Junius Heights Neighborhood News

Saturday Spring Fling!!!

Junius Heights will sponsor a Spring Fling on Saturday, April 24, from 4 pm to 7 pm, on Fulton St between Junius and Worth. Get to know your neighbors! There will crawfish, fresh catfish, hot dogs and more. Please join us for food, drinks, and fun!

Admission to the party is membership in our Junius Heights Historic District neighborhood association. At $15, it is one of the best bargains around! You may join by paying through PayPal on our website (add link here), by mailing a check to Junius Heights Historic District, P.O.Box 141004, Dallas, TX 75214, or you can you can bring cash or check to the party.

Annual Junius Heights Meeting October 27

The annual Junius Heights neighborhood meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 27 at 7:00 at Lipscomb Elementary.  All residents of Junius are welcome!  There will be election of officers, information about Dallas ’ sidewalk replacement program, the upcoming home tour, and an opportunity to help set goals for the coming year.  If you would like to nominate somebody for a board position, please contact reneschmidt@att.net.

James Dowdy from city hall will be there to discuss the Sidewalk Program.  He will have brochures and will be able to answer questions.

3^rd Annual Junius Heights Home Tour Nov. 8

The third annual Junius Heights Home Tour will take place on Sunday, November 8 from 11 am-5 pm.  Advance tickets may be purchased for $10.00 at the following locations:  Hacienda on Henderson , Fish City Grill, Whole Foods Market in Lakewood , Another Broken Egg, and the Garden Café. Tickets the day of the tour are $15.00 and may be purchased at the ticket booth in front of Lipscomb School or at any of the homes on the tour.

Six historic homes and a school located in the heart of Junius Heights will be on tour. The houses were built almost 100 years ago when Junius Heights was a new development in the eastern reaches of the city.  Each displays their individual personalities:  some have been updated but retain their historic roots while others maintain their original features stoically.  All the homes have interesting stories to tell:  Luther Brown and his family lived in one of the featured homes on Tremont from the day it was built until he died some forty years later.  Another on Huntley sheltered the Galbraith brothers.  Thomas was a prominent architect who helped design the Texas Hall of State and other Texas Centennial projects.  His brother, Fred, was a Presbyterian cleric who held positions at Oak Cliff, Colonial Hill, and First Presbyterian churches.

The heart of any neighborhood is its school and we are very pleased to have awarding-winning Lipscomb school on tour this year, courtesy of the Lipscomb PTA.  Generations of Dallas residents have graduated from this school and it is seeing a new renaissance of life as the neighborhoods rediscover this school.

There will be live entertainment in front of the Lipscomb School .  The Long Middle School Choir, Restoration Blues, the David Burris Experience and Ann Armstrong and Steven Hughes will be part of the featured entertainment.  In the auditorium, participants are invited to perform on stage with Guitar Hero! There will also be vendors selling arts and crafts and food.  With the holidays coming up, it is a great time to shop for unique gifts!

Support your neighborhood by attending the JH Home Tour.  Since its creation in 2006 by the city council, we have seen a lot of stabilization in the neighborhood.   Junius Heights is the largest historic district in Dallas .

Call for Volunteers

If you can volunteer to help for the Junius Heights Home Tour on November 8, it would be appreciated!  All volunteers are invited to a post-event party at the Garden Café on Sunday, November 8.  If you can help to volunteer, please contact Todd Smith at 214-803-0955 or toddsmith@Rmangraphics.com (email-preferred).  Thanks!

City Sidewalk Replacement Program

James Sims, a Junius Heights resident, is helping organize the neighborhood’s sidewalk replacement program.   Parts of Junius Heights are around 100 years old and some sidewalks are beginning to show the wear and tear of the years.  The City has a  program in which the city helps share the cost of replacing older sidewalks.  James will be at the annual meeting October 27 to help answer questions.  James Dowdy from the city will also be there.  If you can’t make it to the meeting, James may be reached at james.m.sims@gmail.com.

Junius Heights Neighborhood Meeting April 21

There will be a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, April 21 at Lipscomb Elementary.The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. Sergeant Archie King, who is our police liaison, will be there to address us and hear our concerns about crime.We will also have information about the city’s sidewalk replacement program and beautification projects in our district.

Junius Heights Neighborhood Front Porch Party April 25

On April 25, from 6:30-8:30, there will be a Junius Heights Neighborhood Party in the 700 block of Junius. The price of admission is membership in the Junius Heights Historic District. If you haven’t paid your $15.00 now is the time to do so! This is a good way to meet your neighbors! The association will furnish wine, beer, and food for

the evening. YOu can pay online via paypal, just look to the rightside of the blog and click on the link.

Junius Heights Crime Watch Meeting This Thursday

WHEN: 6PM NOV 20^th (THURSDAY)

WHERE: Paciugo Gelato, located at 2113 Abrams
(across from where our new Whole Foods will be!)

Please join us at Paciugo for a meet and greet! Take this opportunity to get to know our primary Off Duty Patrol officers Roger Rudloff and Dennis Craig and chat with Kelly Qualls, Community Relations Officer. Our officers will speak about the issues in our area, answer your questions and concerns, and you’ll get an opportunity to pay your CW dues while getting better acquainted with neighbors!

Coffee will be provided. Delicious Gelato will be available to purchase.

Donations to the watch will be accepted!

CHEERS! Your hosts, Michael and Suzanne

Checks as well as vacation alerts, may be sent to:  PO BOX 140283 DALLAS TX 75214

For questions about this event, call 214-826-1732

Junius Heights Home Tour This Sunday

The Junius Heights 2^nd Annual Home is this Sunday from 11:00-5:00. There will be seven historic and interesting homes on the tour. Tickets may be purchased at Munger Park the day of the tour. We will need lots of volunteers to run the Home Tour.  If you have not been contacted by a house captain and would like to volunteer, please contact our super volunteer coordinator, Todd Smit.

All volunteers are invited to an after tour party at Bill and Marsue Williams!

Important Council Decision Affecting Inner-City Neighborhoods

On Monday, November 10, the Dallas City Council will hear testimony on form-based zoning. Basically, form-based zoning creates walk-work-play areas and protects neighborhoods. It has three critical components:

1. The residential proximity slope is preserved.

2. There is a transitional zone between high density and residential.

3. High density areas are limited to certain parts of the city.

The residential proximity slope limits the height of buildings that may be built adjacent to a residence. Developers twice have proposed construction on Beacon and Paulus that would have created buildings of inappropriate height next to our homes in Junius Heights. Nobody wants a high rise overlooking a craftsman bungalow. If inappropriate construction was allowed, Gaston Avenue and all the perimeters of Junius Heights could have heights higher than currently allowed. It would threaten the stability of Junius Heights.

A transitional zone is just what the name implies: it permits buildings that “transition” between a high-density and a residential area. The new town homes that are being built on Gaston are a good example of a transitional zone. It guarantees that there will be no jarring juxtaposition of heights and uses.

High density areas aspire to create work-live-play areas. A good example is Mockingbird Station and the West End in Dallas. They concentrate density rather than scattering it. The apartments that were built in the 1960s on Gaston are an example of scattered density. This 60s experiment continues to stress parts of our neighborhood.

The so-called Compromise Plan was supported by the Real Estate Council, developers, and the neighborhoods. Your Junius Heights Board voted to also support this plan. Council Member Ron Natinsky is offering another plan that eliminates the residential proximity slope requirement, the transitional zone, and the work-live-play density.

Please attend the council meeting to show your support for the “Compromise” Plan and the one that was passed by the Central Plan Commission on November 10.

The meeting begins at 1:00. You may park in the underground garage.

Please take a minute and e-mail the Dallas City Council. Your support and action is critical to the future of inner-city neighborhoods like Junius Heights.

Thanks!

Proposal will Devastate Dallas’ Neighborhoods

NO” to the NATINSKY PROPOSAL
The Natinsky Proposal will Devastate Dallas’ Neighborhoods

“YES” to the DEVELOPER-NEIGHBORHOOD COMPROMISE
unanimously supported by the City Council-appointed Advisory Committee and the City Plan Commission

ACTION STEPS:

1-    E-MAIL the Dallas City Council: tom.leppert@dallascityhall.com, elba.garcia@dallascityhall.com, dwaine.caraway@dallascityhall.com, pauline.medrano@dallascityhall.com, vonciel.hill@dallascityhall.com, linda.koop@dallascityhall.com, ron.natinsky@dallascityhall.com, mitchell.rasansky@dallascityhall.com, angela.hunt@dallascityhall.com, david.neumann@dallascityhall.com, steven.salazar@dallascityhall.com, carolyn.davis@dallascityhall.com, tennell.atkins@dallascityhall.com, sheffield.kadane@dallascityhall.com, jerry.allen@dallascityhall.com

2-    Attend the November 10 Public hearing and bring friends, family and neighbors.

Dallas City Council Chambers
6th floor, 1500 Marilla November 10th, 2008 at 1 PM

Volunteers needed for Junius Heights!

Saturday, November 1

• 8:30 at the Columns. We will be planting EarthKind roses around the bases of the Junius Heights Columns. Bring a shovel or just show up. Angela Hunt, our council representative, will also be there!
• 10:00 at the Garden Café. We will meet for breakfast and then walk the neighborhood to distribute flyers advertising our upcoming JH tour. We will need help get the Junius Heights Home Tour signs ready for placement. If you would like to have a Junius Heights Home Tour Sign in your yard (lots on busy corners are the best!) they may be picked up at the front porch of 715 Parkmont.

Sunday, November 9, 11:00-5:00 Junius Heights Home Tour

• We will need lots of volunteers to run the Home Tour. If you have not been contacted by a house captain and would like to volunteer, please contact our super volunteer coordinator, Todd Smith at toddsmith@Rmangraphics.com

All volunteers are invited to an after tour party at Bill and Marsue Williams!

Junius Heights in the News

Junius Heights is honored to be named in the October issue of D Home Magazine as one of the neighborhoods “where you should consider buying now…..folks who move here crave the Craftsman bungalows, huge trees, elevated front yards, big porches, high ceilings and 1900s-era architecture.” There are also several pictures of homes in our neighborhood.

Check it out. Congratulations Junius Heights!

Junius Heights Boundary Map

Here is the map of our historic Nieghborhood Boundaries.