Judge grants injunction in Dallas church fight against warehouse plans

Plans for a warehouse to be built in Southern Dallas are on hold after a Dallas County civil court judge granted an injunction on Tuesday.

Friendship-West Baptist Church filed a lawsuit to block the construction of a 200,000-square-foot warehouse on a site next to the church saying it would cause irreparable harm.

Judge Aiesha Redmond granted their request on Tuesday and scheduled a trial for April 19.

Paul Stafford, an attorney representing the church, said in a statement they hope to resolve the issue with the city and developers.

“Based upon the law and the facts, and to prevent the very real threat of immediate and irreparable harm to the community, the court made the just and equitable determination that the injunction should be issued. Friendship-West Baptist Church, and the entire community, remain amenable to a resolution of this matter with the City of Dallas, Stonelake, and SL6," said Stafford in a statement.

Redmond heard hours of witnesses and arguments Monday in the church's lawsuit to stop the development of a warehouse planned by Stonelake Capital Partners. The warehouse would be on a site adjacent to church property between Interstate 20 and Wheatland Road near Polk Street.

The City of Dallas rejected a building permit for the warehouse in August over concerns about the route trucks would use, but then a city appeals board granted the permit in November. The church filed the lawsuit in December.

“We’re here because the community has a voice that needs to be heard. The community voice has oftentimes been ignored, and this was a vehicle for the community to speak,” Friendship-West Pastor Frederick Haynes said.

Haynes led prayers with church supporters in the hallway before the hearing began at the George Allen Civil Courthouse Monday.

Texas State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) visited the courtroom but did not speak. West said he was there to demonstrate his support for Friendship-West.

The hearing was over a church request for an injunction to stop construction pending a full trial in the case.

“We’re trying to stop the development and this project over the will of the community while the appeal is being heard,” church attorney Paul Stafford said.

People connected with Friendship-West said the church plans to build housing on some of the vacant land it owns immediately adjacent to the warehouse site.

However, most of the concerns centered on environmental and safety impacts from truck traffic to and from the warehouse.

Testimony said the Texas Department of Transportation declined to allow direct access to the I-20 feeder road from the warehouse property.

A map in court records shows the developer’s plan to route trucks instead to Polk Street and Wheatland Road to avoid the church and Carter High School, which are further west on Wheatland Road.

Neighbors who live in nearby homes near Wheatland have complained they would still be confronted with the truck traffic.

“We do not want Wheatland Road damaged further with 18-wheelers,” Haynes said.

Representatives of the developer argued in court that there was no legal reason to stop the warehouse.

They said zoning for the site 20 years ago allows commercial land use.

Former Dallas City Councilman Lee Kleinman, now a consultant with the firm Masterplan working for the developer, testified in court about the case.

“Property rights trump the community, in my opinion,” Kleinman said.

Developer attorney Joel Reese declined an interview outside the courtroom. In the hearing, he said no witness had testified that the plan was illegal.

“This is a court of law,” Reese said.

Haynes said a pending Dallas land use update called Forward Dallas may change the commercial designation on the property. He said affordable housing is what is really needed in the area.

The firm website shows Stonelake Capital Partners also builds apartments and office buildings.

“What they are saying is regardless of what the community wants, we want to get this done anyhow,” Haynes said.

In questioning witnesses, Stafford said the firm would not propose a warehouse so close to homes in North Dallas where the business people live.