10 OctOber 3 - 9, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents “The main thing I wanted to say in this reso- lution is that bills and laws being passed at the legislature are unjust. They’re not just amoral, they’re bad. Bad for politics, bad for community building, bad for business.” In addition to the Texas Legislature’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, law- makers have introduced bills that target drag performances, transgender participa- tion in sports and transgender individuals’ ability to change their sex on their drivers li- cense. Furthermore, a study by The Human Rights Campaign found that Texas laws made up one-fifth of all Anti-LGBTQ+ legis- lation introduced nationwide in 2023. Clarke penned the resolution alongside District 1 Commissioner Theresa M. Daniel, who said she was bringing the document forward because “discrimination in any place is wrong” when presenting the resolu- tion to the court. The resolution calls on the Texas Legis- lature to protect the rights of transgender Texans, and urges congress to pass the Equality Act, a bill that would update the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include protections against discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. The county’s passage of the resolution marks a win for Clarke, who was searching for politi- cal momentum and support ahead of her ul- timate goal: designating Dallas as a sanctuary city for transgender individuals. The term “sanctuary city” is generally used to describe municipalities that offer le- gal protections to undocumented immi- grants despite federal immigration laws. A similar movement has emerged in the trans- gender rights sphere, with cities like Sacra- mento, California, New York and Kansas City, Missouri, declaring that city resources will not be used to criminalize transgender individuals seeking transition-related care. “When we started to try and put together this campaign and do this sanctuary city law in Dallas, it was a really large undertaking,” Clarke said. “I’m trying to get in touch with the city, with the council people … and ap- parently there is some interest.” But as a transgender woman who was born and raised in Texas, it isn’t lost on Clarke that as her efforts gain traction, the wave of opposition she faces likely will as well. After Dallas County passed her resolu- tion, the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board published an editorial calling for the county to “stay out of medical debates and support all its constituencies.” The editorial board took issue with the resolution’s declaration that “gender affirm- ing healthcare has been proven to be evi- dence-based, medically necessary, and lifesaving,” pointing to several scientists who say otherwise and stating that it is “troubling” to see the local health authority “leaping ahead of scientific consensus.” “People of good faith can be concerned about providing permanent medical inter- vention to minors and about people who have experienced male puberty taking part in female sports without being anti-LG- BTQ+. Most Americans recognize that nu- ance. Dallas County has resolved not to,” the editorial reads. Undiscouraged, Clarke described the News editorial as “drivel” that was “cut and pasted” from “J.K. Rowling’s Tweets.” (The Harry Potter author has been criticized in recent years for the controversial views of the transgender community she has posted to social media.) “I think that for some people, their poli- tics aren’t necessarily as close to the chest as it is for people like trans people, like Pales- tinian people, like immigrants and Black people. Our politics are distinct because there are lives on the line,” Clarke said. “I didn’t transition until later in life, after [ex- periencing] the pain and misery of not being able to come out. I think that part of my goal and what I want to do is build a world that is safe and open for trans kids and for queer youth in general, [because] they are con- stantly under attack.” ▼ CITY HALL ONWARD AND FORWARD FORWARDDALLAS 2.0 PASSES AFTER CONTENTIOUS DAY AT CITY HALL. BY KELLY DEARMORE A fter many months, amendments and debates, Dallas City Council voted 11-4 last week to approve For- wardDallas 2.0. Contention over the plan pitted those favoring higher-density hous- ing — meaning apartments — against home- owners in single-family residential areas who fear its effect on their neighborhoods and property values. The document is the city’s first attempt at tackling a comprehen- sive land-use plan since 2006. “Today, we’ve got to move forward, and I hope all my colleagues move forward with me,” said Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins, who voted to pass ForwardDallas, before the vote took place. “Land-use planning is at the heart of ev- erything we do in the city,” said council member Chad West as he encouraged the plan’s passage. “It’s because of what I’ve learned in the trenches in the last seven years that I support ForwardDallas 2.0.” “Where does this create opportunity for home ownership?” asked Zarin D. Gracey, who admitted before the vote that he didn’t know where he stood on ForwardDallas 2.0. Council member Gay Donnell Willis said that she agreed with the last round of revi- sions for the most part, although she admit- ted that “it’s not perfect, but it’s a middle ground.” Adam Bazaldua called out what he deemed misinformation by reading a “fear mongering” email that attacked the merits of ForwardDallas 2.0, adding that “I do want to see more density in our city, but that doesn’t mean it has to be next door to you [opponents].” Carolyn King Arnold gave a rousing speech to explain why she would vote against the plan, taking inspiration from the Luther Vandross song “A House Is Not a Home.” “I believe strongly that we need to pro- tect single-family homes that were zoned that way,” she said. “Existing neighborhoods should not be infiltrated by right, by trend… why would I want an igloo-shaped, a Tesla- shaped, boxed project sitting next to my house, it makes no sense.” Mayor Eric Johnson, Arnold and council members Cara Mendelsohn and Jesse Moreno were the four who voted “no.” As is often the case with the most conten- tious and high-profile city issues, City Hall was filled with residents eager to give the council its two cents in each of their allotted two minutes of public comment time. Although there were dozens of speakers over the course of the afternoon, they merely served to crystalize the primary ar- gument both for and against the plan. The many speakers wearing “SAVE Sin- gle Family Neighborhoods” stickers on their shirts hammered home their notion that ForwardDallas, as currently constructed, does not, in their opinion, protect single- family neighborhoods from the problems that would be ushered in by allowing multi- family housing units such as duplexes, tri- plexes and fourplexes into their neighborhoods. The speakers on that side of the argument claimed that increased traffic congestion and over-reaching developers would have a catastrophic on established neighborhoods. Jack Cox, a resident from District 11, told the council that “credibility is an issue with the council” thanks to what he said was their indulgence of an “urbanist agenda.” Julia Davis of District 14 said that if For- wardDallas 2.0 passed it would welcome apartments that resemble “ugly storage units” that replace what she said are afford- able homes in the process. One opponent took a moment to call out the staff present at the meeting who were wearing T-shirts that seemed to promote the passage of ForwardDallas, asking “Did my tax dollars pay for those?” A number of other speakers against the plan claimed that the language is opaque and vague enough to allow developers and inves- tors to take advantage of the confusing nature of the plan to usher in multi-family unit hous- ing options that do not fit with neighborhoods aesthetically while also potentially creating housing options that are not affordable. Many requests were made of the council by ForwardDallas 2.0 opponents to post- pone a vote on the matter and to continue working on the plan while allowing more community comment. Proponents of ForwardDallas 2.0 more or less stuck to a united script. More housing options and an increase in what many speakers called “missing middle housing,” which would conceivably result in more sustainable, walkable neighborhoods, was cited as an answer to the city’s affordable housing problem. The fact that the vast majority of those speaking to oppose the plan were closer to re- tirement age or older, and predominantly white, as opposed to those in favor of the plan who were younger and more racially diverse, wasn’t lost on several speakers. The strong protections that ForwardDallas had for sin- gle-family neighborhoods prior to September were referred to as a form of racism. Some proponents noted the plan’s pro- tections for environmental justice efforts that would serve residents in places like West Dallas and Joppa, where industrial plants and factories have reportedly harmed the air quality. Michael Lewis, a rabbi at Temple El-Em- manuel in Dallas, said he was in favor of the current version of ForwardDallas because many of his congregants have been priced out of Dallas and can’t live near their com- munity, nor the temple. He called the older version of the plan a form of “racist redlin- ing” and a result of “exclusionary practices.” Daniel Roby, CEO of the Austin Street Center homeless shelter, spoke in favor of ForwardDallas. He cited his own experience of living in an accessory dwelling unit, also known as a granny flat and something not included in the plan, before he encouraged the council to “cast a vision for a city with more housing options, not less.” ▼ PARKS DROP THE BANNER DROP? PARKS DEPARTMENT SETS SIGHTS ON NORTHAVEN BRIDGE PROTESTS. BY EMMA RUBY I t has been nearly a year since the terrorist organization Hamas launched the Oct. 7 attack on Israel which resulted in the death of over 1,100 Israelis, the kidnapping of another 250, and the ensuing regional war that authorities say has killed 40,000 Pales- tinians. The United States has largely tip- toed around the conflict, but it seems the Dallas Park and Recreation board will take a more heads-on approach to tackling Fran Polito/Getty Images Single-family neighborhoods in Dallas could look a bit different in the near future. >> p12 Unfair Park from p8
