Dallas City Council approves operator for Oak Cliff homeless housing project

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The Dallas City Council approved an operator for a long-awaited permanent supportive housing effort in North Oak Cliff.

The 14-0 vote to approve Catholic Charities of Dallas to operate the building at 1950 Fort Worth Avenue, a former hotel location.

Catholic Charities currently operates three St. Jude Centers in northwest Dallas, northeast Dallas and Lake Highlands.

District 1 Councilmember Chad West said Wednesday marked a big moment for a building the city purchased in 2020 and has spent more than four years engaging with neighbors and working to find an operator.

“Getting to this point today where we have a selected operator is a huge win,” West said.

The 20-year agreement uses $4.7 million in 2017 bond money earmarked for homeless assistance.

Renata Wells lives in District 1 and testified to the council before the vote her support for a plan that she says gives voice to a population who largely go unseen and unheard.

“I get really frustrated when people say we have to do something and then a plan comes up on how to house people, how to make the situation better and people don’t want it,” Wells told NBC 5. “I just felt like I had to come down and voice my opinion and say ‘These are real people out there.’”

CHARTER AMENDMENTS DELAYED

In other items, the Dallas City Council voted to delay any approval of amendments to the city’s charter until their August 14 meeting.

The charter amendment process happens once every ten years and any approved changes by the council are sent to voters in November.

It’s unclear if amendments centering around increasing councilmembers' pay, changing council elections from 2-year to 4-year terms and legalization of marijuana have enough council support to be forwarded to voters later this summer.

HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES SURVIVE

A push by District 7 councilmember Adam Bazaldua to outlaw the horse-drawn carriage business in Dallas did not get a full council vote.

Instead, a motion to send the idea back to a committee was approved. The idea was first proposed in late 2023 over concerns for animal safety.

However, Brian High, the only licensed horse-carriage operator in the city testified to the committee they have never had any accidents and the proposal addresses a problem that doesn’t exist in the city.