6 April 13–19, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents ▼ HOMELESS LARGE PROBLEM, SMALL SOLUTION? TINY HOMES IN BIG D COULD HELP HOUSE THE HOMELESS. BY JACOB VAUGHN T he city of Dallas is considering fund- ing the construction of tiny homes for the homeless. Tiny homes are defined by the 2021 In- ternational Residential Code as “a single unit providing complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.” Dallas re- quires that tiny homes be consistent with the international code, which defines them as being generally 400 square feet or less in area, with ceilings at least 6 feet, 8 inches high. Some think these homes could be a so- lution to housing the homeless. Now, Dallas might have some money to build them. In March 2022, the Department of Hous- ing and Urban Development (HUD) allo- cated almost $3 billion to be used for major disasters that occurred in 2020 and 2021. Dallas was awarded $24.4 million last year, then in January HUD increased the amount of money it was sending the city by nearly $16 million. The City Council will discuss at its briefing today whether to use the money to for tiny homes. These funds are usually allocated to the state, and this is the first time Dallas has re- ceived the money directly. Dallas got the money as a response to the February 2021 win- ter storm that caused statewide blackouts. This money is supposed to prioritize low- and moderate-income people and the most af- fected and distressed areas. While all of Dallas isn’t low- or moderate- income, the whole city is considered a most af- fected and distressed area. Whatever the money is used for should also principally ben- efit people who have low or moderate in- comes, help prevent or eliminate blight and meet needs with a sense of urgency. The money should also be used only for unmet recovery needs or mitigation activi- ties, meaning it shouldn’t go toward duplicate financial assistance or be used to reimburse payments from another source. draw attention any time there’s any type of injustice,” Rolen said. “I do not think it’s inev- itable, and I think we can draw attention to it much more easily. I think just the people of DFW generally don’t know enough about it because it’s just not going to come up on their radar. When it does, at least the people that I’ve talked to, they generally say ‘Well, yeah. That sounds a little crazy. Why would you do that? Why is that necessary now?’” His grandpa started buying land in the area in the ’70s and owns a few hundred acres. “It’s a family treasure,” said Rolen, an attorney who does much of his work remotely from home. “I know there are quite a few folks like me that would not have been able to live in an area like this and live the lifestyle we have if not for re- mote work. I think rural areas, small town liv- ing, finally have a path forward. You know, small towns have been dying since, what, the ’50s? Slowly dying this long, prolonged, sad death. But I think now there’s a path forward because you’re seeing more and more folks who kind of retreat from the fast life and do what I’m doing.” But the lifestyle he’s grown to love could be taken away if the reservoir is built. When it comes to what people will lose, Rolen said, “Everything’s based on estimates right now, and kind of guesses and approxi- mations.” But the latest maps he’s seen put the reservoir about a mile from his front door. Depending on where flood plains are drawn for the reservoir and what mitigation land is taken, he said he could lose his house and the family land. He’s hoping that if the reservoir does happen that he’ll be able to take what the state gives him and move somewhere close. But he thinks that’s what everyone is plan- ning, so it may be difficult to get land. People on both sides of the political spec- trum oppose the reservoir, Rolen said. “In fact, it’s so funny to be at these meetings and to have someone you would typically associ- ate with like, a ‘California liberal’ … standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a rural rancher with completely different values but both standing there saying ‘We have to preserve the land. We have to be shepherds of the land. We can’t just bury it under water to continue growing a concrete jungle.’” All of the land that could be lost could have a big impact on the school district that serves the area. Stanley Jessee, the former superinten- dent for Rivercrest Independent School Dis- trict, was born in Clarksville but has lived in Cuthand nearly his whole life, where he worked on his parents’ swine farm while growing up. He attended what’s now called Rivercrest Independent School District and earned a degree in animal science from Texas A&M University. He farmed before moving into education. “Education is what I was meant to do,” he said. After working at a couple other local schools, he was hired at Rivercrest ISD, where he spent the last 19 of his 30 years in education and was the district’s superinten- dent for eight years before retiring in 2022. He first heard about the reservoir back in 2000. From his understanding, he would lose at least a portion of his land to flooding. The rest could be taken for mitigation. Then he started thinking of how the land loss could affect Rivercrest ISD. The district is made up of students who come from mostly blue collar homes.. “River- crest, educationally, is doing great,” he said. Several programs at the district including from athletics, fine arts, health sciences and agricul- ture, have become contenders in the state. “The boundaries of Rivercrest cover 151,000 acres. Half of the footprint of Mar- vin Nichols is set to be built in [the] River- crest district,” Jessee said. “It’s going to actually cut our district in half.” He added, “Here’s the concern with that: To be able to have the programs that we have and be able to serve our kids, you have to have funding.” The land covered by Marvin Nichols would be taken off the tax roll. Enrollment could start to dwindle and the district could lose state funds because of it. “If we don’t have enough money coming in to run the programs that we have now, then we have to start making changes,” he said. “You’d have to start looking at reducing staff and reducing programs.” The alternative would be to try to make up for the funding by raising property taxes. But that could price people out of the area, Jessee said. “It’s kind of rough anyway for the people who actually live here and are stable,” he said. “They have jobs, they’re working hard, they’re paying their mort- gage, they’re paying their bills and they’re raising their kids. And this could be damag- ing, devastating for them.” Some people tell the Marvin Nichols oppo- sition, like Jessee, that they’re fighting a losing battle. Jessee disagrees. “We do have a mind set that it can be stopped. We just need to keep going. If it happens, it does, but we’re not going to let it and just roll over and play dead. … “We’re going to continue trying to get in- formation out and trying to get support in this battle against it.” Bezanson said part of the plan is to fight the reservoir for so long through lawsuits and other means that the state has no other choice but to find alternative water sources. “But we would much prefer that state leaders and DFW leaders would realize that the damage from the reservoir is too great – it’s not a good option – and begin pursuing those other options now,” she said. “No one wants a lawsuit. We just want sound deci- sions that avoid unnecessary social, eco- nomic and environmental damage.” Unfair Park from p4 >> p8 Nathan Hunsinger Aaron Rolen is an attorney whod grew up in Cuthand. He lives on a street with a lot of family members, some will lose land to the reservoir. Nathan Hunsinger Stanley Jessee is the former superintendent of Rivercrest ISD, which would essentially be cut in half and lose a lot of its funding if the reservoir is built.
