The Save Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition filed a lawsuit Friday against the city of Dallas and Henry S. Miller Companies, the group leading the Pepper Square redevelopment. The March City Council vote cleared the way for around 870 housing units, green space and revamped retail storefronts to be built on the Pepper Square property, which is located at the intersection of Belt Line Road and Preston Road.
The lawsuit, first reported on by Candy’s Dirt, accuses the City Council of spot zoning and failing to follow the land use guidelines adopted last fall in the Forward Dallas 2.0 plan. Spot zoning, which is illegal in Texas, refers to the practice of zoning a single tract of land in a way that is inconsistent or incompatible with the surrounding area, and it generally benefits a single property owner.
“We’d done prior legal analysis before [the March 26 council meeting where Pepper Square was approved], but once they made that decision, the claim became ripe to assert that this zoning is pretty inconsistent with what was previously zoned,” Austin Smith, the Dallas attorney representing the plaintiffs, told the Observer. “Our position is that the city of Dallas and the City Council’s decisions just didn't seem to be in line with the criteria they're supposed to follow.”
The map of land use place types across the city approved with Forward Dallas labels Pepper Square “Community Mixed-Use,” which, according to the plan, are plats of land "located at major intersections and along key corridors, serving multiple surrounding neighborhoods.” Two of the areas bordering Pepper Square are also labeled as community mixed-use.
Because of Pepper Square’s proximity to single-family neighborhoods, the lawsuit claims the area’s zoning should have been considered through the lens of the place type’s suburban definition, which calls for larger complexes, often with fewer stories that offer “a large amount of retail, restaurants and personal services.” Neighbors opposed to the Pepper Square redevelopment have railed against the proposed height for the plan’s residential building from the beginning. In the March City Council meeting, the horseshoe approved a maximum height of 165 feet, around 11 stories.“Our position is that the City of Dallas and the City Council’s decisions just didn't seem to be in line with the criteria they're supposed to follow.” - Attorney Austin Smith
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The lawsuit cites comments made by council member Paul Ridley, one of the four council members who voted against the Pepper Square rezoning, as further evidence of the plan’s incompatibility with Forward Dallas 2.0. Ridley argued that the plan failed to balance the retail and residential uses called for in the community mixed-use place type, and further “lacked the creativity and meaningful design that could maximize the site’s potential as a mixed-use hub.”
City representatives did not respond to the Observer’s request for comment on the lawsuit. In a statement to Candy’s Dirt, Henry S. Miller Companies President and CEO Greg Miller reiterated his confidence in the redevelopment plan.
“Dallas City Council passed the rezoning after a full public process. The city followed a multi-year zoning review process, including traffic impact analysis studies and public hearings,” Miller said. “We are hopeful that we will prevail and proceed with delivering an exciting new mixed-use development for the neighborhood to enjoy.”
Putting a Pause on Construction
This is not the first time the project’s opponents have sought legal avenues to stall the development. Last October, the Save Pepper Square Neighborhood Association filed a lawsuit claiming that Dallas officials had failed to provide proper notice for the zoning case, a claim that Judge Martin Hoffman of the 68th District Court ultimately agreed with, resulting in a multi-month delay in the plan’s advancement through city channels. In the March meeting, a representative for the developer showed the council dozens of images documenting that proper sign notifications had been in place on the property every day since the ruling.Smith, the attorney representing the Save Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition, said a hearing on that plea was scheduled for Friday of this week, although it now appears to be a “moot” point irrelevant to the new complaint. He believes the new case should move through the courts “relatively fast through the summer.” The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order that would last 14 days and ultimately allow a judge to consider placing a permanent injunction on the site.
“We're asking for the city not to be able to issue permits and certificates of occupancy related to this. It’s in its infancy,” Smith said. “We need a court to make a ruling on a permanent injunction before [the developer] can or cannot move forward with developing Pepper Square under the zoning ordinance that was passed on March 26.”
Pepper Square has inspired two years' worth of baggage between North Dallas neighbors and the city leadership. When the council finally took the issue up last month, multiple members described it as “the most difficult” zoning case they’ve been charged with addressing. In the council chambers, dozens of neighbors wearing yellow “No Pepper Square” shirts voiced their frustration as the rezoning was passed.
But Smith emphasized that the lawsuit is not a petty Hail Mary lobbed by disgruntled neighbors.
“We're doing this to make sure that this zone and this property is developed correctly,” Smith said. “Not because there's any animus towards [Pepper Square].”
