Some West Dallas residents had hoped to use an obscure city code to help shutter a decades-old shingle factory near their homes they say is harming their health. The Dallas City Council is slated to weigh in on amending that code 鈥� and possibly stripping that right from residents.
For years, people living along Singleton Boulevard within eyesight of the GAF shingle plant have said the facility鈥檚 emissions are harming their health. Residents have testified to state regulators they often wake up to a foul stench in the air 鈥� and dust settling on their cars and lawns.
Prior to SB 929 being passed in 2023, residents could file for a scheduled closure 鈥� also called amortization 鈥� of certain nonconforming land uses across the city.
As a proposed amendment to bring the city鈥檚 code into compliance with the new state law circulated, a resident鈥檚 right to file for amortization was taken out of the equation.
City staff鈥檚 case report on the amendment said that avenue was removed because of the money Dallas could be on the hook for if a business is amortized.
鈥淔urther, the most recent application to establish a compliance date by a person who resides or owns real property in the city was made in 2015 and was denied by the [Board of Adjustment],鈥� the case report reads.
Janie Cisneros, leader of the West Dallas community group Singleton United/Unidos, tried twice to file for amortization in October after SB 929 was passed. She was denied both times, though the city is still in the process of amending its code.
In August 2024, the City Plan Commission removed a resident right to file for scheduled closures. Instead, the proposed amendment will create a fund for amortization 鈥渁nd if there is enough money in the fund to cover the estimated cost, the Board of Adjustment can consider the request to begin the compliance hearing process,鈥� according to staff鈥檚 report.
"Bottom line is that there's never been a will or courageous leadership to bring justice to all the families in West Dallas," Cisneros said during a commission meeting last year. "And every step in action has potentially cost the city more financially and in adverse health impacts."
Cisneros has tried many avenues to advocate for the closure of the GAF plant. That includes sitting in 鈥� now failed 鈥� negotiations with GAF executives and city leaders and suing the city for blocking her attempts to file for amortization. That case is still pending.
GAF leadership has maintained through the saga that the plant is operating in compliance with state and federal air quality regulations. The company has voluntarily agreed to move its facility out of West Dallas in 2029.
Residents have said that isn鈥檛 soon enough.
When the amortization ordinance amendment was briefed to a council committee late last year, elected officials seemed to agree that more information was needed.
The council is slated to take the item up again during Wednesday鈥檚 meeting.
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