City council denies Watermark’s zoning request, citing lack of community trust
Newsletter
This content originally was a newsletter Dallas Free Press emailed to insiders. To become one, sign up here for free.
Click here to watch Rev. Todd Atkins’ full public comments on the Watermark case.
Something unusual happened at a recent City Council meeting.
South Dallas neighbors and allies asked councilmembers to deny Watermark Church’s zoning request for the historic Pearl C. Anderson school in their neighborhood — not based on the merits of the request but based on a lack of transparency and trust between the community and the megachurch, which purchased the property from Dallas ISD in 2019.
And City Council voted unanimously to do what neighbors asked.
“Throughout this process, we have remained laser focused on one question: What are the clear goals and visions of the land and building?” asked the Rev. Todd Atkins of the South Dallas Fair Park Faith Coalition in his public comments. “Although this basic question has been the subject of many public and community meetings, the answer to this question remains vague and constantly changing.”
Atkins asked City Council to deny Watermark’s zoning request on behalf of “the residents of South Dallas and their right to drive and shape the direction of their community.”
The case had made it through the City Plan Commission and was backed by City staff, which is normally a slam dunk for Council, but not this time.South Dallas Councilman Adam Bazaldua, as he recommended to his colleagues to deny the request, suggested that Watermark “get back to the drawing board, to do what is necessary to earn trust in the community and to answer a lot of these outstanding questions that we have, and, first and foremost, to make sure this relationship is a foundation based on transparency.”
When neighbors are asking questions that aren’t being answered, Bazaldua said it leads to an important question:
“Is this about what Watermark wants or is this about them coming into the community and doing what South Dallas wants?”
It’s a question we hear all the time in South Dallas and West Dallas as we spend time with neighbors: Is this happening to us or for us?
In the Watermark zoning case, South Dallas residents can’t answer the question, and the city’s decision makers refused to grant the church legal permission to move forward.
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
Keri Mitchell has spent 20+ years as a community journalist, including 15 years dedicated to community and civic journalism at Dallas’ Advocate magazines. She launched Dallas Free Press in early 2020 with the belief that all neighborhoods deserve reporting and storytelling that values their community and holds leaders accountable.
Mitchell says she is energized by “knowing our work is making an impact — listening to people, telling their stories with strong narratives paired with compelling data that leads to change. I also love spending time in our neighborhoods and with our neighbors, learning from them and working to determine how journalism can be part of the solution to their challenges.”
Mitchell is proud to be the winner of multiple awards during her journalism career including: Finalist in Magazine Feature Reporting (2018) and Finalist in Magazine Investigative Reporting (2017) from Hugh Aynesworth Excellence in Journalism, Best Feature Story (2011) from Texas Community Newspaper Association and Best Magazine Feature (2011) from Dallas Bar Association Philbin Awards.
Areas of Expertise:
local government, education, civic issues, investigative and enterprise reporting
Location Expertise:
Dallas, Texas
Official Title:
Founder + executive director
Email Address:
keri@dallasfreepress.com
