Lancaster residents, business owners oppose 18-month master plan

by Bill Conrad of Lancaster TODAY

Lancaster residents and business owners came out in force against the Southern Dallas County Infrastructure Analysis Project at a public hearing Dec. 8.

The project calls for an 18-month study of the area surrounding The Allen Group's 6,000-acre Dallas Logistics Hub and other developments in southern Dallas County.

The public hearing was scheduled so that the Lancaster City Council could hear from Richard Allen, chief executive officer of The Allen Group, as well as other interested parties.

In total, 15 people spoke against Lancaster's involvement in the project while eight others filled out paperwork stating their opposition, but declining to speak at the hearing. No one spoke in favor of going forward with the study.

The belief held by the opposition to the study centers around what will happen to the Dallas Logistics Hub if the study is undertaken. While Lancaster wouldn't be required to adopt changes suggested by the study, Allen said he has never seen a study that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars that didn't result in changes being made.

Allen said the study would not stop development completely, but would slow it down considerably. Allen also said that if this study begins, developers who are planning on coming here may not wait for the study, and may build their warehouses elsewhere in the DFW area.

“I have a meeting scheduled with Target next week on a two million square foot facility,” Allen said. “They need to know exactly what they are buying. I have discussed this issue with Target's vice president and he is very, very concerned.”

Allen noted that he has to fill out a 23-page document for Target, detailing nearly all of the aspects of development including taxes and set-back requirements. He said as of right now he can answer those questions, but if the study is carried out, he will no longer have the answers for Target.

Allen said his company has spent more than $6 million on studies of the area over the past three years and has worked with Lancaster, Dallas, Wilmer and Hutchins, as well as Dallas County, to acquire all of the necessary permits and development agreements. He said they have already completed two warehouses, one 635,000 square feet and the other 195,000 square feet and are in discussions with potential renters. Future development on the Allen Group's property is ready to continue he said, but would be slowed if the plan is carried out.

The Allen Group's main competitor in DFW is Ross Perot Jr.'s Alliance Airport in Fort Worth. Allen pointed out the advantages the Lancaster area has over Alliance, including access to three existing highways and potentially Loop 9 and intermodals for the Union Pacific and potentially Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads.

A fear expressed by several speakers at the meeting, but not specifically addressed by Allen, was that companies that were interested in developing in Lancaster would choose Alliance over the Dallas Logistics Hub if the 18-month study was carried out since there would not be a cloud of uncertainty over Perot's development.

Allen also said the study wouldn't just impact development by companies such as The Allen Group, it would also affect the area's chances of receiving federal funding.

“Right now our federal government under (Barack) Obama is discussing the need for more infrastructure in order to boost the economy,” Allen said. “That is going to be built in regions that have approvals. We have all of that. South Dallas County will not have the opportunity to take advantage of any of those dollars if this study goes through.”

Allen was just one of the 15 people who spoke in opposition of the plan. The others included former city councilmembers, long-time business owners and local clergy.

Former Lancaster mayor Margie Waldrop spoke about opportunities that Lancaster has missed in the past, and urged the council to not miss out on this one.

Bob Borden, a long-time Lancaster businessman, chamber of commerce board member and former city councilman said Lancaster missed out on an opportunity to become a first-class city in the early 1990s when plans to make Lancaster airport into a reliever airport for DFW International Airport failed. He said the council worked long and hard to gain approval, only to have small groups of people exert enough pressure to kill the project. He told the current council they had another opportunity to make Lancaster great and to not let outside pressure affect their decision.

Other members of the business community spoke in support of The Allen Group and against the study, saying Lancaster needed a boost economically right now, not in 18 months. The common theme echoed throughout city hall was that anything that hurts development is bad for Lancaster, and that the plan would not only hurt development, but also hurt the city since revenue from the Hub and other development projects would potentially go to Fort Worth, and not Southern Dallas County.

Speakers also talked about making Lancaster great and giving Lancaster residents something to be proud of. Stanley Jaglowski told the council to notice the passion exhibited by the speakers before them and said it was time to pull the trigger on a development that will make Lancaster great.

Mark Gonzales of the Lancaster Ministerial Alliance said the council should not impede progress by supporting the 18-month study. He said it was time for Lancaster to make headlines for the right reasons.

Councilwoman Nina Morris said that she was disappointed and shocked that no one showed up to speak in favor of the study. Morris also said that the council's job was to vote the way their constituents want them to, so it is important for people to share their feelings on the study with their councilmembers.

In the hallway after the hearing adjourned, people who had spoke at the hearing wondered who was actually behind the push to implement the 18-month plan, since no one spoke in favor of the project.

The issue of an interlocal agreement between Lancaster, Wilmer, Hutchins, Dallas, Dallas County and the North Texas Central Council of Governments first came before the council June 23 and was approved. Of the six entities that NCTCOG originally said would participate, only three remain. Wilmer and Hutchins elected to not participate from the start and Dallas County pulled out in October, leaving only Lancaster, Dallas and NCTCOG.

NCTCOG is holding a public meeting Dec. 15 to update the public on the changes made to the interlocal agreement. The Lancaster City Council will vote at a called meeting Dec. 16 on whether Lancaster should remain a part of the project.

The council's vote must be made before Dec. 18, when the contract with the consultant is finalized.

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