 

Chief Planner Seferinus Okoth says proposed zoning changes for South Dallas will go before the City Plan Commission and then City Council “when we’re able to reach a reasonable consensus on zoning recommendations to advance” based on “the outcome of community engagement.”

“At this point, we’re anticipating that may happen in mid- to late 2026,” Okoth says.