Community Resources

If you would like your curb street address painted to resemble our Junius Heights logo, please contact:

Jorge (George): (972) 674-7859

For bulk trash pickup schedule please visit the city of Dallas website link below.

http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sanitation/Pages/brush_and_bulky.aspx

Junius Heights is on the 3rd Monday schedule, click on that link to view days.

What goes to the curb?

  • Tree Limbs (8ft or less is preferable)
  • Shrubbery (please separate from bulky items)
  • Bagged Leaves
  • Furniture*
  • Appliances
    • If an appliance has Freon (e.g. a/c unit or refrigerator) it is NOT accepted
  • Carpet
  • Mattresses
  • Other bulky items

What does NOT go to the curb?

  • Construction Debris
  • Bricks, Concrete, Rocks, Dirt, etc.
  • Mirrors and Glass (e.g. window or shower glass)
  • Electronics (e.g. televisions, computers, etc.)
  • Tires
  • Car parts (e.g. engine)
  • Lawnmowers (or any machinery that may contain gasoline)

Your Historic Home

As you’ll find out, historic homeownership brings with it a unique set of questions, decisions, and goals. Let’s address one of the most basic questions first: Should you restore or rehabilitate your house?

Your decision will influence the house’s finished character, the project cost, and the amount of time it takes. It will also impact how much of the work you take on yourself and how much you’ll hand off to professionals.

TheNational Trust for Historic Preservation has collected 10 tips to keep in mind when determining which approach will work best for you.

LEARN MORE at National Trust for Historic Preservation

The City of Dallas offers tax incentives to property owners completing rehabilitation projects to historic properties. The tax incentives are administered by the Historic Preservation Program. These incentives consist of tax exemptions for rehabilitation or residential conversions. The tax exemption is a reward for investing in preserving historic structures.

Your house must be a contributing structure in the Junius Heights Historic District. To qualify, you must invest 25% of the pre-rehab value of the structure. You can determine this value by going to the Dallas Central Appraisal District website and determining the Improvement Value (not including the Land value) for the year prior to the year of application.

The work that qualifies includes labor and material for interior and exterior repairs and replacement of features that preserve the historic property and become a permanent part of the building or site such as roofing, windows, sheetrock, carpentry, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, flooring, foundation work and painting.

Click here for the forms you must submit.

There are three steps to applying for the tax exemption.

STEP 1: Submit an application to the Landmark Commission.

There are two applications — one if work as not commenced, and one if work is partially completed. You can find the staff contact to submit your application here, listed as Tax Incentives.

STEP 2: Submit the Verification of Expenditures form when work is complete.

Note: if work is already complete, submit this form with your application. Work completed up to three years prior will qualify.

STEP 3: Submit your application to the Dallas County Appraisal District (DCAD) each year that you are eligible for the tax exemptions.

Download the Annual Application Form here.

The tax incentive is equal to 100% of the City of Dallas taxes for ten years. You must file for the exemption each year with the Dallas Central Appraisal District. The exemption travels with the property, so if you sell the house, the buyer is entitled to the exemption, but must make application to DCAD.

If you live in the Junius Heights Historic District, you need to obtain a Certificate of Appropriateness before you do ANY work on the exterior of your house, including painting and routine maintenance or any landscaping, including fencing. You also cannot demolish a structure within the Historic District without approval.

The Historic District was established in 2006 to preserve the historic nature of the neighborhood. A Certificate of Appropriateness is a process that ensures that the work you wish to perform is in keeping with the historic nature of the District. Everything existing before 2006 is grandfathered. The requirements of the Ordinance become effective when construction or replacement is planned for a structure. The goal is to preserve and enhance the streetscape of an early twentieth-century community.

Your application needs to be submitted to the City of Dallas, Office of Historic Preservation. You can find the staff member in charge of Junius Heights here.

Start by downloading an application and checklist from the City of Dallas website.

This page includes links that fully describes the CA process (both Landmark and Routine review), FAQs, tips for submittal, and deadlines.

The process is that you will submit your application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to the staff member in charge of Junius Heights, who will review it and may contact you with questions. Your completed application then goes before the Junius Heights Task Force, which will review your application and make a recommendation of approval or denial to the Landmark Commission. You are encouraged to attend this meeting so you can explain your application and hear what the Task Force recommends. The Task Force may also suggest modifications to your original proposal.

The City’s Office of Historic Preservation staff also makes a recommendation and your application then goes before the Landmark Commission meeting. You are encouraged to attend and speak at this meeting also.

Routine Maintenance DOES require a Certificate of Appropriateness. It does not need Landmark approval but does have to have approval from the city’s staff.

Tax incentives are available for repairs and renovations to your property and you can view this under “Resources” on this website.

A Certificate of Appropriateness (“CA”) does not replace a building permit, which must be obtained separately if required for your project. Learn more here.

You can see a map showing the extent of the Historic District here.

You can read the ordinance here.

The first paragraph states:

“All demolition, maintenance, new construction, public works, renovations, repairs, and site work in this district must comply with these preservation criteria.”

Here are a few highlights of the ordinance. Please read the ordinance in detail for all the restrictions.

SITE WORKS: Circular drives are not allowed; mechanical equipment must be in the rear 50% of the lot and screened. Landscaping and exterior lighting must be appropriate. Satellite dishes must not be seen from the street. Existing mature trees in the front yard are protected.

FENCES: Fences are not allowed in the front yard. Interior fences are generally allowed beginning with the rear 50% of the dwelling. Consult the ordinance for height limitations.

FACADES: The front facade and the front 50% of side facades are protected. Repairs and renovations must use materials similar to the historic material, texture, color and pattern. Bricks must match the original bricks. Bricks, cast stone and concrete elements may NOT be painted. Historic materials must be restored if possible. Original doors and windows must remain intact. It is recommended that non-original doors and windows be replaced. New openings for doors and windows cannot be added. Historic paint colors are recommended for the building.

ROOF: The historic slope, massing, configuration and material must be preserved. Approval is required to replace a roof.

PORCHES: Porches and balconies on protected facades are protected and cannot be enclosed. Columns and railings and trim are protected.

NEW CONSTRUCTION: New construction must be compatible with the District’s historical style.

ADDITIONS: Additions must be compatible with the existing structure, be in the back 50%, and must not exceed the height of similar historic properties on the block.

ACCESSORY STRUCTURES: Accessory structures must be compatible with the main structure; the foot print cannot exceed 600 square feet and cannot be taller than the main structure.

The City of Dallas ordinance says the adjacent property owner is responsible for all repairs or replacement of sidewalks and drive approaches so their maintenance is up to you.

However, the City has a cost sharing program where they will pay for one half the cost of repairs or replacement of sidewalks. Property owners pay 100% of driveway approach repairs or replacement.

The City does the replacement through their bonded contractors. Requests are handled as they are received and it takes two to three months to receive a quote by mail. Once you accept the quote and provide your portion of the cost, it takes three to nine months to complete the project depending on how busy they are.

Call 214-948-4127 or 214-948-4287 to access the program.

Click here to learn more about the City of Dallas Sidewalk Replacement Program.

Sources for information about buildings in the Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division of the Dallas Public Library. These materials can help you determine when a building was constructed and/or remodeled, for whom it was built, the identity of the architect or contractor, and information about who has lived or worked in the structure.

Researchers will generally need to know three things to begin their research:

  1. Address
  2. Owner (if other than researcher)
  3. Legal Description (Addition name/lot & block number)

LEARN MORE at Dallas Public Library Historic Building Research Guidelines (PDF)

Junius Heights resident Eric Graham has put together an informative guide for researching your Junius Heights home, developed as he was researching the history of his own house. He has generously offered the use of his guide for free public use. Thank you, Eric! Download the PDF here.

Learn More About Historic Preservation

Protecting and preserving the unique character of your neighborhood is important. If you live in Dallas, there are a number of national and local designations that you can pursue. These include:

  • National Register of Historic Places: administered by the Texas Historical Commission and the National Park Service. National Register designation regulates rehabilitation of the site only if federal funds or tax incentives are used. Today there are 25 National Register districts in Dallas, including Dealey Plaza, Fair Park and all City of Dallas historic districts.
  • City of Dallas Landmark Designation: administered by the City of Dallas through the Landmark Commission. All changes to exterior appearance to a landmark-designated property require a Certificate of Appropriateness from the City. There are currently over 80 structures designated as City of Dallas landmarks such as the Adolphus Hotel, the Magnolia Building and the Wales Apartments.
  • City of Dallas Historic or Landmark District: administered by the City of Dallas through the Landmark Commission. Historic Districts are defined areas with a significant concentration of structures unified by their architectural style or related historical events. Historic Districts must also be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A Certificate of Appropriateness from the City is required for all changes to exterior appearance. There are currently 20 historic districts in Dallas including Lake Cliff, the Sears Complex and Swiss Avenue.
  • City of Dallas Conservation District: administered by the City of Dallas, Department of Sustainable Development and Construction. Conservation Districts are a zoning tool that allows neighborhoods to establish exterior design criteria and other standards to preserve the character of an area. An ordinance is established for each conservation district that details the regulations homeowners must follow in any renovations or new construction.

LEARN MORE from Preservation Dallas

The City of Dallas Historic Preservation website provides services related to historic districts, historic structures, and potential historic districts and structures. These services include Landmark (historic) Designation, Certificates of Appropriateness (approval forms for work on landmark structures), and administering tax incentive programs within Historic Districts and on individual Historic Structures.

LEARN MORE from City of Dallas

Each year, the National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded over $1 million in grant funding to 196 projects nationwide. Funding from the National Trust is awarded to nonprofit organizations and public agencies, and the majority of our funding is awarded for planning and education projects through our National Trust Preservation Funds grant program.

LEARN MORE from National Trust for Historic Preservation

Over the past 35 years, the National Main Street Center has led the development of a national network of over 2,000 historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts: Main Street America™

LEARN MORE from National Main Street Center