DALLAS – A mistake by the city of Dallas is frustrating homeowners in a historic neighborhood and leaving developers facing potentially huge financial setbacks.

It turned out that the city had issued 19 building permits, even though they violated the zoning plans for the Elm Thicket neighborhood.

A property developer believes that a halt to construction would now have devastating consequences for the economy and has appealed against the city’s order to stop work.

Mimi and Gus Perez have lived in Elm Thicket, also known as Ellum Thicket, for nearly 30 years.

“When the area started to really flourish, segregation was the rule of thumb. There was open racism and of course redlining,” Gus explained. “And that’s when our neighbors, the old neighbors, were told they had to live by the city’s rules, by the government’s rules, essentially.”

Now the government is no longer forcing blacks to live in the neighborhood, but some fear that the new developments will push blacks and browns out of the neighborhood.

“The new houses are easily over a million dollars. You can still get a cottage for $500,000 to $800,000,” Mimi said. “Is that workers’ housing? I don’t know. But I do know it’s not $1.5 million.”

Concerned about the character of the former Freedmen’s Town, the Perez family fought several years ago for a change in the zoning plans to protect the quality of life there.

“In your home, where you’ve lived your whole life, you won’t have a 35-foot wall next to you,” Mimi said. “You can look out your kitchen window and still see the sky instead of a brick wall.”

The new zoning regulations came into effect on October 12, 2022.

“It was a very media-effective case of land use planning,” said Mimi.

Yet neighbors continued to see homes that appeared to violate new restrictions on duplexes, building heights and lot development.

“They said no violation was found and we’re tearing our hair out,” Gus said. “I was on that committee and I said, ‘Here are the restrictions.’ I know this is a violation of our restrictions. How can this pass?”

At some point, city officials realized they had never updated the zoning plan at City Hall.

The city noted that despite the restrictions, 19 building permits were issued, and construction has already begun on 14 of them.

One of the affected developers is Akber Meghani of Grand Development. He said he was aware of the zoning change.

“We were part of it. We knew it and we participated, even went to city hall,” he said.

A month after the new zoning plans went into effect, Meghani applied for and was granted a building permit for a duplex. He said he trusted the city knew what it was doing when it granted the permit.

“The city should be its police. It should examine and reject or approve,” he said.

After the $500,000 construction began in January, Meghani received surprising news.

“All of a sudden an inspector came and put a stop to construction on the building,” he said. “I thought this would be resolved quickly because we had a permit. We didn’t do anything wrong. We had a permit and we complied with these things.”

In December, each duplex was expected to sell for $850,000 to $950,000. Now, three months have passed and construction has come to a halt.

In addition to the semi-detached house, the height and plot size of the building also represent violations.

“We already have the foundation, the framework for this. I don’t know how we can reduce these things. That can’t happen,” Meghani said.

“It’s a shame we have to go through this. Again, our position is that any resolution and correction of the mistake made by the city is a matter between the city and the developers. It should not be at the expense of our neighbors who have fought really hard to have these restrictions put in place.

If Meghani does not receive an exemption, his only option will be to demolish the building. His hearing before the Board of Adjustment is scheduled for Tuesday.