4 December 11 -17, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents The Oak Cliff Code City investigates controversial members-only club. BY ALYSSA FIELDS F or a small monthly fee of around $250, you too can be a member of one of Dallas’ most controversial mem- bers-only clubs. Unlike an exclusive country club, this one doesn’t enforce a strict dress code, nor will you meet your next partner to hit the green with. In fact, trade the usual millionaires that frequent unmarked private social clubs and their glasses of top-shelf scotch for suburban moms with a dairy-free nut-milk latte. Getting into Le Sol House, the hospitality spot located in two unassuming houses on Canty Street in Oak Cliff, ain’t easy, and you’d better submit your application while it’s still there in its current capacity. After years of neighbor complaints, albeit mostly on social media, the city has launched an in- vestigation into the club for code violations related to occupancy requirements for home-based businesses. “Whether you like Le Sol or not, imagine if the house next door to you was bought to become an event venue,” Rob Shearer, a spokesperson for the Kidd Springs Neigh- borhood Association, wrote on Facebook in March. “Imagine weddings, concerts, pool parties with amplified music and open bars, weekend after weekend. The traffic. The noise. The sheer disruption to your life and your home.” Le Sol House, owned by Taylor Madison, a local travel agency owner, has been em- broiled in controversy for several years, pri- marily because it operates as a full-fledged business in a residential neighborhood. In select circumstances, businesses can operate out of residential homes in Dallas, but there are many hoops to jump through, like square-footage use, maximum em- ployee requirements and parking require- ments. Every day, a myriad of cars file into the public lot conveniently located across the street from the community swimming pool and check in to Le Sol House for yoga classes, sound baths and other types of ho- listic wellness activities one might pay a pretty penny for. Not just anybody, though. Members must pass the application process, which requires a personal reference, a professional refer- ence, a headshot and a link to all social me- dia pages. Bonus points are awarded in your favor if you can get an existing member to refer you. Le Sol House falls under the umbrella of a fru-fru holistic wellness events space, slash yoga studio, slash co-working space, slash occasional coffee shop. Madison de- clined our request for an interview, but she did speak to D Magazine recently when the publication got a peek inside the club. They had good things to say about a tarot reading event. They even got Madi- son to sit for an interview, where the busi- ness owner confessed to having worked arduously through the zoning process to keep her business above board. “What I’ve learned is that zoning is a long and expensive process,” Madison said to D. “And it’s rooted in structures that weren’t designed with women-led or community- centered spaces in mind. We’re preparing for a [Special Use Permit] rather than a full zoning change, and my intention has always been to move through it in a way that pro- tects the community we’ve built.” The Open Investigation A spokesperson with knowledge of city op- erations told the Observer that the article from D prompted action from the city, sparking an inquiry into whether Le Sol House was fulfilling the occupancy require- ments to operate a home-based business. By city code, a home-based business must be occupied within the principal dwelling or in an attached garage, and sometimes requires a certificate of occupancy (CO). “With regards to Le Sol, Code Compli- ance currently has open cases for two prop- erties to address outstanding code issues and continues to provide my office and the concerned neighbor with regular updates,” Council member Chad West said in a state- ment provided to the Observer. “I will con- tinue working closely with Code Compliance to ensure that these properties either come into compliance with the Home Occupation Ordinance or pursue the rezon- ing process, allowing neighbors the oppor- tunity to provide input on whether this use should be permitted in Kidd Springs.” According to D, an open records request turned up few results for noise and parking complaints filed with the city about the two properties. However, Le Sol House is cer- tainly plagued with online controversy, and West himself has been caught in the crossfire. Shearer’s initial post, with almost 50 comments, was in response to a meet and greet with West scheduled at Le Sol House while he was campaigning for re- election. The event, following significant outrage, was eventually relocated to avoid a conflict of interest, with West highlight- ing that it was never intended to be a fund- raising event and that his office hadn’t received any complaints about the proper- ties since 2024. “That is a blatantly illegal land use, not even a molecule of ambiguity. Operating without a [CO] by the way,” one fairly upset Facebooker, Bruce Richardson, wrote on Shearer’s post. “... I have gone years trying to avoid confronting the obvious, but Chad [West] has heaped misery onto this entire City for the last several years, and I am DONE with it and DONE with him. How hypocritical can you be to create all this chaos in the name of housing, and then throw a fundraiser at an illegal business op- erating in HOUSES that should be occupied with RESIDENTS!!!!” The neighborhood’s long battle with gen- trification is far from over, and while prices rise on the South side, the North becomes increasingly protective. But West, a small business owner by day, says business should be welcome in his part of town so long as they comply with the city’s rules. “I was very fortunate to move into a neighborhood like Oak Cliff that supports entrepreneurship, and I continue to support small businesses and want them to be suc- cessful,” he said. West will continue to work with neigh- bors and Le Sol House until a solution is found. “If we don’t like the rules that are in the city code, we look at changing the city rules,” he said. “But everyone’s got to play by the same rules under city code.” ▼ CRIME SEEKING SAFER STOPS AFTER VIOLENT CRIME SPREE, DART SPENDS MILLIONS ON SECURITY IMPROVENTS. BY ALYSSA FIELDS T he Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system has much more to navigate than the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area map, currently. This fall, as more mem- ber cities discuss exiting their partnership with the agency, news of three unrelated shootings in a five-week span occurring on separate DART properties hit headlines. However, even as funding concerns grow, DART announced millions in new security enhancements directly following the crime spree, but disgruntled riders say it may still not be enough to recover the system’s repu- tation. On Nov. 19, DART announced a new $16.8 million contract to upgrade and re- place thousands of surveillance cameras, “increasing efficiency and collaboration be- tween DART [Police Department] and oper- ations.” DART says the new enhancements, the largest camera overhaul since 2010, will increase response times. “This upgraded camera system is part of a multi-step process to ensuring our trains, buses and facilities are as secure as possible for our employees and riders,” said Randall Bryant, the newest DART Board of Direc- tors chair, in a press release. “We have a duty to maintain a secure system for North Texas, and it’s a primary priority of my ten- ure as Board Chair.” The overhaul is scheduled to begin in early 2026, with no announced completion date. However, online critics of DART be- lieve that cameras are merely scratching the surface of possible safety enhancements. “Cameras won’t stop a bullet, knife, inde- cent exposure, or other crimes,” Brandon Co- meaux wrote on DART’s Facebook post about the scheduled improvements. “They just provide video evidence that a crime hap- pened. “... I stopped riding the train after tak- ing it for a month because it was unsafe, in the time I rode, I saw a lot, and when the murders started, I decided it was time to drop DART.” The first fatal shooting this fall was on Sept. 29 on a train near Market Center Sta- tion. A week later, on Oct. 5, a second fatal shooting occurred near the St. Paul Station. A third non-fatal shooting at Akard Station on Nov. 7 ended the string of gun violence. According to DART crime metrics, there have been between 2 and 4 homicides each year since 2022. But still, the spike in gun- related violent crime triggered a response from DART Police Chief Charles Cato, who told NBC 5 that he was stationing a uni- formed officer or a fare enforcer on each train or station platform. According to DART’s data, crime rates have increased over the last four years. But most of that increase is related to drug charges, of which there were 150 in 2022. By 2025, drug offenses increased 601%, totaling 1,052 as of September. Between 2022 and 2025, the number of assault offenses Adobe Stock Is Le Sol House a yoga studio? A coffee shop? An event space? In compliance with Dallas city code? | UNFAIR PARK | >> p6
