DALLAS — Editor's Note: The video above was uploaded before the judge's ruling.
A Dallas judge has ruled in favor of an Oak Cliff megachurch that wanted to pause a warehouse that was being built in their neighborhood, according to an attorney for the church.
The attorney tells WFAA that Friendship-West Baptist Church received an injunction that will stop the construction while the appeal process continues.
Court documents say the next hearing on this case is scheduled for March 26.
Editor's Note: The following article was written before the update above.
As a Dallas resident for more than 30 years and owner of his own construction company, Bryson Fowler can see both sides of redevelopment.
“I understand a little bit about what’s going on as far as building infrastructure and what’s to come,” said Fowler, an Oak Cliff resident.
What he does not understand are plans for a new warehouse right near his neighborhood.
“Why would you drop a warehouse right next to a school in the southern part of Dallas? Make that make sense,” said Fowler.
Stonelake Capital Partners is a real estate investment company trying to build a warehouse on Wheatland Road. The area is currently zoned for commercial use; however, what will be inside the warehouse is still unknown to the public.
That creates an issue for some as the building will sit across the street from Carter High School and between Friendship-West Baptist Church and government offices.
“It’s a safety issue for me. If we don’t watch out for our children, no one else will. If we don’t take care of our community, no one else will,” said Fowler. “I see it causing more damage to the city’s infrastructure than it is helping.”
Friendship-West Baptist Church has taken legal action against the company. Monday, they appeared in court for a hearing requesting injunctive relief which would temporarily stop construction while the appeal process continues.
“What's legal ain't necessarily logical or just,” said Dr. Frederick Haynes, Friendship-West Baptist Church Pastor.
Haynes called the issue a matter of environmental racism raising pollution and developmental concerns such as traffic.
“We do not want Wheatland Road damaged further with 18-wheelers on top of that,” said Haynes. “We don't want the danger 18-wheelers are going to cause and bring to both the environment as well as to our seniors, our students. It's just not the right place for them to have what it is they're trying to build.”
Fowler also agreed.
“You wouldn’t zone a warehouse right next to a school in McKinney or next to Allen,” said Fowler.
He argued that that is injustice. “Community matters. Whether it’s my children, my neighbors’ children, or the children after mine, you want to make sure that it’s still a community that thrives and that is safe to live.”
Judge Aiesha Redmond, who is presiding over the hearing, did not make a decision immediately after, but we’re told a decision could come any day.