This enews is dedicated to just two topics, the Cotton Belt/Silver Line and poker rooms. As promised, here is a deep dive for both. There are new things happening every day. As specifics unfold, I will keep you informed through the enews and social media.

Have a great weekend, Cara

Cara Mendelsohn, Dallas City Councilmember, District 12

Hopefully you’ve heard about DART’s 26-mile Cotton Belt/Silver Line Rail and Hike and Bike Trail. This project has been in the works for many years, and we are lucky to have residents who have actively worked on this plan to improve it for all. The train will run 60-90 times a day. DART will start positioning trains around 4 am and return trains to the station around 2 am. You can find a lot more information about the project at www.dart.org/silverline.

Have you seen the message boards to make the community aware of changes to traffic flow and construction? We’re at the beginning of a long construction period related to the building of the Cotton Belt/Silver Line. Every part of our district, from Arapaho north to President George Bush Turnpike, from Coit to the Tollway, will feel the effects of this construction with increased residential traffic and challenges getting to destinations as lanes and even streets close. This will be difficult for all. The project is expected to be completed by December 2024, and I believe we will have various construction challenges until the project is complete.

Traffic counting hoses have been put in many places so the City of Dallas transportation department can have a baseline of traffic today and be able to see if any one area is experiencing a much greater impact than other areas, and adjustments can be made. There is an acknowledgement that the traffic is lighter in July because of summer vacations and school break, but the point is not the actual number of vehicles, it’s the change in the number of vehicles, as compared to the change in vehicles on other streets. Many people have talked to me about their concerns that the construction will bring additional traffic on their street, and I can tell you that nobody wants it, and probably everyone will get some. We’re going to have to be very patient or very annoyed for the next few years.

Utilities work permits have been issued for DART and their contractor, AWH, for some city street locations including on Hillcrest. Starting Monday, there will be some initial work performed on Hillcrest in advance of the relocation of utilities. One lane going each direction near the tracks will be closed. Traffic will still be able to go both north and south. Soon, two lanes in each direction will likely be closed on Hillcrest, with traffic patterns changing as different sides of the road are worked on. Temporary traffic signals will be installed at Hillcrest/McKamy and Hillcrest/McCallum and sidewalk closure will be minimized. As with any temporary traffic control situation, adjustments may be made to minimize impacts where possible.

Construction work permits have not been issued for work on City of Dallas right of way related to the Cotton Belt/Silver Line. Work on the Cotton Belt hike and bike trail will be happening simultaneously in some sections.

With the design-build process that DART has used to build this rail line, there have been refinements and changes to DART’s plans over the two years I have been in office, many of which have added additional safety elements and lessen the impact on quality of life. I recognize that many residents would simply prefer the train not be built or be built in a trench/tunnel through our area, but DART is not willing to do that, and given the city council resolutions enacted years ago as well as federal approval of the project, there is no way for the City of Dallas to require it. I am very proud of the City of Dallas staff who have worked so hard on the 9 at-grade crossings in Dallas (meaning the train will cross in the roadway) as well as the two grade-separated crossings (meaning the train will go over or under the road). Each intersection has its own set of challenges and it has taken a dedicated team, led by Director of Transportation Gus Khankarli and Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghadfry, to ensure sound engineering and safety, and assist with improvements for the residents.

Just this week, additional changes have been agreed to that will significantly lessen the impact of construction, provide additional safety on Hillcrest, allow for a sidewalk on both sides of Hillcrest as well as a crosswalk on all 4 parts of the McCallum/Hillcrest intersection, provide less impact for homeowners that back up to Hillcrest and McCallum, as well as Ohev Shalom and our police department on McCallum. Because of these changes, the timelines are being reset, work priorities reconsidered, and the roll-out of the construction phases may be reordered. I will share updates on construction and any changes as they occur.

A small group made of D12 residents, DART staff, City of Dallas staff, Federal Railroad Administration, Texas Department of Transportation, and engineers will be evaluating all of the rail crossings in D12 in the coming weeks to make sure the design and funds are in place to address safety concerns for the “quiet zones.” These are places where the train will cross the road, but not blow its horn as a matter of practice. The train operator can still blow the horn if they believe there is a safety issue.

What is recognized is the need for accurate and timely information that residents can access directly during the construction phase. A way for residents to view existing and upcoming construction activities (lane closures, detours, etc…) and timeline throughout the area on a website is being developed but not live yet. Some very general information about construction is available on the DART website.

There is an outstanding issue of the color and texture of the sound walls. DART has asked adjacent homeowners multiple times for input, but unfortunately, ended up with a system that left more than a dozen colors and textures from Preston to Waterview. Looking at the big picture, there has been strong support for just one color and texture. There has also been interest in a green wall option, but questions that deal with the specifics of the plant size, quantity, and maintenance responsibilities have not been answered, so the viability of this option is not yet fully understood.

Coit Road will be rebuilt to go up and over the train by about 9 feet. The train will be below the level of the ground by about 11 feet.

Traffic signals: To ensure the safety of residents, new traffic signals with radar and cameras will be added at Sugar Cane Lane and currently in discussions to add one at Osage Plaza to help vehicles get across Coit, as well as to upgrade the signal at McCallum/Coit. The technology of the traffic signals at Coit/Frankford and Coit/PGBT will be updated to provide radar and cameras.

Hike and Bike Trail: The Cotton Belt hike and bike trail access will be provided to the side of the roadway retaining wall on the north side of the tracks.

Traffic: Coit Road will never close down, but it will be a difficult road while construction is going on. Based on current design refinements, while the Coit Road construction is active, there will not be significant construction on Hillcrest.

Hike and Bike Trail: The Cotton Belt trail will be built along the tracks on the north side.

Traffic signals: If needed, a temporary traffic light may be placed at Meandering Way/McCallum.

Hike and Bike Trail: The Cotton Belt Trail will be built along the tracks on the north side. There are discussions about how to make sure the trails allow for an easy connection.

Hike and Bike Trail: The Cotton Belt Trail will be built along the tracks on the west side.

Traffic Signals: There will be new traffic signals at Hillcrest/McKamy and a newly reconstructed signal at Hillcrest/McCallum. Both McKamy and McCallum traffic signals will start out temporary, as the signal heads will need to move as the construction changes lanes.

Hike and Bike Trail: The Cotton Belt Hike and Bike Trail will also have a bridge that will go over Hillcrest.

Hike and Bike Trail: The Cotton Belt Trail will be built along the tracks on the north side.

Hike and Bike Trail: The Cotton Belt Trail will be built along the tracks on the west side.

Hike and Bike Trail: The Cotton Belt Trail will switch from north/west side on the north side of Davenport to south/east side on the south side of the street.

Since the end of January, there has been an issue with potential poker rooms renting space to operate in District 12. All of the proposed locations have been in Collin County. District 12 is the only part of the City of Dallas that includes residents outside of Dallas County. The reason this is significant is the prosecuting authority for a poker room is the District Attorney for the county. In Collin County, the DA is Greg Willis.

Gambling in Texas is illegal, with certain exemptions. Texas has the strictest laws prohibiting gambling in America. For definitive reading about the legality, please visit https://guides.sll.texas.gov/gambling/poker-clubs, where you can read the law surrounding poker rooms, news articles related to the legality of poker rooms, and Texas Attorney General opinions on poker rooms.

In recent years, poker room operators, who once operated “underground” games, have begun operating in the open, with what some call “a loophole” or “grey area” of the law by arranging a business model where they do not take a portion of the betting, and instead charge a membership fee or cover charge and an hourly chair rental rate. Some also offer food and alcohol. In the link above, there are several articles that reference this model. There are approximately 50 poker rooms publicly operating in Texas, including at least two in Dallas that opened without a special use permit or vote from city council.

In Dallas, there was a zoning case that came to the city council to approve a two-year special use permit for a poker room near the old Valley View mall. Because of the special use permit, the City Councilmember, businesses and residents of the one apartment complex nearby were notified and had the opportunity to object. None objected. The city attorney advised there was a grey area in relation to the legality of poker rooms and we should not vote to oppose zoning based on that objection. The applicant for the special use permit has not opened a poker room in that location and the special use permit will expire in February 2022.

In District 12, the first poker room location that popped up was in a retail center along the tollway on the west side between Briargrove and Trinity Mills, formerly a YouFit. That location has different zoning than the Valley View location and did not require a special use permit, which was a surprise to me. Without a special use permit, there is no notification of the Councilmember or community, and there is no vote of the city council. The entity started doing work without building permits, and the neighbors noticed and contacted the District 12 office. The city sent out building inspectors and code compliance department multiple times. Permits for construction were filed, and the work was monitored by the city. Working closely with the Bent Tree West community, I scheduled a meeting to share information and answer questions from the community, along with the City Attorney’s Office and the Sustainable Development/Building Permit office. To obtain a certificate of occupancy, a business must have a specific number of parking spaces based on the square footage of the business. The poker room did not have a sufficient number of parking spots. They have not officially revoked their request for the certificate of occupancy, but have indicated to city staff they were unable to meet the parking requirements. (Note: there are many people at city hall that would like to remove parking requirements. When this item comes up in the fall, please speak up and support a proposal that only removes parking requirements in certain areas instead of the whole city)

In May, a second poker operator signed a lease with the property formerly known as IIIForks, on the east side of the tollway between Briargrove and Trinity Mills. They also have zoning that does not require any notification of the Councilmember or community, nor a vote by city council. Again, because of vigilant neighbors, the workers at the property shared the intent of the operators to open a poker room and they contacted the District 12 office. I spoke with the proposed operator and expressed my concern about having a poker room that backs up to single family housing, the question of the legality of poker rooms, crime, drunk driving, driving through the neighborhood, blocking off the parking lot so customers could not turn onto Briargrove, and desire to shut them down if possible. They had originally planned to open 8/1 and host a poker tournament 9/1, then moved it to 9/14, but this week they announced the tournament is cancelled and they hope to open in the fall. They have submitted a request for a certificate of occupancy, but the information was incomplete and the city has returned it with further questions. (retail owner: Dallas Stake Investments, 527 Los Pinos Ave, Milpitas, CA, 95035, Phong Trung Nguyen, Owner (408) 916-1990, poker operator: Knighted/Champions, Roy Choi, rchoi@knighted.com)

Since then, a third poker room has initiated a lease at the property formerly known as Fox & Hound, on the corner of Midway and Rosemeade. They also have zoning that does not require any notification of the Councilmember or community, nor a vote by the city council. I have spoken with the attorney representing the operator and shared that they are not welcome and desire to shut them down if possible. They have filed a permit to add four offices, an employee break room and a storage area to the building. This area also backs up to single family housing and sits in an area that has had crime response teams and community prosecution working to reduce violent crime. (owner of the retail property: Navika Capital Group, 2201 N. Collins St, Arlington, TX 76011, Naveen Shah, President & CEO, (516) 342-9840)

When the first D12 poker room effort was discovered, I realized the exposure neighborhoods all over our district and city have to poker rooms because there is no special use permit requirement. Working with the City Attorney’s Office and our District 12 Plan Commissioner Kristine Schwope, a public hearing was opened at the plan commission so additional language can be added to the city code. With the help of many residents from Bent Tree North and West who wrote emails, we were able to get the hearing opened requesting that special use permits be mandatory for all poker rooms (if it is deemed legal). Without it, there is the possibility of additional poker rooms moving into vacant retail space all along Frankford, Preston, Coit, Arapaho, and along the tollway. The process to amend the code is time consuming and may not be in place for city council to vote on until 2022.

Because Dallas is a home-rule city, many of the ways to address poker rooms are within the city purview. Many departments throughout the city have been consulted and tasked to help in various ways, including code compliance, transportation, building inspection, planning, sustainable development, city attorney’s office, economic development, planning and zoning, and city manager’s office. Police Chief Garcia, Assistant Chief Watson, and Major Hadnot have all been involved and helpful.

However, gambling is a state law, and if there are loopholes or grey areas where clarifications are needed, three things can happen to clarify the law. One is through a lawsuit, another through an Attorney General’s published opinion, and the third is through legislation to tighten up state law. In District 12, all the areas where the poker rooms want to open are represented by State Representative Matt Shaheen and State Senator Angela Paxton, who can both draft the legislation needed to change the laws on poker rooms. I’ve spoken with Collin County Commissioner Duncan Webb and he is supportive, even though he does not have jurisdiction to help with the efforts. Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis has participated in many calls on this issue, brought legal scholars to the calls to talk on this issue, and has agreed to prosecute to shut down poker rooms in Collin County. The City of Dallas City Attorney’s office is reviewing the laws, talking with other cities and attorneys, and will share their legal opinion with us soon.

Underground gambling houses and businesses exist, and as these new public poker room businesses have raised discussion in the community, I am surprised to hear people tell me there are underground games in our area. If you know of one, please report it to the police so the vice unit can investigate. Last week, a group called North Dallas Veterans Association had a violent incident at their location which was being used as a poker room, located on Trinity Mills across from the post office. On July 4th, a man in Dallas was killed at an underground poker game over $7. Crime is one of the reasons poker rooms do not belong behind single family housing.

The Bent Tree North community has circulated a petition and held an in-person protest. Several people have spoken to the media. There is a story coming on NBC this week and Spectrum News has already posted this story: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/dallas-fort-worth/news/2021/07/21/gambling-in-texas--how-poker-rooms-legally-operate-given--gray-areas-#. Community efforts to oppose the poker rooms are appreciated.

1. At the core, I believe in neighborhood self-determination. I don’t believe anybody buys a home expecting to have a 24-hour poker room in their backyard. If they are found to be legal, councilmembers and residents should be notified about possible poker rooms, residents and neighboring businesses should have the opportunity for input, and the city council should vote to grant a special use permit or not.

2.   If you read the state law, it seems clear that the business model of the poker rooms is illegal since they are receiving a benefit. The law does not say they are legal if they don’t take a portion of the betting, it says they can’t benefit. Poker rooms are making millions of dollars annually. If it is deemed the poker rooms are illegal, the City of Dallas should not be issuing a certificate of occupancy for an illegal business. (NOTE: I am not an attorney and it is not the role of a city councilmember to decide if they are legal)

More information on the legality of poker rooms in Texas:t is Considered Gambling in Texas?

Texas is one of the strictest states when it comes to gambling and its laws can cover a wide variety of activities. Under Texas law, (Penal Code §47.02) gambling is considered a criminal offense if someone:

The law does provide for some exceptions such as participating in the state lottery or placing bets on horse and greyhound dog races (sometimes referred to as pari-mutuel wagering). The law also provides for some affirmative defenses to prosecution:

Source: Texas State Law Library

Need help, got a question, or want to give input?

Email: Cara.Mendelsohn@DallasCityHall.com

Office phone: (214) 670-4067

Text phone: (214) 490-1036