Kevin Roden – 05.03.10

The Planning and Zoning Commission last week declared once again that Denton is certainly “open for business” in a neighborhood near you by voting in favor of a rezoning request for close to 5 acres of land along Oak and Bonnie Brae, directly adjacent to the West Oak Historic District (5-1, with Commissioner Patrice Lyke opposing).  The property is currently zoned Neighborhood Residential 3 (NR-3), but the request is to upzone the property to Neighborhood Residential Mixed Use (NRMU), which will allow for a number of different non-residential options of development.  Part of the controversy involves the lack of a specific site plan for the area – the current owner simply wants to rezone and re-plat the property in order to sell it for the maximum amount of profit to others who will actually develop the land.  What that means is that the property in question is being considered for rezoning on the basis of some hypothetical future use.

I attended the P&Z meeting where this was first discussed and watched the second meeting (where it was approved) online.  Here are a few observations:

TOO EASY TO REZONE
Rezoning requests, particularly those that are in or close to existing neighborhoods, ought to be met with a high level of scrutiny.  If Denton is serious about protecting the integrity and livability of its neighborhoods, then the commission should be asking many more questions and demanding more information prior to moving forward with a course of action that has such long-lasting consequences.  Great deference should be given to the precedent set by prior zoning decisions – not a single question was asked about the reason for the current zoning designation.  Here are some recommendations:

– History of Zoning – Require that the Planning department provide the commission with a detailed history of the zoning decisions in the affected area – pull up all paperwork relevant to past discussions so that the decision-makers are coming to the table fully understanding the reasons for the current zoning.  Assume that the present zoning served an important function – each Planning staff member and commissioner should be so well educated in that reasoning that they could give a defense of it, regardless of their final decision.
– Clear Criteria – There ought to be a list of stringent criteria in place that must be met before a rezoning request in or near an existing neighborhood can be considered.  This would put the decision-making process more appropriately on the side of the neighborhood concerns, instead of allowing for the dazzling shell game of the well-oiled consultants.  The protection of neighborhoods is a clear value for the city.  That value should be carefully weighed against the potential value of this new development.  In other words, the question ought to be asked: what is so important about what you are putting there that justifies the alteration of this existing neighborhood – what city value are your promoting that could override the value of neighborhood preservation? See how this turns the question completely around?  Gone are discussions of the supposed “need to put something there” or the “right to make money of my property”.  In the end, most of these requests have nothing to do with making Denton a better place to live – they are simply reduced to making more money for the landowner.
– Owner Appears in Person – Enough of hiding behind your “representatives”.  If someone wants to be a bad neighbor, they should do it in person and be subject to a line of questioning by the decision-making body.  Political philosophers throughout history have with great insight noted the powerful tool of properly placing honor and shame in order to promote a healthy citizenry.

PAST BAD DECISIONS ALLOW FOR FUTURE BAD DECISIONS
The property owner’s representative consistently argued that the proposed rezoning fit in with the character of the neighborhood.  What did he point to in order to make this case?  He pointed to the presence of low income multi-family apartment units within the neighborhood, projects that most anyone can agree were wrongly allowed in the past.  In other words, it’s as if he said, “Denton obviously has a history of allowing crappy projects into this area.  Our project fits in nicely with these crappy projects – you let them do it, it’s only fair to let us do it!”  The problem with this way of thinking is that it is only a matter of time before this new project is pointed to as a reason for allowing some future project – meanwhile the neighborhood is left with continual encroachment.  All of this has had the cumulative effect of causing anxiety among the residents within some of Denton’s most important neighborhoods.  The purpose of zoning is to alleviate such fears – another reason why rezoning requests in such areas should be approached with an extremely high level of scrutiny.

“LOW PRIORITY” HISTORIC STRUCTURES?
On both visits to P&Z, the out-of-town consultant waxed eloquently on how insignificant the existing structures are that reside on the properties in question.  He pointed to a 1995 Historic Resources Inventory on both occasions to make clear that they are listed as “low priority”.  What is quite ironic about this is that the commission, at the same meeting where he first made this claim, unanimously approved an application for Historic Landmark Designation for my house on Texas Street.  Why is this ironic?  Our house, which is now on the path to being counted among a small number of houses designated by the city as having the highest level of historical significance, was also listed as “low priority” by that same survey.  Don’t give up on what currently looks like a run-down old house.  The consultant also pointed to these houses as “taking a downward turn” due to the fact that they are currently existing as rental properties.  Once again, as was the case with our house…  Trends are showing an increasing market, particularly among younger 20-30 somethings, for buying historical fixer-uppers and bringing them back to their former glory (see what is happening all over previously slummed-out Oak Cliff, Bishop Arts District, South Fort Worth, etc.).

Here’s a radical policy idea: what if the city required that all structures older than a certain age (say 75 years old) must first receive approval through the Historic Landmark Commission before they are demolished.  As it stands today, the preservation of historic structures (apart from those that are already designated or existing in an historic district) is completely at the whim of the current owner.  Given the high percentage of rental properties in town (and particularly within central Denton where many of these historic structures exist), where the owner has little interest in his/her property beyond its profitability, such a policy might slow the desire to buy up connecting properties with the future hope of rezoning and redevelopment.  For a city that touts its historical character among its most valued resources, a more robust plan should be pursued to ensure that this resource continues.  Such a policy would have certainly created a different situation on Fry Street…

What inevitably happens in such development cases is the owner goes ahead and destroys the existing structures so the only thing that is left is barren ground.  Doing so, the developer has put himself into prime bargaining position.  “We have to put something on that empty piece of land,” he argues.  “We can’t look at a mud pit forever, can we?”

THE ILLUSION OF COMPROMISE
I’ve found the commission to be particularly impressed with what appears to be significant compromise on the part of a developer.  Take, for instance, the Bell Ave. issue.  The developer initially came to the table with a wildly inappropriate concept plan that required rezoning several layers “up” from the current zoning.  P&Z wanted to see some changes and threw it back to the developer. He came back the next meeting with all sorts of adjustments and voluntary overlay restrictions and appeared to show a significant willingness to compromise, while maintaining that the “stubborn” neighbors wouldn’t budge an inch.  The commission bought it – well look how far he came!  Any teenager has learned this basic manipulation technique.  Go to mom and dad and tell them that you want to spend 4 weeks of your summer vacation backpacking alone with your boyfriend throughout Europe – press the issue for several weeks, arguing that your parents are anti-progress and stuck in their traditional ways.  Then all of a sudden you come to them one day with a “compromise ” (which, in fact, is your real plan all along) – all you want to do is go with a group of friends unsupervised to LA for a week.  Although your parents wouldn’t have initially approved of your LA plans if you asked them for that first, you made yourself out to be some sort of self-less humanitarian.  Such is the state of development rhetoric in our town.

WHAT IS A GOOD NEIGHBOR?
It might be worth the time for Denton’s leaders to reflect on this question.  Consider the good folks in the West Oak Historic District.  They have banded together as a neighborhood for several years in defense of the integrity and livability of their neighborhood, which is home to several important historical structures.  They have spent thousands of dollars of their own money toward a cause that is ultimately beneficial for the whole of Denton.  They have spent hours familiarizing themselves with the city code and have been actively engaged in the processes of city government, often showing up to city meetings in support of other neighborhoods going through similar struggles.  Are they not the model for the ideal citizen?  Should not their efforts be met with honor at City Hall?  Instead we see out-of-town developers with no vested interest in the overall good of our city given the greenlight to overrun the efforts of these neighbors.  Commissioner Lyke, in her insistence that the consultant work in good faith with the neighbors until an agreement could be reached, was the only commissioner to encourage good citizenship.  Mr. Rogers spent considerable time trying to instill such values in us as kids – it might be a good idea for the city to find ways to re-enforce his lessons.  Go here to re-acquaint yourself with these values of old…

WHAT’S NEXT?
The rezoning proposal still needs to get the approval of City Council, where a super-majority is required due to the high percentage of neighborhood opposition.  Stay tuned to thinkdenton.com for all the latest news and analysis on this case.

To see a shocking example of how fragile Denton’s historic character is, take a look at this.