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Please attend if you can. City Council is expected to vote tomorrow. Pass it on. Thanks.

 

University Park Residents for  Neighborhood Friendly Development

c/o Park Cities Postal Center

3419 Westminster Ave., Suite 221
Dallas, TX 75205

October 17, 2016

 

Dear Neighbor:

TOMORROW, on Tuesday, October 18, 2016, the University Park Mayor and City Council are expected to APPROVE a developer’s request TO CHANGE CURRENT ZONING LAW in order to construct a SEVEN-STORY OFFICE BUILDING AND TWO-STORY PARKING DECK at the south end of Snider Plaza.

The project would have a much larger footprint than the site of the old Chase Bank building, incorporating not only the bank’s old site, but also the alley west thereof, the adjacent parking lot, as well as several residential parcels of land to the west of the parking lot (which the builder is requesting be converted to commercial use).   

Specifically, the site proposal includes:

  • a seven-story, 95-foot office-tower plus additional 10- to 16-foot parapet wall (surrounding rooftop equipment)  – at least 25 feet higher than the current bank building
  • a two-story parking deck with ingress/egress on Daniel and Haynie

We and over 700 UP residents have expressed to the city government our vehement opposition to the current proposal, as well as to the city’s plan to undermine and unilaterally rewrite our zoning ordinances without voter approval.  We have also agreed to alternate development plans, including a lower building that would incorporate the current proposal’s underground parking (a reasonable and necessary element of the plan).

Our opposition is rooted in our love for this community and in our grave concerns about the increased traffic, compromised safety, and incongruous building that this site would bring -- all of which will permanently undermine the nature and fabric of our community, and will set a dangerous precedent for future developers in years to come.

If you share our concerns, PLEASE do not delay!  Call or write the Mayor and City Council at city-council@uptexas.org or 214-987-5302. THANK YOU.

For more information, to sign our petition, to donate to our action fund, or to find out other ways to help, please contact us at universityparkresidents@gmail.com and like/visit our FaceBook page: University Park Residents for Neighborhood Friendly Development.