After years of living next to smokestacks, warehouses, and freight trains, West Dallas neighbors are finally getting their shot to ask a basic question of City Hall: Should heavy industry really sit a few feet from homes and schools along the Singleton corridor?
That question takes center stage Tuesday at the first community meeting in an authorized hearing, a city-initiated rezoning review of roughly 256 acres where longtime factories sit cheek by jowl with neighborhoods. For organizers, it is the next chapter in a long fight to rein in heavy industrial uses while keeping residents from being displaced or further exposed to pollution.
City Schedules First Big Community Huddle
The City of Dallas has set the first authorized-hearing community meeting for Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the West Dallas Multipurpose Center, 2828 Fish Trap Rd, according to the Planning & Development Department. The review area spans about 256 acres and is bounded by Singleton Boulevard, Borger Street/Burton Drive, the Union Pacific rail line, and Westmoreland Road, the department notes.
City staff say the authorized-hearing process is designed to take a fresh look at land uses in places where houses, schools, and small businesses sit right up against industrial sites. The idea is to decide what should stay, what should change, and how to balance jobs, housing, and health along the corridor.
GAF, Neighbors, And The Push To Change Zoning
For many residents, the symbol of that tension is the GAF shingles plant at 2600 Singleton Blvd, which has been the focus of neighborhood campaigns for years. The company has said it plans to close that site in July 2029 and currently employs more than 160 people, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Activist groups such as Singleton United/Unidos have pushed for rezoning around the corridor, arguing that existing zoning rules trap families in place without the ability to rebuild or secure typical home loans when properties are damaged. Neighbors say they want tighter limits on heavy industrial uses, stronger protections for long-term residents, and redevelopment that brings neighborhood-serving businesses instead of more smokestacks.
State Law Reshaped The Playing Field
The legal toolbox for forcing industrial sites to wind down has shrunk since the Texas Legislature changed the rules. Senate Bill 929 requires cities to provide written notice and to offer compensation or additional operating time when zoning changes would make a use "nonconforming," according to the bill analysis.
D Magazine has reported that SB 929 is pushing cities to rethink how they handle amortization and to explore options such as a city-managed nonconforming-use fund, a shift that makes shutting down long-running industrial operations more expensive and legally complicated.
ForwardDallas And Neighborhood Priorities
Residents have been quick to point back to ForwardDallas, the citywide land use plan adopted in 2024, which reimagines the Singleton corridor for residential uses, "commercial flex" and neighborhood-serving businesses, according to planning documents from the City of Dallas. Organizers argue that updating zoning to match that vision would make it easier for homeowners to rebuild, protect affordability, and cut down on air pollution that community groups have flagged as a health concern.
They also stress that any rezoning cannot just swap smokestacks for speculation. Neighbors say the process needs enforceable anti-displacement measures so that long-time residents benefit from cleaner air and new investment instead of being priced out of the community they fought to improve.
What Happens After Tuesday
City staff have said the authorized-hearing process involves several rounds of community meetings and can stretch over months, typically taking between six months and two years from the first public meeting to a final City Council vote, The Dallas Morning News reports.
After Tuesday’s session, staff are expected to gather community feedback, draft zoning recommendations, and then send the case to the City Plan Commission and ultimately the City Council, with additional public hearings along the way. For many West Dallas residents, the immediate goal is straightforward: use the authorized hearing to bring zoning in line with the neighborhood’s plan while locking in protections that help families stay put as the Singleton corridor changes around them.
