Sark Mixed-Use Development at Madison and Ballard

Context: The Commission's approval on April 9, 2026 was expressly "subject to deed restriction volunteered by the applicant" by Sarkis J. Kechejian / Kechejian Enterprises, LP, and the property sits inside Planned Development District No. 468, the Oak Cliff Gateway Special Purpose District.

Recommended: Request the executed deed restriction instrument referenced in the City Plan Commission recommendation, plus the ordinance text, and confirm whether the restriction was recorded and expressly incorporated as a condition of the grant. If the restriction exists only as a hearing representation, the question to answer is what enforces it once the property changes hands.

Context: The City Plan Commission recommended approval 13-0 on April 9, 2026 subject to a deed restriction volunteered by the applicant, and the City Council public hearing was set for May 27, 2026 with no outcome in the record.

Recommended: Do not underwrite the west corner of North Madison and Ballard as Walkable Mixed Use Subdistrict C until you obtain the adopted ordinance — the record shows only that a public hearing was scheduled, with no adoption result logged since. Also pull the applicant-volunteered deed restriction, because it narrows what the new subdistrict otherwise permits and travels with the land to any buyer.

Context: Commission passed it 13-0 on April 9, 2026 after an under-advisement hold from March 26, 2026, with staff and Commission both recommending approval and the item flagged "In alignment with ForwardDallas," yet the matter remains active with no Council result.

Recommended: The case was heard twice — held under advisement from March 26 to April 9, then sent to a May 27 Council public hearing — yet the file still shows no Council action months later. Request the May 27 hearing record and the deed restriction, and ask the assigned planner why a unanimous, staff-supported case has no logged final vote.

Context: The application changes property zoned Residential Transition Subdistrict A within Planned Development District No. 468 to WMU-3 Walkable Mixed Use Subdistrict C, approved 13-0 by the Commission subject to an applicant-volunteered deed restriction; the site is in Council District 1.

Recommended: This corner is being converted from a residential transition designation to a walkable mixed-use subdistrict, which opens the site to commercial ground-floor uses and greater building intensity than the current zoning allows. Ask the planning department for the volunteered deed restriction — that document, not the zoning label, is what actually limits which businesses and uses can locate there.