Dallas Dirt Skirt Hearing Results by Elizabeth Nelson
Neighbors from all over the City of Dallas showed up to the Board of Adjustment hearing this month in support of the applicant's request that the Building Official's 'green tag' for the Building Permit for 6159 Oram Street be reversed / overturned.
Our neighborhood board voted unanimously that we support the applicant and believe this Building Permit and 'green tag' should never have been granted. The building official incorrectly interpreted grade and therefore height.
We believe the Building Official erred in his interpretation of 'grade.' Grade should not be artificially raised 8, 10, or 12 feet or more into the air. This has been accomplished at 6159 Oram by what has variously been called:
- a 'dirt skirt'
- 'dirt stilts' built at each corner of the building
- 'dirt wallpaper' since dirt was applied to the outside of the building after it was built
- 'dirt buttresses' that are actually a part of the building and do not meet setback requirements
All neighborhoods, anywhere in the City of Dallas, are affected by this odd interpretation of “grade” with its effect on height. In particular, Peak's Addition is affected by this type of interpretation, being the closest single family neighborhood to downtown and surrounded by multi-family zoning.
At the hearing, the applicant presented his case that the Dallas Building Inspection department made a mistake and gave the developer a green tag for 6159 Oram.
Buildings official Todd Duerksen, speaking on behalf of the inspector, argued no, that a developer could measure height from a berm (dirt skirt) the developer builds around his own building. Just how high can you pile up the dirt, adding more and more height to a building? In this particular case, the berm resulted in an additional 10 feet in height to the building.
Unfortunately it takes four votes to win at the Board of Adjustment. Three members of the Board of Adjustment voted to overturn the Building inspector's decision, agreeing with the applicant. Two members, Rob Richmond and Benny Ray Gabriel, voted to uphold the building inspector’s decision. so. . . neighbors did not win this particular case. The building gets to remain at the 46 feet that it has been constructed.
There is a potential upside however. The City Council is considering changing the code to prevent this from happening in the future. If you feel strongly that the code should be changed, please let your Council Member know as soon as possible.
Many thanks to Virginia McAlester for organizing this city-wide effort and getting so many people to show up and write letters on such a crucial zoning matter.