I live in the Midway Hollow neighborhood of NW Dallas, near the location of the Garvin Memorial Cemetery on Northwest Highway. The City of Dallas Parks Dept. is negotiating with Quik Trip for a proposed gas station at the SEC of Northwest Hwy & Lemmon. To make the site work, QT is seeking permission to build a parking lot and driveway access off northbound Lemmon Ave., across a strip of parkland. In order to offset use of public parkland, they are proposing the construction and long-term maintenance of a trailhead on adjacent parkland next to Bachman Creek. Due to trailhead safety and traffic safety concerns voiced by the neighborhood, councilwoman Jennifer Staubach Gates has temporarily delayed review and permit approval of the project by the City Council.
I have submitted an alternative to the City Council that proposes a different exchange, in anticipation that Quik Trip will win out in the end. They purchased the property knowing that it was too small without either a special accommodation from the City or acquiring land from an adjacent owner to the east who does not want to sell. In my scenario, QT would still be allowed to build a parking lot and driveway access across parkland, but instead of building a trailhead (poor location choice), the exchange would be the purchase of a small tract of land surrounding the Garvin Memorial Cemetery, where QT would construct a minimal parking area to provide access and maintain the tract as a natural area. Property records show this tract was purchased by a Houston-based townhome developer in August 2014, but the land still has a “For Sale” sign on it. This proposed exchange would annex the tract as Dallas parkland and protect the cemetery from being surrounded by development.
If terms are kept similar to the current proposal, QT would agree to provide long-term maintenance as a park. However, the purchase of the tract itself would be sufficient to secure the cemetery. I have not received any response from the City Council or Parks Department on this idea to protect the cemetery, but if nothing else I have raised awareness and generated interest from my Midway Hollow area neighbors in helping to preserve the Garvin Memorial Cemetery.
I am looking for historic information and contacts for preservationists like Frances James who have been involved in this cemetery's preservation or similar projects in the past, as well as anyone who wants to offer assistance supporting this idea for acquisition by the City of Dallas.
Below is information from the DMN on Quik Trip’s original proposal:
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cityhallblog.dallasnews.com]
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2016 07:33PM by Linda Cooke.