Homeowners in Casa Linda Estates are asking the city to write the neighborhood's deep front yards and wide side yards into its zoning, and the City Plan Commission takes up the request Thursday, Oct. 22.
The neighborhood is asking for a Neighborhood Stabilization Overlay, a zoning layer that adds neighborhood-specific yard rules on top of the existing single-family zoning. The area covers about 200 acres generally bounded by Garland Road, North Buckner Boulevard, Peavy Road and the East Dallas Santa Fe rail line, plus homes on the southwest side of Buckner south of Garland. Planning staff recommend approval.
What would change
The current R-10(A) zoning requires a 30-foot front yard and 10-foot side yards. Casa Linda's homes sit much farther back than that, according to measurements the neighborhood collected and city staff verified.
The overlay would set new minimums close to those measured medians:
- The Buckner Boulevard frontage in Section 1: 100-foot front yards, 25-foot side yards and 50-foot corner side yards. The measured medians there are 100, 29 and 55 feet.
- Most of the neighborhood (Sections 1, 2 and 3): 50-foot front yards, 12.5-foot side yards and 40-foot corner side yards.
- Section 4: 40-foot front yards, 12.5-foot side yards and 30-foot corner side yards.
The staff report says an overlay of this kind does not stop anyone from building a new house or remodeling, repairing or expanding an existing one. It is meant to make new homes fit the existing pattern. The neighborhood's proposal deals with setbacks; the chart in the report does not include height limits.
